Last year, the Museum of Science Fiction hosted an international contest to design its preview museum—the online-based organization’s first exhibition space—to be constructed in Washington, D.C. Hundreds of designs were submitted from 46 countries, and the top entries are currently on view at the Brooklyn Public Library.
The winning entry was submitted by Emily Yen from the Rhode Island School of Design. Yen dubbed her semitransparent glowing cube “Schrödinger’s Box,” a nod to Erwin Schrödinger’s famous thought experiment involving, among other things, the unknown activities of a closed-off box. Curiosity is also central to Yen’s design, which is meant to entice passersby.
Other top entries were similarly bold. Some were reminiscent of one of science fiction’s most recognizable technologies—the spaceship. One design, submitted by Constantinos Miltiadis, called for little more than a smartphone app and a pair of virtual-reality goggles; the technology could transform almost any space into a museum, free of physical exhibitions.
The Museum of Science Fiction has planned the opening of the preview museum for later this year. It will show not only the history and evolution of the genre but also its influence on and interaction with the real world. Once the permanent museum is built, also in Washington, D.C., the redeployable preview museum will travel around the country. The current exhibition of top designs will also be shown in Los Angeles, Milan, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, Mumbai, Berlin, Moscow, and London.
Through May 25 at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Central Library branch, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn; bklynlibrarrg
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