La Caixa" Foundation and the American Museum of Natural History announce a partnership agreement

The "La Caixa" Foundation and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York have signed a collaboration agreement to show the scientific exhibitions created by the "La Caixa" Foundation in various international museums until 2029, and to make the contents created by the New York museum available to the network of CaixaForum and CosmoCaixa centres. The "La Caixa" Foundation exhibitions that visitors from all over the world will be able to discover within the framework of this agreement cover a wide range of scientific subjects, such as human perception, evolution, anthropology and technology. 

"Through scientific knowledge, we can face the greatest challenges of this century. Making science, an inexhaustible engine of social progress, accessible to all citizens in an understandable and attractive way is one of the objectives of the "La Caixa" Foundation's exhibitions. We are delighted that content of the utmost rigour and quality that has already been enjoyed in our network of centres is now making the leap to other museums through an invaluable partner such as the American Museum of Natural History," said Juan Ramón Fuertes, Deputy Director General of the "La Caixa" Foundation.

"The American Museum of Natural History has long been committed to broadening public understanding of science, and the "La Caixa" Foundation has dedicated itself to the same purpose," said AMNH President Sean M. Decatur. "Science truly belongs to all of us and can help us understand our place in the world and in the universe. This collaboration is an incredible opportunity for our two institutions to bring the wonders of scientific discovery to a global audience".

In addition to millions of annual visitors, the AMNH is a world leader in the production and management of traveling exhibitions and space shows that reach millions more people around the world. The museum currently has more than 20 exhibitions and 5 travelling planetarium shows, and has taken its contents to more than 400 cities in 55 countries. 

Under the agreement with the "La Caixa" Foundation, the American Museum of Natural History becomes the exclusive partner to bring the scientific exhibits created by the "La Caixa" Foundation to museums around the world until 2029. The agreement also offers the opportunity for both institutions to carry out joint activities, and for the CaixaForum and CosmoCaixa network of centres to host exhibitions created by the AMNH. For example, this summer, as part of CosmoNits, the CosmoCaixa Science Museum will hold "The Grand Tour", an AMNH activity in which participants will travel around the places humanity has reached with space missions, through a projection created with software that simulates the known universe. The journey will be led and narrated by astrophysicist and American Museum of Natural History educator Jackie Faherty.

The following are the first scientific exhibitions of the "La Caixa" Foundation that will be on display outside Spain as part of the collaboration: 

• Mirrors. Inside and outside reality. This exhibition reveals the role of mirrors in different areas of science, culture and life in an interactive way. The exhibition explores the effects and peculiarities of mirrors to understand the different physical and mathematical phenomena related to these objects, which have been fundamental for some relevant scientific discoveries. After its premiere at CosmoCaixa in 2019, the exhibition has toured the CaixaForum network of centres. During 2025, it will also be on display at the UC Exploratório de Coímbra, as part of a collaboration with the Centro Ciência Viva. 
• Talking Brains. Programmed to talk. Through virtual reality, encephalography and various experiences, Talking Brains invites visitors to experiment with their own brain and discover, among other things, the secrets of this complex organ, as well as the origin of the 7,000 different languages spoken around the world. This exhibition began its tour at CosmoCaixa, and has since been shown at three CaixaForum centres and at the Science Museum in Valencia. It can now be visited until 1 September at the Pavilhão do Conhecimento in Lisbon thanks to an agreement with the Centro Ciência Viva. 
• Print3D. Reprinting reality. Through more than 200 pieces created with 3D printers, visitors can learn how this versatile technology works and customise objects in fields as diverse as medicine, engineering, art and architecture. This exhibition was first shown at CosmoCaixa and then at six centres in the CaixaForum network, where it will continue to travel during the 2024-2025 season. 
• Homo ludens. Video games to understand the present. This exhibition takes an anthropological look at video games, a cultural, aesthetic and artistic phenomenon that is essential in our times. It presents 55 works by 28 creators, including video games and contemporary art. The exhibition, which has been presented in several centres in the CaixaForum network, offers an innovative journey in which viewers become the protagonists of a gamified and participatory experience that offers a reflection on the central role of the game in our culture based on this phenomenon. 

About the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) 

The American Museum of Natural History, founded in 1869 with a dual mission of scientific research and education, is one of the world's foremost scientific, educational, and cultural institutions. The AMNH has more than 40 permanent exhibition halls, galleries for temporary exhibitions, the Rose Center for Earth and Space, which includes the Hayden Planetarium, and the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation. The museum's scientists draw on a world-class permanent collection of more than 30 million specimens and objects, some of which are billions of years old, and one of the largest natural history libraries in the world. Through its Richard Gilder Graduate School, the AMNH offers two of the only independent degree-granting programs of their kind in any museum in the U.S.: the Ph.D. program in Comparative Biology and the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) in Earth Sciences residency program. Visit amnh.org for more information.