Inside The New FUTURES Exhibit At The Smithsonian Arts And Industries Building

Despite the Smithsonian Institution temporary closing four of its Washington, D.C. museums—the National Museum of Asian Art (Freer and Sacker Galleries), the National Museum of African Art, the National Postal Museum and the Anacostia Community Museum—from December 29, 2021 to January 3, 2022, due to a recent increase in Covid-19 cases among staff, the remaining Smithsonian museums and galleries throughout the Washington, D.C. area and the National Zoo are expected to stay open.

Just re-opened in November 2021 following more than 15 years of renovations, the Smithsonian Arts + Industries Building, which served as the first U.S. National Museum in 1881, will feature its latest exhibit, FUTURES, now through July 6, 2022. While it does offer a peek into the past—several pieces from former World’s Fairs and Alexander Graham Bell’s 1876 telephone are among several items that celebrate human ingenuity throughout the ages—the majority of it focuses on the advancements in science, technology and humanity we hope to make going forward.

“Museums are used to looking back into history, but gazing into the future is a lot more unusual,” said curator Glenn Adamson. “In this project, we were able to pair historians and scientists with specialists in imagining tomorrow—it was the perfect way to mark the 175th anniversary of the Smithsonian, which has always been an engine of the future.”

FUTURES dives into what the future of travel as we know it could be, with Virgin Hyperloop Pegasus Pods—if you’ve ever wanted to see one in real life, now’s your chance—reaching speeds of 670 miles per hour, taking passengers between D.C. and New York City in 30 minutes. The exhibition also tackles the future of sustainability with a look at biodegradable burial capsules that turn your earthly remains into trees, a coin-operated wetland washing machine that uses a closed waste water system and a solar-powered machine that creates water for drinking and cooking by pulling molecules from the air around you, among other thought-provoking displays.

You’ll also get a chance to see a Bell Nexus Air Taxi—basically the closest thing we’ve developed yet as far as Jetsons-like flying cars go—meet an AI robot that responds to your movements and get a closer look at the costumes featured in the new Marvel movie, Eternals, in addition to a number of other displays focusing on solutions to present-day societal and humanitarian issues. One exhibit examines the DNA technology that would be necessary for same-sex partners to produce their own children, for instance, while another looks at how science labs could potentially create affordable insulin.

“For 175 years, the Smithsonian has been helping people better understand who we are, where we have been, and where we want to go,” said Director of the Arts + Industries Building Rachel Goslins. “With FUTURES, we want to invite all visitors to discover, debate, and delight in the many possibilities for our shared future. There’s no place better to do this than in the Arts + Industries Building, the nation’s original home for big ideas.”

If you happen to be in the Washington D.C. area between now and July 6, 2022, definitely work FUTURES into your itinerary—and remember, entry is free since it’s a Smithsonian Institution museum.