Looking for a fun and informative outing? This new museum offers both.
A new museum has opened its doors. WOM – World Of Mind, is a totally immersive and interactive exhibition. WOM plunges the visitor into a sensory world, putting one’s brain to the test and challenging the visitor’s perceptions. Optical, tactile and auditory illusions make you lose your sense of what is real and what is not.
The exhibition is marked with informative science corners developed by Professor Steven Laureys, world-renowned neurologist and winner of the prestigious Belgian Francqui Prize in 2017. But don’t recoil, the museum is firstly and foremostly about having fun.
The approach is a very hands-on interactive experience where you are encouraged to play, experiment, reflect and understand the cognitive mechanisms at work – the very ones that lead to differences of opinion, or perception.
“You are encouraged to play, experiment, reflect and understand the cognitive mechanisms at work”
With group visits, specially trained facilitators will be present to go further with additional explanations on themes related to the exhibition (the brain, light waves and sounds and smells).
There is a more serious message, one that is important in a world full of disinformation, misinformation, unconscious biases and subjective opinions; we are human! We have mental mechanisms that help us make sense of the world, but they’re flawed – if broadly useful – explaining why we are still hanging around as a species in 2023. Nevertheless, we should challenge ourselves from time to time.
The exhibition was developed by Tempora, the Belgian company that has established itself as a leader in putting the visitor at the heart of what it does. Tempora has been behind many projects in Belgium and beyond, from the House of European History to the Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk. Tempora’s approach is based on a number of values: respect for places and their history; the enhancement of collections; the search for a balance between fun, aesthetics and rigorous respect for scientific knowledge; access to a wider public and the concern and desire to offer a shared cultural vision.
WOM is located at the Tour & Taxi site.
www.worldofmind.be
