These museums showcase the future, not the past

By Flo Cornall, CNN
5 minute read
Published 4:35 AM EDT, Tue May 23, 2023
The ArtScience Museum in Singapore has become known for its boundary-pushing exhibits. It regularly collaborates with art collective teamLab to create interactive installations. The teamLab exhibit "Proliferating Immense Life - A Whole Year per Year" tracked the seasonal changes of flowers. <strong>Look through the gallery to see more of the world's most high-tech museums.</strong>
The ArtScience Museum in Singapore has become known for its boundary-pushing exhibits. It regularly collaborates with art collective teamLab to create interactive installations. The teamLab exhibit "Proliferating Immense Life - A Whole Year per Year" tracked the seasonal changes of flowers. Look through the gallery to see more of the world's most high-tech museums.
teamLab
Dubai's Museum of the Future is a calligraphy-covered architectural wonder; it uses artificial intelligence and encourages human/machine interaction across its seven floors.
Dubai's Museum of the Future is a calligraphy-covered architectural wonder; it uses artificial intelligence and encourages human/machine interaction across its seven floors.
Museum of the Future
The Museum of the Future opened its doors in February 2022 and features high-tech curiosities from drones to digital DNA codes, and even a robodog. Pictured, part of the exhibit "OSS Hope" imagines what humanity's home could look like aboard a huge space station in 2071.
The Museum of the Future opened its doors in February 2022 and features high-tech curiosities from drones to digital DNA codes, and even a robodog. Pictured, part of the exhibit "OSS Hope" imagines what humanity's home could look like aboard a huge space station in 2071.
Museum of the Future
Set to open in late 2024, and pictured in this rendering, the Seoul Robot & AI Museum in South Korea aims to teach visitors about these developing technologies.
Set to open in late 2024, and pictured in this rendering, the Seoul Robot & AI Museum in South Korea aims to teach visitors about these developing technologies.
MAA-Melike Altınışık Architects
In 2019, Turkish architecture practice Melike Altınışık Architects won an international competition hosted by The Seoul Metropolitan Government to design the Robot & AI Museum. As seen in this rendering of the lobby, the museum is set to become a hub for smart technologies that visitors can interact with.
In 2019, Turkish architecture practice Melike Altınışık Architects won an international competition hosted by The Seoul Metropolitan Government to design the Robot & AI Museum. As seen in this rendering of the lobby, the museum is set to become a hub for smart technologies that visitors can interact with.
MAA-Melike Altınışık Architects
The world's largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft can be found at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. In this image, an interactive 10-foot spherical projection of a globe is suspended in the middle of the "One World Connected" gallery, where visitors can pull up data visualizations ranging from satellite networks to animal migration routes.
The world's largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft can be found at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. In this image, an interactive 10-foot spherical projection of a globe is suspended in the middle of the "One World Connected" gallery, where visitors can pull up data visualizations ranging from satellite networks to animal migration routes.
Jim Preston/Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum
With the rolling Hajar Mountains in the background, this is the visually striking Oman Across Ages Museum. Located near the ancient city of Nizwa, the museum tells the story of the civilizations and dynasties that created Oman. It uses cutting-edge technologies including 3D-printing and augmented reality to create transportive experiences.
With the rolling Hajar Mountains in the background, this is the visually striking Oman Across Ages Museum. Located near the ancient city of Nizwa, the museum tells the story of the civilizations and dynasties that created Oman. It uses cutting-edge technologies including 3D-printing and augmented reality to create transportive experiences.
Oman Across Ages Museum
The Oman Across the Ages Museum is split two permanent exhibition wings: The History Gallery and the Renaissance Gallery. In this image, the Renaissance Gallery uses LED displays to represent the country's economic, technological, political and social modernization, beginning in the 1970s.
The Oman Across the Ages Museum is split two permanent exhibition wings: The History Gallery and the Renaissance Gallery. In this image, the Renaissance Gallery uses LED displays to represent the country's economic, technological, political and social modernization, beginning in the 1970s.
Oman Across Ages Museum
The Dalí Museum in Florida embraces cutting-edge technologies to tell the story of Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dalí in unconventional ways. Last year, it collaborated with OpenAI's AI generator DALL·E to project physical representations of visitors' dreams onto a 12-foot digital tapestry screen.
The Dalí Museum in Florida embraces cutting-edge technologies to tell the story of Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dalí in unconventional ways. Last year, it collaborated with OpenAI's AI generator DALL·E to project physical representations of visitors' dreams onto a 12-foot digital tapestry screen.
©2023 -- Salvador Dalí Museum, Inc., St. Petersburg, FL
Through its tongue-in-cheek exhibits, the Misalignment Museum is on a mission to increase knowledge about artificial intelligence and its potential for both destruction and good. Its pop-up pilot in San Francisco ended in May and it is now planning its next public exhibit. Pictured, curator and artist Audrey Kim with the piece "Genesis: In The Beginning Was The Word," by Eurypheus
Through its tongue-in-cheek exhibits, the Misalignment Museum is on a mission to increase knowledge about artificial intelligence and its potential for both destruction and good. Its pop-up pilot in San Francisco ended in May and it is now planning its next public exhibit. Pictured, curator and artist Audrey Kim with the piece "Genesis: In The Beginning Was The Word," by Eurypheus
AMY OSBORNE/AFP/AFP via Getty Images
At the Misalignment Museum, an army of robotic Spam cans type out prose generated by an AI large language model. Created by Neil Mendoza, the cans are retrofitted with arms so they can type out the entire alphabet.
At the Misalignment Museum, an army of robotic Spam cans type out prose generated by an AI large language model. Created by Neil Mendoza, the cans are retrofitted with arms so they can type out the entire alphabet.
AMY OSBORNE/AFP/AFP via Getty Images
London's Natural History Museum is transforming its five-acre gardens to include a sensor network that will track real-time data about current levels of UK's urban biodiversity. Set to open in 2024, the reimagined gardens will allow scientists to develop and test new methods to monitor urban nature.
London's Natural History Museum is transforming its five-acre gardens to include a sensor network that will track real-time data about current levels of UK's urban biodiversity. Set to open in 2024, the reimagined gardens will allow scientists to develop and test new methods to monitor urban nature.
The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London
High-tech museums are looking to the future
CNN  — 

When you think of a museum what do you picture? Glass display cabinets full of medieval manuscripts? Classical statues and ancient artifacts? Or perhaps stuffed animals and dinosaur skeletons.

While there will always be a place for those traditional repositories of history, there’s recently been a shift towards a different kind of museum – one that isn’t afraid to embrace change and technology.

Whether they’re leading the way with futuristic architectural designs or high-tech interactive exhibits, here are just some of the museums that are putting innovation front and center.

ArtScience Museum, Singapore

TeamLab's "Crystal Universe" installation at Singapore's ArtScience Museum.
TeamLab's "Crystal Universe" installation at Singapore's ArtScience Museum.
teamLab

In the heart of Singapore, a lotus-inspired building intertwines art, science and technology.