The Museum of the Future in Dubai is a “time machine” that shows visitors what life could be like in the year 2071.
From futuristic jobs faraway on a space station to how ecosystems can be saved 49 years from now — the experience is entertaining as well as educational.
The two-hour experience is meant to be thought-provoking and leaves visitors wondering steps that can be taken now to create a better future.
The museum uses technology to represent art in the most remarkable ways, including screens with impressive graphics of a rocket launch and a DNA library that features more than 4,500 species.
An avatar called Aya guides visitors throughout their journey.
On Wednesday, a day after its official opening, The National went on a media tour of the museum. Here are five of the most interesting displays:
Launching to a space station
If you want to be an astronaut for a day, this is the experience for you.
It involves boarding a spacecraft called Hope, named after the UAE’s Mars orbiter, and launching to the OSS Hope space station 600 kilometres above Earth.
Visitors are taken inside a room with metal walls, designed to look like a spacecraft, with screens all around that act as windows to show the stunning views during lift-off.
Aerial views of Dubai’s coastline, including The Palm Jumeirah, are visible, and then the delicate atmosphere of the planet, as the spacecraft enters space.
It is a four-minute experience that also shows the spacecraft docking with the OSS Hope space station.
Then, you enter the space station, where you learn about futuristic jobs astronauts can have in future, such as Mars colony ambassador to Earth.
See the Amazon
The next part of the experience is the "heal institute", where you learn about nature.
A large screen shows the DNA of the Amazon, with footage actually filmed in the rainforest.
“At Heal, we are working to repair the Earth’s natural ecosystems, with the help of artificial intelligence and biodesign,” Aya says, as visitors enter the exhibition.
“The Amazon is amazing. The forest generates half of its own rainfall by recycling water through trees.
“Sadly, in some parts of the Amazon, years of deforestation have broken this cycle, changing huge parts of this ancient forest to dry savannah.”
DNA library
Another part of the Heal Institute is the DNA library, which has more than 2,400 models of species on display inside glass cases.
The colourful exhibition is meant to help visitors learn about different kinds of mammals, angiosperms, annelids and molluscs.
It is partially immersive, as visitors can “collect” a few species in a device given to them at the start and use it in the next exhibition to see how it could heal the ecosystem.
Heal the ecosystem
This is the Heal Observatory, where some species are grown in a nursery.
Visitors can release these species into the outdoors, including the ones collected in their device from the DNA library, to see how they behave and if the ecosystem heals.
It is an educational exhibition that would benefit researchers, as well as students and teachers.
Once the species are released, a large screen shows the progress being made in that ecosystem.
Futuristic spa
Al Waha is a futuristic spa, where visitors experience restorative effects of movement and meditation.
Visitors are welcomed with a vapour hand sanitiser that is blowing out of a structure that looks like a futuristic water fountain.
There is also a digital floor with a special carpet that gives the illusion of walking on a beach.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid visits Museum of the Future - in pictures
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Midnights'
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
Honeymoonish
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
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U16 Age Group
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Stoke City v Tottenham
Brentford v Newcastle United
Arsenal v Manchester City
Everton v Manchester United
All ties are to be played the week commencing December 21.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
More coverage from the Future Forum
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa
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Bayer Leverkusen 2 Bayern Munich 4
Leverkusen: Alario (9'), Wirtz (89')
Bayern: Coman (27'), Goretzka (42'), Gnabry (45'), Lewandowski (66')
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Nations League
League A, Group 4
Spain v England, 10.45pm (UAE)
