Imagine a place where you can connect with the fundamental principles of physics and chemistry, through active participation, experimentation, and discovery. Imagine that in the same place, there is a planetarium with a curved LED screen whose projections make you feel that you are traveling between planets or existence, in a way that cannot be reproduced, and natural phenomena from an unexpected angle.
Imagine that and everything is in a building blended with the natural environment of the forest, such as the Asuncion Botanical Garden.
That’s what the ambitious project of a group of friends – between Paraguayans and foreigners – who are designing the country’s first interactive science museum is all about.
The Museum of Science (MuCi) was born – as it was baptized – from American businessman and philanthropist David Perry, who has a deep love for Paraguay.
He spent the best part of his youth here and today with his family in the US he shares a passion for loving everything in Paraguay.
Among the strange things about this unprecedented project, perhaps the main attraction is that it will have one of the largest planetariums in the world. “The hemispherical planetarium that MuCi will have will be the third in the world with curved LED technology,” says Paola Martinez, a spokeswoman for the MuCi Foundation.
The dome will accommodate 150 people and will not only be used for demonstrations on science and astronomy, but also for awakening knowledge. It will be a space with fun, interactive exhibits about science and the arts for all ages.
Paraguayan architect Luis Ayala, who lives in Texas and has been named one of the best young architects in the United States, shares his experience: “The screen has such a high resolution that the brain cannot discern whether what we see is real or not. This will be the third museum in the world that will It has a planetarium with this technology. The good thing about this planetarium is that it can also be used to display images; live broadcasts of concerts, football matches, etc.,” the lists.
investment. From MuCi they assure they have all the funds to start the business. This is why the signature campaign on the foundation’s page (apoyo.muci.org) aims to gain social legitimacy for the project.
The Berry Foundation will provide $14 million for the installation of the museum. The MuCi Foundation will be responsible for the construction, management and maintenance of the Museum.
Currently, they are in the legal process of the project, with the advice of Dr. Daniel Gonzalez, who is preparing the case for the Asuncion municipality’s request to build the museum within a sector of the Botanical Garden.
camouflaged; The museum is planned to be located in a treeless meadow, behind the current Museum of Natural History, which, out of touch, will allow the work to “strengthen its protection and protect the existing collection,” Ayala says.
There are 6500 square meters of open space where it is planned to build the museum on several levels on an area of 1.6 hectares.
“It’s the only non-tree in the park. Our idea is that we won’t cut down any trees.
The level of the meadow is about 16 meters, so the architectural design is aimed at merging the building with nature. Trees will be planted on the roof to take advantage of this unevenness with which the building will either disappear or better integrate with the green of nature. “We are the ones who love this garden the most. We are thinking of a green building that blends in with nature,” he points out.
As for the building, he explains, it imitates the vernacular architecture of Paraguay “kulata jovái”, consisting of two bedrooms facing an open but roofed space. The walls on both sides will be covered with basins made of earth extracted from the work, in which all kinds of native plants will be planted. In this way, what was once contained in the botanical garden will be restored and the side facades – when the plants grow – will be all green.
The central space will contain ponds with fish, mburucuyá climbers; In addition, it will have a square drawer and a multi-purpose drawer.
on the radar. Thus the entire building is divided into two parts, around the central hall; On the one hand, there will be static science fairs and on the other, rotating fairs.
“Rotating work will be carried out by world-class artists who make science-based installations, every four months, all over the world. This means that today we have Leonardo da Vinci and in four months we will have a water-based installation,” the architect predicts.
In November, MuCi will empower its Textilia office. On that occasion, they will give new demonstrations of what the museum will offer, the construction of which, if there are no problems, will be completed in 2025.
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