Time does not exist (or does it) in the Ciutadella

BarcelonaDoes time truly exist, or is it merely a perception? What is the origin of time? Why do we perceive time only in one direction? Can plants foresee the future? What happens to our brain when we think about the future? Is the future entirely determined by the present? Can we make predictions? Is immortality possible? At what point in human evolution did we become aware of time? Why do we say that every living being is a fossil?

At the Martorell Exhibition Centre in Barcelona's Ciutadella Park, you won't find all the answers, but you can immerse yourself in scientific advances and the different interpretations of time that have been made from the perspectives of biology, neuroscience, physics, mathematics, and philosophy. You'll surely leave with even more questions, but The Invention of Time It is an invitation to reflect and be captivated, through interactive objects, audiovisual displays, cybernetic seeds, and a replica of the time machine from H.G. Wells' novel, on something as vital, human, and scientific as time.

The exhibition, which will be on view until September 30, 2027, is divided into two rooms. One explains perceived time—the time of the Earth, of life, and of the human species—and the other, constructed time—culture and the measurement of time, predetermination, relativity, prediction, and chaos. Time is not a human privilege. "Bacteria—one of the first organisms to appear on Earth—already have a perception of time because they anticipate the day," explains Ricard Solé, physicist and biologist, and curator of the exhibition. "Even seeds interpret time because they don't germinate; they can wait months, years, or even centuries until the right moment arrives," he adds. Nor is this something that has been discovered by our species. The hominids that preceded usHomo sapiens They were already aware of the passage of time and that life was finite. "A million years ago, with the emergence of the stone tool industry, there was a transmission of knowledge and there was surely language and a perception of time," says Carles Lalueza Fox, director of the Barcelona Museum of Natural Sciences.

A time capsule buried in the Ciutadella

The exhibition explains how, through several generations, life on Earth has been calculated and understood, but it also offers some clues about how we think. How our brain generates memories, how we lose them with Alzheimer's, or the impossibility of imagining the next day without memory, because the parts of the brain we use to remember are practically the same ones we use to project possible futures. "Animals experience time in complex ways," says Solé. There are examples of ephemeral insects and immortal species, like the jellyfish that doesn't die but regenerates. "Having such a simple life, like that of a jellyfish, is too high a price to pay for immortality," reflects the curator.

In the other room are all the scientific advances related to time: calendars, clocks, and various theories about time. Newton's laws of mechanics are presented, along with an explanation of how, through his theories, the mathematician Pierre-Simon Laplace created "Laplace's demon," posing a disturbing question. If we could know the position and velocity of every particle in the Universe, would the future be predetermined? Then, is there nothing we can do that can change the future? With Einstein, the exhibition addresses new questions: Does the past exist and the future have to be constructed, or do past, present, and future exist simultaneously? There is also room for literature, philosophy, and even for hypothetical scenarios of what would have happened if Franco had been defeated or if America had not been colonized. "Finally, we will create a time capsule with letters from children imagining the future and also with people from the Pasqual Maragall Foundation who are experiencing the first symptoms of Alzheimer's," explains Solé. The capsule will be buried in the Ciutadella Park and unearthed in fifty years. "We have a unique environment because, with the Ciutadella of Knowledge, the park and its surroundings will be a leading hub for knowledge, outreach, research, and innovation," says Lalueza Fox. In this regard, the director of the Barcelona Museum of Natural Sciences asserts that the museums that are part of the Science Museum must be more than just exhibition centers: "They are the transmission chain; they must convey the knowledge and research carried out to society as a whole. We must integrate ourselves with research centers," he affirms.