CosmoCaixa imagines life beyond Earth in a new exhibition about extraterrestrials
The exhibition Extraterrestrials. Is there life outside the Earth? presents an exciting and scientifically rigorous account that deals with issues such as our place in the cosmos, the meaning of the concept of life or the way in which literature and cinema have constructed a collective imaginary about extraterrestrials.
On Tuesday, the director of the CosmoCaixa Science Museum, Valentí Farràs, and the astrophysicist Montserrat Villar presented Extraterrestrials. Is there life outside Earth?, an inspiring exhibition about one of the great questions that humanity has been asking itself for millennia: Are we alone in the universe? Today we still lack conclusive evidence on the matter, but, for the first time in history, scientific and technological advances allow us to glimpse an answer to this great mystery.
This is an exhibition organised by the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation based on an idea by the exhibition's scientific advisors, Montserrat Villar Martín, Doctor of Physical Sciences, astrophysicist and researcher at the Astrobiology Centre (CAB) CSIC-INTA; Eva Villaver Sobrino, Doctor of Physical Sciences, astrophysicist and research professor at the Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics (IAC); Ester Lázaro, doctor of Biological Sciences, virologist, molecular biologist and researcher at CAB CSIC-INTA; and Benjamín Montesinos Comino, doctor of Physical Sciences, astrophysicist and also a researcher at CAB CSIC-INTA.
With the help of these experts, the exhibition, which covers five areas, constructs a narrative that aims to clear up doubts by revealing existing scientific knowledge, breaking down stereotypes, projecting futures and inspiring visitors to imagine what it would be like to find life outside of Earth and what it would mean for humanity.
The exhibition begins by placing us in the cosmos, because understanding our place in it is what leads us to wonder if extraterrestrial life exists. It then presents us, from a historical point of view, with the great philosophical debate between the supporters of the uniqueness of life on Earth and the advocates of the existence of other inhabited worlds. The exhibition looks at how we humans imagine other worlds and alien life forms, and how we have represented them in art, film and literature, but it also explains that there are beings that inhabit extreme places on Earth and that seem to be taken from fiction. Finally, through scientific evidence, the exhibition presents the current state of research in this field while also considering future scenarios in the event that we discover life outside our planet.
Extraterrestrials. Is there life beyond Earth? has a carefully designed and thought-provoking museography, with outstanding displays including models such as the Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter, two robots created by NASA to explore the surface of Mars; replicas of the golden discs of the Voyager spacecraft, sent into interstellar space with sounds and images of Earth, or artistic representations of radio telescope antennas such as those participating in the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) project. The exhibition also contains real pieces such as the Ksar Ghilane 002 meteorite from Mars.
In keeping with the essence of CosmoCaixa, the exhibition has various interactive elements, such as a touch table for navigating the galaxy, a module on the circumstellar habitability zone to understand what physical conditions must be met for a planet to be able to harbour life as we know it, and three modules that explain the different techniques currently available for detecting extrasolar planets. Visitors will also be able to put themselves to the test by trying to guess from their appearance whether some of the beings shown in the exhibition are real terrestrial beings or, on the contrary, fictional aliens.
Audiovisuals also play a prominent role in the exhibition, for example, through film clips such as E. T., the extraterrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind or The Blob, with which we can understand that humans have often represented extraterrestrials in the image and likeness of elements of the world we already know, and that these representations are often a reflection of our fears or beliefs.
The tour ends with an immersive sensory experience in which visitors, surrounded by images obtained from NASA and ESA missions of star fields, nebulae and planets, will be able to reflect, based on all the information they have after seeing the exhibition, on the possibilities of finding life outside our world and what they think it would be like.
Extraterrestrials: beyond the exhibition hall
Explain it to me! Is it possible that we have already been detected by extraterrestrials?
Wednesday 19 March 2025 | 7 p.m.
In this new session of the Explain it to me! series, specialists in scientific subjects will respond rigorously and with evidence to curiosities of our daily lives, always explaining the science behind them. In this talk, featuring astrophysicist David Galadí and science journalist Cristina Sáez, who will interact with the audience, both will consider whether hypothetical aliens could detect us if they had our same methods of detecting exoplanets and if they classified the Earth as a habitable world.
Series ‘The frontiers of astrobiology’
October and November 2025
This series of lectures, coordinated and moderated by Ignasi Ribas, director of the Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), will bring leading figures related to the subject to CosmoCaixa, such as the British astrobiologist Charles Cockell; the astrophysicist David Kipping; the geologist Frances Westall and the astrophysicist Laura Kreidberg.
Science to open your mind: Is there life out there?
Wednesday 24th April 2025 | 7 p.m.
In this participatory experience for adults, attendees will be able to take part in experimental workshops and watch scientific and hands-on demonstrations in unique spaces in the museum with specialists who will help them reflect on the topic of the day, in this case aliens. Helena González-Burón and Oriol Marimon Garrido, from Big Van Ciencia, who will be accompanied by Xavier Luri Carrascoso, professor in the Department of Quantum Physics and Astrophysics at the University of Barcelona, will take attendees from the Planetarium to distant scenarios and analyse potentially habitable stars. They will also show in the laboratory how life on Earth adapts to extreme environments to promote a reflection on how it could evolve on other planets within our solar system... and beyond.
Course
Windows to the Universe (May and June 2025)
CosmoCaixa is planning a new edition of this successful astronomy outreach course coordinated by Benjamín Montesinos Comino (Center for Astrobiology, CAB, CSIC-INTA) that was inaugurated in 2022. The five lectures in this edition will help to understand, in strictly scientific terms, the progress that is being made in the search for life in other worlds. This year's speakers include Benjamín Montesinos Comino and Ester Lázaro (Centre for Astrobiology, CAB, CSIC-INTA), Agustín Sánchez Lavega (University of the Basque Country, EHU/UPV) and Juan Carlos Morales Peralta and Mar Mezcua Pallerola (Institute of Space Sciences, ICE-CSIC and IEEC). The course includes an astronomical observation by ASTER (Astronomical Association of Barcelona).
Family activities
A night at the museum: sleeping among aliens.
On Saturdays 24th May, 28th June, 26th July, 27th September, 25th October, 29th November and 27th December, at 7.30 p.m. (in Catalan); and on Saturdays 19th April and 30th August, at 7.30 p.m. (in Spanish)
The exhibition becomes one of the settings for a very special night, designed for families with children aged between 7 and 12, in which they can visit the museum with a torch, bid farewell to the day with stories of aliens, sleep in the museum thinking about what life could be like in other places and take a morning walk through the Flooded Forest to see how its inhabitants wake up.
Escape room: Rescue on the Moon
This activity, recommended for children aged 10 and over, simulates a scientific rescue mission on the Moon in which participants have 45 minutes to recover hypothetical biological samples and send them back to Earth.
Astronaut Academy Workshop
In this workshop, recommended for children aged 5 and over, participants can discover and experience for themselves the complex physical and psychological training of astronauts.
Participatory show: Who wants to be an astronaut?
In collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), this activity introduces participants to the world of astronaut selection, extraordinary people with unique abilities, capable of keeping calm in extreme situations, solving problems with ingenuity, working perfectly as a team and adapting to the most incredible challenges. They will be able to take some of the tests used by the ESA to test memory, concentration, logic and analytical skills, spatial orientation, manual dexterity, communication skills and all the skills of teamwork. Recommended activity for ages 10 and over.
Open learning space
In this learning activation space designed for the whole family, various resources allow for in-depth exploration, with the help of the mediating staff, of how the search for extraterrestrial life is carried out. It is a comfortable environment where children aged 3 and over can enjoy learning while playing with puzzles, games, microscopes, reference books, creative activities, microorganisms, magnifying glasses, costumes and even soft toys.
Guided tours
The exhibition will be complemented by guided tours, with discussion groups, family visits for children aged 4 to 8, and educational dynamic visits that will allow visitors to approach the content of the exhibition with the help of an educator. The museum also offers themed menu packages in the restaurant with a guided tour of the exhibition for the general public and families, and packages of various experiences around the theme for different ages. For more information, click on this link.