Featured Temporary Exhibitions

Metamorphoses of plastics: reality and multiple approaches

Plastics are all around us, from inside our bodies to outer space.  For 150 years this class of materials has reshaped the way we live, work, put on our shoes and sustain ourselves and our planet. 

For the last decade a group of Portuguese scientists and scholars have been working with European and American researchers to better understand how plastics have become so important, how we can better live with them, and what this material means for all of us.

The exhibition “Metamorphoses of Plastics: Reality and multiple approaches" is the public presentation of this research. It reveals how the first plastics made luxury widely available, presents some of the people and companies that made plastics an important part of Portugal’s industrial development, and highlights some of the most significant innovations in Portuguese plastic footwear.

But the exhibition doesn’t just look back, it also explores the paradoxes of plastics and addresses some of the many concerns we all have about its waste, re-use, and sustainability through an interactive and practical approach.

“Metamorphoses of Plastics” invites all visitors to reflect on a material that has shaped—and continues to shape—our shared world.

Come discover how plastics changed everything—and what we can do with them next.