Planet Word Opens October 22
It’s official — Planet Word will open on Thursday, October 22nd!
“During the coronavirus pandemic, our focus has remained on the health and safety of our employees, contractors, and future visitors,” said Planet Word Founder and CEO Ann Friedman. “In October, I will be thrilled to finally — safely — open the world’s first museum dedicated to bringing language to life.”
The museum will open on a limited basis, requiring visitors to register in advance for free, timed-entry passes. Upon entrance to the Franklin School, visitors will be issued a stylus pen compatible with its interactive exhibits to avoid the need to touch surfaces. Masks will be required, and access to galleries will be controlled to support social distancing.
A musician at the inflatable Portal in Veracruz, Mexico, performing live for an audience at the portal in Mexico City.
Planet Word is also launching DIVERCITIES, a monthly online program created in partnership with Shared_Studios, a global collective that creates meaningful human connections between people separated by distance and difference. Each month, a local D.C. comedian, poet, artist, journalist, educator, or activist will join in conversation with peers from around the world to explore the rich, unique ways different cities and cultures use and experience language. Participants include Nigerian poets, Iraqi hip hop artists, street artists from Germany and Mexico, and comedians from Los Angeles and Rwanda.
The first DIVERCITIES program will take place September 9. Learn more about this and Planet Word’s other online programming on our Events Calendar.
The museum will also house one of Shared_Studios’ famed Portals, featuring immersive AV technology that enables visitors to converse and interact with people from around the world as if in the same room. Visitors to the Planet Word Portal will make connections with others across the globe — and in doing so discover the richness of languages and how words shape our lives, our decisions, and our relationships.
