Downtown Atlanta is poised to get a new tourist attraction that will offer high-tech immersive exhibits and STEAM learning opportunities for students.
The nonprofit science museum called FutureVerse is estimated to cost $100 million and backers are looking for property at or near the burgeoning Centennial Yards project.
The museum’s board of advisors includes Dr. Scott Boden, Chief Strategy Officer, Emory Healthcare and Woodruff Health Science Center; Bert Reeves, Vice President, Institute Relations, Georgia Tech; Nick Place, Dean, University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences; Kyle Reis, President & CEO, Cooper Carry; and Joel Bush, Partner, Kilpatrick, Townsend & Stockton.
Architectural firm Cooper Carry has created renderings of the museum, which is projecting 1.2 million visitors per year and an inaugural revenue of $50 million.
“Atlanta can do anything when we come together,” President and Chief Creative Officer David Wynett said in a press release. “FutureVerse will bolster tourism and provide our students with unparalleled STEAM learning opportunities with fun, high-tech immersive exhibits.”
FutureVerse will feature six galleries celebrating America’s innovation and ingenuity, each offering a “captivating journey into the future.”
The Future Health gallery, powered by Emory Healthcare, will focus on the human body, preventive health, AI in revolutionizing healthcare, and cutting-edge medical research. The Future Transportation gallery will explore space travel and advances in aerospace, automotive and locomotive engineering.
Other galleries will include: Future Earth focused on climate change solutions; Future Tech, which will feature future home innovation technologies and products from across the country; Future Art, an interactive journey combining art and film with technology; and Future Play, a gaming arcade of the future.
FutureVerse will also be a technology accelerator through its Futures Lab, allowing guests to crowdsource solutions to complex global challenges in sustainability and healthcare. It will share its disruptive ideas with its corporate and university partners.
Visitors will be transported into the immersive exhibits connected to the next generation of VR, AI, and augmented reality.
“As Atlanta continues to be a top destination for people from across the globe, the proposed FutureVerse Museum will be a one-of-a-kind, immersive, educational experience that will complement existing attractions in downtown Atlanta,” A.J. Robinson, President of Central Atlanta Progress, said in the press release.
