John Mitchell

While the pandemic may have scrapped most people’s travel plans for the near future, here’s something to look forward to when things open up again: the world’s first voice-activated museum.

Opened in Washington, D.C. just this October, Planet Word is described as an “immersive language experience,” and features a variety of exhibits across a range of language-related topics, including how we learn language, the history of the English language, and how music and humor use language. The museum was founded by a retired reading teacher, and aims to improve literacy, saying that their core belief is that “literacy is the foundation of a strong democracy”, and the museum’s partners “serve children and adults with low literacy, people without access to educational resources, and those experiencing homelessness.”

One of the museum’s most interesting exhibits is the Speaking Willow Tree, a unique sculpture created by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, which “murmurs in hundreds of languages as you pass under the branches.” Other exhibits include a 22-foot wall of talking words, and a variety of interactive displays exploring the topics of advertising, music, humor, and more, all in the context of how they use language. Somewhat in the vein of the Please Touch Museum, although this is aimed at audiences of all ages, Planet Word aims to encourage literacy and spark interest in language through a variety of interactive exhibits.

Although the pandemic makes current travel inadvisable (this museum may be interesting, but it is not a literal to-die-for), Planet Word’s opening just goes to show that creativity springs eternal in the human heart, and that there will still be interesting things to do once this all blows over.