As part of its tenth anniversary celebrations, the Museum of Tomorrow organized an international seminar this Wednesday morning to discuss the work carried out by the institution focused on scientific knowledge and build new projects for the years to come. The first panel, on the theme “Culture and climate”, brought together the director of the Science Museum, Ian Blatchford, the director of the National Museum of Indigenous Peoples (MNPI), Juliana Tupinambá, and Silvia Singer, director of the Interactive Museum of the Economy (Mide). In his speech, Ian Blatchford highlighted the importance of scientific collections and museums, such as the Museum of Tomorrow, in times of social crisis.
— Each crisis is presented as if it were the first time humanity faced a problem. I call this “the urgency of the moment”. It always seems like there is a big crisis and we don’t know what to do. The advantage of our collection is that we can talk about these challenges, particularly climatic ones, but giving them a historical context, he stressed.
The MNPI director highlighted the importance of indigenous peoples in the cultural and environmental conservation scenario.
— For us, indigenous peoples, climate and culture are inseparable. This comes from our construction and our relationship with the world. It is important to remember that we, as indigenous peoples of Brazil, are the great guardians of the forest. If they are still standing today, it is thanks to our way of thinking, acting and living. Therefore, fighting with us for the demarcation of territories is fighting to delay the end of the world. It’s about fighting so that we can still breathe, so that there is still life on this planet – she emphasized, taking the opportunity to shed light on the discussions taking place this week in Congress and the Federal Court (STF) on the timetable for demarcation of indigenous lands.
The importance of museums as a space for social discussions and reflection on human behavior was highlighted by Silvia Singer, director of the Interactive Museum of Economics, located in Mexico.
— The museum is a wonderful place to question the way we live. I love when people say we need to take care of the planet because it will be here with or without us. What we really need is to take care of ourselves, our societies, our groups of people, and to live in a harmonious and positive way. And the only way to do that is to make better decisions in every moment of our daily lives. The Museum of Tomorrow, Mide and many others are museums without collections, not focused on the past. We care about the present and the future. And making decisions is something that immediately puts us in a position to think about the future, he guarantees.
The moderator of the table, Ricardo Piquet, director-president of the Institute of Development and Management (IDG), at the head of the Museum of Tomorrow, commented on the challenges of science-focused museums to contribute to the formation of the thinking of their visitors. He says creating experiences that appeal primarily to young people is one of the main goals of the space.
— The museum was designed as a space for reflection on the future. This is a huge challenge, especially in today’s world, where young people don’t have time to communicate in just a few characters to convince them. We’re always thinking about how to inspire them to become change agents when they leave the experience. This is perhaps one of the most difficult tasks of a contemporary science museum,” he predicts.
In 2025, the Museum of Tomorrow hosted the Earthshot Prize, considered the “Oscar of sustainability”, an environmental prize founded by Prince William. David Fein, vice-president of the Earthshot Prize, also present at the seminar, highlighted the partnership with the institution.
— We look to the future with you as we celebrate the 10th anniversary, your visionary thinking, your leadership in sustainability. And our partnership with the museum is a perfect example of what can be achieved when different institutions, sharing a big common goal, come together and align. This is a partnership which began for Earthshot in November and which will continue,” he assured.
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