How to surrender to a sensory journey through biodiversity

For those of us with children of different ages and interests, finding an activity that suits everyone is a difficult task. And if, in addition, we are looking for a break in the midst of the intensity of the work and school week, it seems almost a utopia. But sometimes, something as simple as slowing down and quieting the noise of thoughts can become a reality thanks to proposals like this.

Through an immersive and emotional staging, this exhibition ---produced by Oasis Immersive Studios and National Geographic, with the impulse of Fundación La Caixa--- proposes a sensory journey that reconnects us with our essence and allows us to rediscover the earth from wonder, to remind us that we are part of the planet, not its owners.

The exhibition is born after a historical moment: the signing of the global agreement on biodiversity at COP15 (Montreal), where more than 190 countries committed to protecting 30% of the planet's ecosystems by 2030. In this context of change and commitment, Som Natura emerges as a way to make that pact tangible, educating from emotion, inspiring from beauty and mobilizing from consciousness.

This is its first presentation in Europe, after passing through Montreal and Mexico City, and will subsequently travel to CaixaForum Madrid. In Barcelona, it will be available until April 6, 2026, offering a unique opportunity for visitors to experience biodiversity with almost all their senses.

Divided into three large audiovisual areas, the exhibition immerses us in landscapes, textures and heartbeats of the planet. Everything is carefully designed so that visitors not only see, but also feel and get emotional. A journey that touches the soul and evokes essential documentaries such as Home. La tierra vista desde el cielo, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand with music by Armand Amar, or the incredible La sal de la tierra, by Wim Wender, a film tribute to photographer Sebastião Salgado.

After the introduction of the room assistant, we enter the first space. There, high-definition images and immersive sounds transport us to humid jungles, living deserts, and marine depths full of mystery. Nature becomes a visual spectacle and, projected onto our faces and bodies, reminds us that the invisible is also beauty. People standing, sitting, or lying on the floor surrender to the spell. Behind us, a white-haired man sighs with his eyes closed, as if wanting to soak in the only absent sense: the smell of that nature that surrounds us. Suddenly, on a scale that overwhelms us, we see the hummingbird rise in slow motion and unknown flowers open in dizzying seconds.

The second space welcomes us with a new language: human voices in various languages, in a poetic tone, repeat to us that everything is interconnected. Sequences of electrical flows, plant synapses, stellar explosions, perhaps the flow of tree sap or of blood itself, everything is at once, as the song said, a dance of atoms.

And we move towards the third room where, as the projection goes in crescendo, the unexpected happens: a barefoot child runs and dances with nature projected onto him. He is my youngest son and I fear a disaster. But instead of interrupting him, I give in. Because soon other creatures join in, and run and dance happily under the images and music. And I smile demurely.

I then think that this is what we should allow ourselves: to connect as children do with their environment, to dance under the light and color of a nature that demands to be seen and recognized. So that, once outside, we know how to return to it, run on its surface and remember that we are one.

The testimonies of scientists, environmental defenders, and local communities reinforce this message, speaking to us from the heart. Real stories that remind us that every action, however small it may seem, contributes to the protection of life.

The exhibition is much more than a cultural proposal: it is an opportunity to rediscover the sacred bond that unites us with all living beings

We live in turbulent times where immediacy and haste barely let us breathe. Where even news is quickly consumed. However, we continue to connect through emotion. And if proposals like this achieve anything, it is to move us through experience, offering us pause, beauty, and compassion towards that to which we are not strangers. Because we, too, are nature.

One of the greatest successes of the exhibition is its tone: there is no catastrophism, but hope. Som Natura not only shows us what we are losing, but reminds us of all that we can still save. It is a call to act, but also an invitation to believe in humanity's capacity to change.

Awarded the Numix 2025 Prize for best international exhibition, this show is much more than a cultural proposal: it is an opportunity to look inward and outward, and rediscover the sacred bond that unites us with all living beings.