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Panama’s government has approved $18 million to develop the next phase of the Frank Gehry-designed Biodiversity museum, which is turning Amador Causeway into an international attraction and a “tourist icon” for Panama City.

The money will help to expand the exhibits, fund infrastructure improvements and help operating costs for the next three years. The new galleries will include the “Oceans Divided-Aquarium, Living Network, Panama is the Museum, a Botanical Park, Audiovisual Design and Media,” according to local media reports.

The funding, which will be part of the 2017 fiscal calendar, is clear evidence that the museum is worthy of support and that it will have a long-term impact on the Amador Causeway and Panama City. The museum, which opened in 2014, is a one-of-a-kind attraction, bringing together the themes of conservation, ecological balance and sustainability, which are the forefront of global discussions.

Among other accolades, the museum was recently spotlighted as one of a select list of facilities that are finding new ways to attract audiences.

It’s tough for museums to reach the public these days, Artsy author Chloe Hodge points out. The Internet has shortened attention spans and all the information of the world is just a click away.

“In 2015, Microsoft revealed that the human attention span has fallen to an average of just eight seconds (less than that of a goldfish),” Hodge writes. “How, then, can real-world museums vie for visitor attention—and expand and diversify their audiences?” Panama’s colorful biomuseum is an example of new ways to engage audiences and make these facilities relevant in the modern age, she writes. The building “provides an immersive experience intended to reconnect its local audience with the biodiversity of Panama: the tiny strip of land that divides the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and is home to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute,” Hodge notes.

Climate change is one of the key focuses of the museum’s work, which can be a difficult topic.

“Usually when museums talk about climate change, you clench your teeth as it’s not a pleasant experience,” the Biomuseo’s marketing and communications coordinator Margot López told Artsy. “And so we thought—what if we take a different approach? With a little honey, it works better.”

The museum is divided into eight open-air spaces with experiential installations, including 14-meter-high rock formations, 10-meter-high aquariums, simulated animal stampedes, a 10-screen projection room, and a sculpture composed of plants, animals, insects, and microorganisms

“The museum answers the increasing audience hunger for experiences, while communicating the importance of protecting the biodiversity of Panama, and the planet at large,” Hodge writes.

The museum is also setting “a strong example” for sustainability by not using air conditioning in the gallery spaces, she writes.

“This was a challenge for Gehry as it’s the first building he’s designed in the tropics, so it’s been a learning curve for everyone,” López told the reporter. “Visitors go into the atrium and realize that this is doable—that we just need intelligent design.”

Read the full article here.