Mexico City unveils cutting-edge interactive CAT Museum

A New Way To Explore Cats

Mexico City unveiled its brand new, cutting-edge Cat Museum this month; an interactive experience that seeks to bring the public closer to the history, evolution, behaviour and relationships with them. Video shows a tour of the different rooms of the venue located at Paseo de la Reforma 87, in the Tabacalera neighbourhood, which, unlike a traditional museum, uses animation, virtual reality, digital resources and sensory experiences so that visitors can explore the world from a feline perspective.

“The idea was born so that people could learn more about this species, about these animals, have fun with them and spend a good time in a place that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world,” said Marco Sotomayor, the museum’s founder.

Three Rooms Explore The Feline World

The tour is divided into three rooms. The first addresses the evolution of cats and their transformation into domestic animals through animations and digital resources. The second explores the relationship between felines and humans and allows visitors to experience how cats perceive the world, with virtual reality activities, sounds, colours and spaces that recreate sensations such as purring.

The last is dedicated to contemporary culture around felines, with digital filters, photographs and a space to leave a virtual memento of pets. “Well, the first thing was to surround ourselves with… since we are not museum professionals and we don’t have experience creating interactive experiences… the first thing was to surround ourselves with people who do know, people with experience in these subjects, especially in interactivity and new technologies applied to outreach,” explained Esther Garcilita, the project’s co-founder, about the process of creating the museum.

The Idea Was Inspired By Other Countries

Sotomayor noted that they visited spaces dedicated to cats in countries such as the Netherlands, Hungary and Japan before developing the concept in Mexico. As he explained, they found different proposals, such as traditional museums and cat cafés, but not a space with the interactive focus they were looking for. As well as entertaining, the project aims to incorporate an animal welfare dimension.

Part of visitors’ contributions will be allocated to creating a fund to acquire a mobile sterilisation unit for dogs and cats that can serve vulnerable areas of Mexico City and its surroundings. “We intend to have a sterilisation unit ready by next year so that it can provide free care to vulnerable areas,” said Garcialita.

Visitors Can Book The Cat Experience

The museum experience lasts approximately 45 minutes and operates by reservation for small groups. Admission costs 350 Mexican pesos (approximately $20.42) and the venue has a café and gift shop. The Cat Museum is initially conceived as a temporary pop-up project, with the intention of assessing its operation for approximately a year and, if successful, taking the experience to other cities.

Article by Viory.