A reference point for culture and reflections on the future, the Museum of Tomorrow celebrates its 10th anniversary.

A landmark in the revitalization process of downtown Rio, the Museum of Tomorrow, in Praça Mauá, celebrates its 10th anniversary this month with over 8 million visitors in the decade, becoming a reference point in Latin America. On Thursday evening (December 11th), a ceremony celebrated the public facility of the Rio City Hall, a benchmark in culture, sustainability, and reflections on the future of the planet. The event also inaugurated the renovation project of the museum's main exhibition, "From the Cosmos to Us". The first stage of this update will open to the public this Friday (December 12th), replacing the space previously known as "Anthropocene" with the new room entitled "Where Are We?". And, next Wednesday (December 17th), the anniversary day, the museum will celebrate the date with free admission.

Ten years ago, the landscape of Rio de Janeiro's port area changed completely with the museum project conceived by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The immense 30 m² structure of steel and concrete beams rises above the square, resembling a skeleton. The architect says he was inspired by bromeliads. Today, it's impossible to imagine Rio without the museum, with its gardens, reflecting pools, bike path, and leisure space. Beyond its intense cultural agenda, the Museum of Tomorrow has consolidated its vocation as a space where the most relevant current discussions take place, hosting world-renowned authorities and personalities at events such as the G20 summit and the Earthshot Prize, awarded by Prince William of the United Kingdom.

Starting this Friday, visitors can explore the newly revitalized area, which features a new video installation by director Estevão Ciavatta Pantoja, offering an immersive experience about the present time. In the Caves area, the curatorial team—comprised of Fabio Scarano, Liana Brazil, and Luiz Alberto Oliveira—introduced new content, presented within an aesthetic solution developed by the design firm Celso Longo + Daniel Trench.

The new space maintains coherence with the other areas of the main exhibition, ensuring a fluid journey for the visitor. With high expectations regarding public reception, the Museum of Tomorrow plans to soon launch a survey to understand each person's unique experience in the renovated space. The updating of the "From the Cosmos to Us" exhibition is an ongoing process, with the expectation that the other rooms will also be renovated over the next two years using funds the museum will receive from the City Hall.

In addition to the change in its main exhibition, the month of December for the Museum of Tomorrow is the time to celebrate its 10th anniversary and to debut the original exhibition "Ocean – The World Is an Archipelago". The opening of the exhibition will be on the 17th, with free admission for all visitors, offered by Shell, Vale and Motiva, partner companies that support the institution.

About the Museum of Tomorrow

The construction of the Museum of Tomorrow, inaugurated in 2015 and designed by Santiago Calatrava, became a landmark in the revitalization of Porto Maravilha. With its iconic architecture and museological approach focused on science, sustainability, and possible futures, the museum attracted a large influx of visitors and repositioned the region as a cultural and tourist hub.

Its implementation spurred the urban redevelopment of the surrounding area, including opening up the landscape after the demolition of the Perimetral Elevated Highway, improvements in infrastructure, increased pedestrian traffic, and the attraction of new businesses. Praça Mauá has transformed into a space for socializing and events, strengthening local cultural and economic life.

As the anchor of the Porto Maravilha project, the largest consortium operation in the country, the Museum of Tomorrow had a symbolic and practical impact: it rekindled the relationship between Rio de Janeiro residents and the port area, stimulated investments, and helped consolidate the Port as a renewed, vibrant territory connected to the future.

Its disruptive nature has made it a global benchmark, inspiring other museums and science and cultural institutions around the world. Today, it is a fundamental part of FORMS (Futures-Oriented Museum Synergies), a global network of future-oriented museums within which it fosters partnerships and exchanges of cultural, academic, and artistic experiences. Members of the group include the Futurium museum in Berlin and the Museum of the Future in Dubai – both founded after 2015.

The Museum is managed by the Institute for Development and Management — idg. The project is an initiative of the Rio de Janeiro City Hall, conceived in conjunction with the Roberto Marinho Foundation, an institution linked to Grupo Globo. A successful example of a partnership between the public and private sectors, through the Federal Law for Cultural Incentive, Lei Rouanet, it has Banco Santander Brasil as its master sponsor, Shell, Vale and Motiva as sustaining partners, and sponsors that include IBM and TAG. Globo is a strategic partner, with co-sponsorship from Águas do Rio and Heineken, and support from Bloomberg, Engie, B3, Rede D'or, White Martins, EGTC, Renner, Granado, TechnipFMC, Caterpillar, EMS and Sulamérica. Through the Municipal Incentive Law, it has the support of Accenture and Fitch Ratings and media partnerships with Rádio Mix, NovaParadiso, Revista Piauí, JB FM and Canal Curta ON.

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December 12, 2025

Appointments: 10 year birthday Culture Exhibition Museum of Tomorrow City Hall of Rio