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Get Ready

For its 175th anniversary, the Smithsonian is looking forward.

What do you think of when you think of the future? FUTURES is the first building-wide exploration of the future on the National Mall. Designed by the award-winning Rockwell Group, FUTURES spans 32,000 square feet inside the Arts + Industries Building. Now on view until July 6, 2022, FUTURES is your guide to a vast array of interactives, artworks, technologies, and ideas that are glimpses into humanity’s next chapter. You are, after all, only the latest in a long line of future makers.

Smell a molecule. Clean your clothes in a wetland. Meditate with an AI robot. Travel through space and time. Watch water being harvested from air. Become an emoji. The FUTURES is yours to decide, debate, delight. We invite you to dream big, and imagine not just one future, but many possible futures on the horizon—playful, sustainable, inclusive. In moments of great change, we dare to be hopeful. How will you create the future you want to live in?

Opening Weekend

To those who joined us for FUTURES Remixed, it was an opening celebration like no other! Thank you for creating, exploring, and celebrating with us (and Bill Nye, HBO Max’s Legendary, and Kal Penn…just to name a few).

Watch the recordings>

Relive the sonic wonderlands, dancing, surprise guests, family fun and more>

Explore

Futures that Unite

Tap into our collective humanity >

Futures that Inspire

Encounter giant leaps of imagination >

Futures that Work

See strategies for solving problems >

Futures Past

Discover innovative ideas of previous generations >

Exterior Installation

Cross the threshold to the future at AIB’s entrance as you step through contemporary artist Soo Sunny Park’s Expanded Present, an ethereal portal of iridescent material designed to inspire and delight.

A Shimmering New Gateway from Soo Sunny Park

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New + Cool

New!

Share a message for the future with the “Hi, How R U ? 😎” holo-capsule portal. This next generation time capsule will transform your avatar into a holo-recording to be saved for the future to discover, or connect you in real-time to visitors to a paired portal in Doha, Qatar.

Talk to the future

Learn more>

World-building with Marvel Studios’ Eternals

How can movie worlds help us imagine the future? Creative vision meets new cinema tech in costumes (and behind-the-scenes details!) from the just released Marvel Studios’ Eternals.

Time Travel to 2071

What might a Smithsonian exhibit look like in 2071? In collaboration with Arizona State University’s Center for Science and the Imagination, Smithsonian researchers paired with futurists and sci-fi creators to envision our world 50 years in the future. Transformed into short stories and exhibition posters, explore these future visions.

Meet the FUTURES Beacons

Create, and reflect the future you want to see. Be the first to try this playful digital storytelling interactive that lets you see FUTURES and yourself in new ways. From LAB at Rockwell Group and Softbank Group Corp.