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- Cosmos exhibition (the main dome room): The museum opens with a roughly 360-degree audiovisual show on the origins of the universe and life on Earth. The projections wrap the room and set the tone for everything after. It is the clearest first impression the museum offers.
- Earth and Anthropocene galleries: The Earth area is organized around Matter, Life and Thought, and the Anthropocene section follows it. Big screens and interactive stations track how human activity has changed the planet over centuries, with data on climate and population.
- Calatrava building and its movable solar panels: Santiago Calatrava designed a white, skeletal structure that looks like a bromeliad or a ship’s skeleton jutting over the water. The steel solar panels on the roof tilt to follow the sun and generate part
- Cosmos exhibition (the main dome room): The museum opens with a roughly 360-degree audiovisual show on the origins of the universe and life on Earth. The projections wrap the room and set the tone for everything after. It is the clearest first impression the museum offers.
- Earth and Anthropocene galleries: The Earth area is organized around Matter, Life and Thought, and the Anthropocene section follows it. Big screens and interactive stations track how human activity has changed the planet over centuries, with data on climate and population.
- Calatrava building and its movable solar panels: Santiago Calatrava designed a white, skeletal structure that looks like a bromeliad or a ship’s skeleton jutting over the water. The steel solar panels on the roof tilt to follow the sun and generate part of the building’s power. Walk the full outdoor perimeter to see it from every angle.
- Tomorrows exhibition: Here the museum asks visitors to look ahead to the next 50 years, using scenarios, projections and indicators on topics such as population, climate and consumption. It is more sober than the opening show, but it gives the visit its argument.
- Us exhibition: This final space is about collective action and personal choices. You can leave your own responses and read what other visitors have shared, which makes it feel more human than a standard science display.
- Pier Mauá waterfront and reflecting pools: The museum sits on a long pier with reflecting pools, bay views and breezes off Guanabara Bay. The outdoor garden area is free to enter, so you can stroll the edge even without a ticket. Bay water treatment features feed the pools and gardens, a nice detail to read about on the signs.
- Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR) next door: A short walk across Praça Mauá brings you to this art museum, set in a mix of a palace and a former bus station building. Its rooftop views over the port and its exhibitions on Rio’s history and culture make a good second stop.
- Boulevard Olímpico street art: Beyond the museum, the pedestrian boulevard has the huge Kobra mural “Etnias,” painted for the 2016 Olympics and covering about 3,000 square meters. It is free and easy to reach on foot.
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Hi, I’m Johan (Netherlands 🇳🇱), the creator of TakeYourBackpack. Over the past 3 decades, I’ve backpacked through 90+ countries across six continents, gaining extensive experience with independent travel, long-term trips, and overland routes.