"Quantum Computer Disco" and "The Universe: Unread Messages" —New permanent exhibitions at Miraikan

At Miraikan (National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation) in Koto City, Tokyo Prefecture, two new permanent exhibitions, "Quantum Computer Disco" and "The Universe: Unread Messages," opened on April 23. Visitors can now understand the mechanism of quantum computers, which can perform complex and massive calculations instantly through audio experiences and trace the process by which researchers unravel cosmic mysteries using observation and experimental equipment. These are the museum's first new exhibitions since 2023, and Director Chieko Asakawa introduced them with the words, "Both are currently major topics in ongoing scientific research."

The "Quantum Computer Disco" on the 3rd floor is located in a 230-square-meter space that previously hosted the "Hands-on Model of the Internet" and "Backward from the Future" exhibitions that ended in January.

Upon entering the dance floor from the entrance, visitors can mix eight works including the Pomp and Circumstance Marches and Pachelbel's Canon by placing blocks in a circular groove, experiencing a DJ performance. The blocks and their combinations have quantum computational significance: "quantum superposition" allows the playing of multiple songs simultaneously, "phase" changes the sound position heard through headphones, and "probability amplitude" leads to volume adjustments.

After passing through a gallery next to the dance floor where four short movies about quantum computer mechanisms and reasons for development are shown, visitors can explore panels and interactive devices explaining quantum bits (the smallest information unit in quantum computers), five practical implementation methods (superconducting, semiconductors, neutral atoms, ion traps, and light), and error correction mechanisms.

A 144-qubit chip manufactured in Japan, typically difficult to see outside research institutions, is being publicly displayed in Japan for the first time.

2025 marks 100 years since the birth of quantum mechanics, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated it the "International Year of Quantum Science and Technology." Professor Keisuke Fujii of the University of Osaka, who supervised the exhibition, commented, "We're entering an era of new computers using quantum mechanics' mysterious principles. While it's difficult to fully comprehend, we want people to experience and understand it firsthand."

The Universe: Unread Messages on the 5th floor is located in a 125-square-meter space that previously hosted "Study of Elementary Particles and the Universe with a Particle Accelerator" until January. At the entrance, an updated "cloud chamber" allows visitors to see high-energy particles descending from space and the traces of natural radiation contained in the atmosphere.

Entering the curtain-covered exhibition space, visitors will find four devices: "LOOK" to understand multi-wavelength observation of the universe through different types of light, "LISTEN" to convert gravitational waves into sound, "CATCH" introducing a scaled model of neutrino observation equipment, and "PRODUCE" to experience accelerator experiments. Visitors can experience observational and experimental approaches to understanding the universe.

Each interactive device is equipped with a smartphone terminal, and visitors can pseudo-observe and experiment alongside researchers speaking through the smartphone. Visualizations created from actually observed or experimentally obtained data surround visitors overhead.

Distinguished University Professor Takaaki Kajita of the University of Tokyo supervised the overall exhibition and participated as the researcher speaking through the smartphone in the "LISTEN" section. He expressed his expectations for the exhibitions, saying, "We hope visitors will touch upon how we seek to understand cosmic mysteries. Moreover, we hope that children who visit will become researchers in the future and continue to read 'The Universe: Unread Messages'."

Accompanying the new exhibitions, five "Geo-Scope" permanent displays on the 3rd floor—which allow visitors to freely browse scientific data provided by research institutions worldwide—have been renewed. One of these devices is equipped with an "Enjoy Geo-Scope by Sound" mode that represents data volume through variations in sound pitch and volume.