teamLab Planets Tokyo announces major 2025 expansion with interactive educational spaces

teamLab, Rapidly Rotating Bouncing Spheres in the Caterpillar House, Courtesy teamLab Borderless, Jeddah (c) teamLab

The popular Tokyo-based art museum teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM will unveil a large-scale expansion on 22 January 2025. 

The addition will increase the museum’s footprint by 1.5 times, introducing several interactive areas designed to support physical exploration and experiential learning for visitors of all ages.

Expanded interactive spaces

The new spaces will include the Athletic Forest, which features complex, three-dimensional environments intended to engage visitors physically and mentally. Installations within the Athletic Forest include “Rapidly Rotating Bouncing Spheres,” “Multi Jumping Universe,” and “Aerial Climbing through a Flock of Colored Birds.” These exhibits allow visitors to navigate various terrains and structures, encouraging the perception of space through bodily movement.

Another addition, the Catching and Collecting Extinct Forest, offers a hands-on, educational experience where visitors use smartphones to observe and “capture” digital images of extinct animals. 

Designed around the concept of “Catch, Study, Release,” this exhibit enables participants to build a virtual collection. 

teamLab Founder Toshiyuki Inoko explained the thinking behind this concept, noting:

Spatial awareness is said to be correlated with innovation and creativity. I grew up in a rural area and played in the mountains, but in today's society and schools, the body is stationary. I think cities are surrounded too much by flat information such as books, TV, and smartphone screens. That is why we created a three-dimensional space that excessively demands the physical body. It is a space where people can perceive art with their physical bodies."

The Future Park will emphasise collaborative creation, allowing visitors to engage with interactive installations that evolve based on group participation. Featured exhibits such as “Sketch Umwelt World” and “A Table where Little People Live” are designed for co-creation, making it possible for multiple visitors to contribute to and alter the artwork collectively.

Educational objectives

teamLab, Multi Jumping Universe, Courtesy teamLab Borderless, Jeddah (c) teamLab

The expansion continues teamLab’s approach to immersive, body-based learning environments. Unlike the existing barefoot Water Area, the new spaces allow visitors to wear shoes as they explore varied terrains. 

The new Sketch Factory will provide visitors with the option to create custom items, such as badges or tote bags, based on drawings made within the exhibit, allowing them to bring personalised creations home.

As a recipient of the “Asia’s Leading Tourist Attraction 2023” by the World Travel Awards, teamLab Planets TOKYO remains focused on blending art and learning through interactive experiences. Inoko shared that this expansion aligns with teamLab’s core vision, stating:

“Humans perceive the world with their bodies and think with their bodies. When you explore a complex, three-dimensional world with your own body, you physically perceive the world three-dimensionally and in turn your thoughts become three-dimensional. We started this project, Athletics Forest, with the hopes to enhance three-dimensional and higher-dimensional thinking.”