Bengaluru to soon get immersive museum to decode brain & mind

Bengaluru: The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans) has commissioned a private firm to develop a large-scale neuroscience-led immersive museum in Bengaluru, valued at approximately Rs 35 crore.

The Museum of Brain and Mind is being built around a deceptively simple idea: “Know why you are the way you are.” It aims to bridge the gap between the brain — the physical organ — and mind, the cognitive and emotional dimension that governs how people think, feel, and behave.

The museum, expected to be completed in a couple of months, will walk visitors through brain anatomy, cognitive processes such as memory and decision-making, human evolution, and the full spectrum of neurological and psychiatric disorders, along with their treatments.

Stating that this would be “India’s first large-scale neuroscience-led immersive museum”, the firm said, the experience is designed as a continuous, integrated journey rather than a collection of standalone exhibits. Visitors will move through zones covering the brain's structure and states, life cycle development from pre-natal to old age, emotional and cognitive processes, therapeutic approaches including music and colour therapy, and the relationship between the brain, society, and technology.

More than 50 interactive installations will be deployed, combining sensor-based interfaces, audio-visual storytelling, immersive simulations, gaming, and visual art. The approach involves translating Nimhans’ deep clinical and research expertise into experiences that are accessible to a general audience.

Complex neurological and psychiatric science will be rendered through interactive exhibits and narrative-led spaces designed to be emotionally engaging, not merely informative.

The intended effects are fourfold: educating visitors on brain science, dismantling myths and stigma around mental health, encouraging preventive awareness of disorders, and building empathy through immersive depictions of real conditions and therapies.

The museum will also house what is described as the largest collection of preserved brains, lending it significant scientific and research value alongside its public-facing role. It draws on inputs from neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology, rehabilitation medicine, and traditional knowledge systems, making it one of the most interdisciplinary museum projects undertaken in India.