The Brain Museum Partners with Luci and The Planning Office for Culture to Design a Public Home for the Brain
Nationally recognized experiential design and cultural-planning firms will lead a Dana Foundation-funded planning phase to shape the first large-scale public museum dedicated entirely to the brain.
The Brain Museum, a new nonprofit creating the first large-scale public museum dedicated entirely to neuroscience and its connection to everyday life, today announced a partnership with Luci and The Planning Office for Culture to design the museum's foundational Vision Plan. The two nationally recognized firms will work hand in hand with The Brain Museum and the communities it will serve to translate this ambitious idea into an actionable roadmap.
Why do we remember some moments for a lifetime, yet forget where we put our keys? What happens when we fall in love? Why do we dream? Why can't we tickle ourselves? Why don't we have cures for so many conditions that affect how we think and feel? What makes you, you? The brain shapes every part of our lives, yet for most people, it still feels abstract and out of reach.
Facts alone don't make the brain feel personal. Experience does. The Brain Museum is being built on that belief: that people understand their own minds best when they can explore brain science firsthand, not just read about it. Bringing that vision to life is the work now underway with Luci and The Planning Office for Culture, who bring the experience-design and cultural-planning expertise to make it real.
"A dream without a plan is just a wish," said Manuella Oliveira Yassa, PhD, founder and president of The Brain Museum. "Partnering with Luci and The Planning Office for Culture is how this dream becomes a plan. They design places people never forget, and they share our conviction that a museum like this should be built not just for the public, but with the public. Together, we're creating a place where anyone can explore what makes them who they are." Oliveira Yassa is a neuroscientist and award-winning science educator who has spent her career creating bridges between science and the public.
The partnership launches the first phase of the museum's design: a collaborative process to crystallize its mission and vision, develop early exhibit concepts, define its audiences and future spaces, and produce a Vision Book that will provide the foundations for the museum's future. Community input is built into the work from the start, ensuring the museum is shaped with the people who will one day walk through its doors. The planning phase is supported by a grant from the Dana Foundation, which the museum announced earlier this year.
Luci is leading the experience and exhibit design, with Creative Director Thomas Tzortzi guiding the creative vision.
"At Luci, making complex ideas relevant, engaging, and memorable is a guiding principle," said AJ Goehle, CEO and Founder of Luci. "The Brain Museum takes that principle even further. It's a chance to create true connection between fact and experience, expert and audience, neuroscience and everyday life, from the earliest stages," said Thomas Tzortzi, Creative Director.
Along with Luci, The Planning Office for Culture is shaping the museum's strategy and long-term vision.
"It's a rare opportunity to help shape a museum around a field as dynamic and deeply human as neuroscience," said Cameron Boodram, Principal and Founder of The Planning Office for Culture. "Our job is to ensure that the Brain Museum's mission, approach to public engagement and physical environment all create meaningful ways for people to connect with the science of how we think, feel and experience the world."
An Invitation to Get Involved
As the planning phase begins, The Brain Museum welcomes conversations with anyone who wants to help shape it: educators and school administrators, scientists and clinicians, families and community members, donors and founding partners, and civic and business leaders who want to help establish a new cultural and educational anchor for Orange County.
To request a meeting or learn more, contact Manuella Oliveira Yassa at manuella@nationalbrainmuseum.com or visit nationalbrainmuseum.com.
About The Brain Museum
The Brain Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization creating the first large-scale public museum dedicated entirely to neuroscience and its connection to everyday life. Envisioned as a lasting relationship between brain science and the public, it will invite people of all ages to explore how the brain works, and what it means to be human, through immersive, hands-on experiences. Rooted in Orange County and shaped with the community it serves, The Brain Museum believes science belongs to everyone. Learn more at nationalbrainmuseum.com.
About Luci
Founded in Chicago in 2011, Luci is an award-winning, experience design practice creating museums and brand experiences that shape how people see themselves, their world, and their place in it. Guided by the belief that new times call for new perspectives, Luci combines curiosity, emotional intelligence, rigorous research, and multidisciplinary collaboration to transform complex stories into meaningful experiences designed around visitor outcomes. With studios in Chicago, Seattle, New York, and London, Luci has delivered more than 100 projects across history, science, culture, education, and entertainment. In addition to being named to the Inc. 5000 list twice, Crain's Chicago Business named Luci one of the city's Biggest Woman-Owned Businesses. For more information, visit lucicreative.com.
About The Planning Office for Culture
The Planning Office for Culture works with museums and cultural institutions to shape vision, strategy, and long-term plans for the future. From its Los Angeles office, The Planning Office has helped organizations across four continents to translate big ideas into clear and actionable frameworks. Its work supports institutions in navigating change, strengthening their role in public life, and building meaningful cultural experiences for the communities they serve.
About the Dana Foundation
The Dana Foundation is a private philanthropic organization dedicated to advancing neuroscience and society, a human-centered neuroscience paradigm that connects brain research to real-world needs, values, and experiences. It brings together students, scientists, practitioners, and communities to reflect on assumptions, share expertise, and ensure that neuroscience serves people in meaningful and socially responsible ways.