Museum of Tomorrow
Santiago Calatrava's neofuturistic frame on Pier Maua — a science museum that moves through five areas, Cosmos to Us, tracing the science of our planet and its ecological future.
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Opened in December 2015 as the centerpiece of Rio's port district reurbanization for the 2016 Olympics, this 230-million-real science museum moves you through five sequential areas — Cosmos, Earth, Anthropocene, Tomorrow, and Us — mixing hands-on experiments with a focus on sustainable cities and ecological futures. The building itself, designed by Spanish architect Calatrava, was built to strengthen Rio's cultural identity.
What to look for
- Calatrava's neofuturistic structure rising from the Pier Maua waterfront — the architecture is part of the argument
- The five-section exhibition arc from Cosmos through to Us, each a distinct thematic environment
- The surrounding port district, reurbanized specifically for the 2016 Summer Olympics
Sits on the waterfront at Pier Maua in Rio's port zone — walk the revamped port area before or after your visit.
Museum of Tomorrow is one of 29 sights worth the detour in Rio de Janeiro, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Rio de Janeiro pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Rio de Janeiro
- Christ the RedeemerArms stretched 28 metres wide at the summit of a 700-metre mountain, face turned east to meet the sunrise every morning.
- Maracanã StadiumOn 16 July 1950, 210,850 people packed this bowl to watch Uruguay beat Brazil 2–1 — the largest crowd ever recorded at a football match, and that record still stands.
- Museu NacionalOne fire in 2018 erased 200 years of collecting — 20 million objects, Brazil's oldest scientific institution, mostly gone overnight.
- Estádio Nilton Santos (Engenhão)The stadium that blew six times its construction budget and then hosted an Olympics.
- Arquivo Nacional (Brazilian National Archives)Brazil's paper memory since 1838 — founded as the Imperial Public Archives before the republic even existed.
- Rio–Niterói BridgeEight kilometres of concrete over open water, built so a bay full of ships and two city skylines could coexist.