This massive, five-year mega-project is a triumph for Thailand, the natural world and for Pico, as we were involved in the museum from the initial 2015 feasibility study to its grand opening in December 2019.
The Rama 9 Museum is fundamentally different from other natural history museums. An homage to the ideas and ideals of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great, exhibits in the museum’s three main galleries – ‘Our Home’, ‘Our Life’ and ‘Our King’ – show the sustainable and balanced connections between humans and nature in Thailand and every biome on Earth, as well as the scientific and nature-oriented ideas of the late king. Creative execution
Pico’s focus from the start was to provide an aesthetically-pleasing design and create immersive experiences for visitors. Centred on the themes of sustainability, balance and co-existence between humans and nature, the museum’s exhibits take visitors on a journey through the natural world via cutting-edge technologies like 4D theatre, projection mapping, animatronic dinosaurs and VR – raising their awareness of humanity’s role in ecosystems around the world and our impact on the environment.
Coherently and simply explaining the interconnections between humans and nature in every biome on Earth in an engaging way presented a number of challenges. Overcoming these required collaboration with many experts and academic professionals to deliver correct, complete and straightforward messages. Also, to create a realistic ‘close-to-nature’ atmosphere and create the museum’s many near-perfect life-size replicas of plants and animals, many research field trips were required.
Finally, given its theme, the museum had to adhere to strict environmental design concerns. Highly advanced water treatment and jet-air systems help save electricity power and water, while some exhibition panels were made from recycled materials.
