CQT contributes to quantum festival at Singapore’s ArtScience Museum

The festival, which runs from 6 September to 31 October, features CQT scientists and artefacts loaned from the Centre’s experimental groups

CQT has contributed to In the Ether– A Festival of Quantum Science and Technology, presented by ArtScience Museum in partnership with Ethereum Singapore.

Running from 6 September to 31 October, the festival brings together leading scientists, artists, technologists, and educators from Singapore and around the world. It consists of eight installations and activity stations spanning three levels across ArtScience Museum. Admission to the festival is free.

Artefacts from CQT’s experimental labs and video interviews with CQT scientists are included as part of a Quantum Science Fair, and speakers from the Centre will participate in a half-day symposium on 20 September.

“In the Ether is ArtScience Museum’s annual festival exploring science and cutting-edge technology. A vivid expression of our commitment to engaging the public in emerging fields of research, the festival is where ideas at the scientific frontier are explored through creativity and education. In this second edition, we enter the quantum realm, at a moment when quantum science is shifting from historical abstraction to practical transformation. Visitors will encounter quantum science through immersive artworks that explore the poetics of entanglement, time and uncertainty, and through scientific exhibits and demonstrations. We are proud to be collaborating with Singapore’s Centre for Quantum Technologies and Ethereum Singapore, two partners whose expertise has been instrumental in shaping this year’s festival, from making quantum science accessible to exploring the societal potential of decentralised technologies,” said Honor Harger, Vice President of ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands.

The festival happens during the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ), celebrated in 2025 to mark a century since the birth of modern quantum mechanics.

The art installations curated by ArtScience Museum are from artists who explore the human experience at the intersection of science and technology. They include Light-in-Flight by Semiconductor artist duo Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt and the video installation slimeQrawl by Libby Heaney.

Quantum Science Fair

The Quantum Science Fair is located at Basement 2 of ArtScience Museum. Here, CQT artefacts on display include a quantum gravimeter built by the team of Principal Investigator Rainer Dumke, a model of the SpooQy-1 quantum satellite built by Principal Investigator Alexander Ling’s team, an ion trap from the group of Principal Investigator Manas Mukherjee and a superconducting chip from the National Quantum Computing Hub.

They are presented alongside interactive videos in which CQTians Di Zhu, Lirandë Pira, Shaik Muhammad Abdillah Bin Hanifah Marican and Valerio Scarani speak about their research and daily life as a scientist.

The fair also has hands-on activities adapted from Light and Matter, a special exhibition by the Deutsches Museum, Munich, and the Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST). These experiments include learning more about entanglement with Entangled Wheels, demonstrating fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics with the Quantum Eraser Experiment, creating patterns of light with Laser Kaleidoscope and testing the theory of ion traps through the Mechanical Paul Trap.

Events and programmes

Throughout its run, the festival will be complemented by performances, talks, and walk-in activities such as quantum chess.

Films being screened as part of the programming include a Bloomberg Originals documentary on quantum computing that has a segment filmed at CQT. The episode of The Future with Hannah Fry won an Emmy award in June for “Outstanding Science and Technology Coverage”. The Museum’s Friday After Hours screenings will feature the short film Harakiri directed by CQT Principal Investigator Dagomir Kaszlikowski.

On 20 September, the special event Quantum Conversations – It’s Here, There and Everywhere will have Alexander Hue from CQT’s outreach team give a popular science talk on the history of quantum science and Dagomir join a panel exploring art and science. Dagomir will be in conversation with Artist Yu-Chen Wang and Acting Curator Eckhard Wallis from Deutsches Museum.

CQT has previously collaborated with ArtScience Museum in 2018 for the exhibition, All Possible Paths: Richard Feynman’s Curious Life and over many years for the Quantum Shorts film festival, CQT’s outreach initiative for creative films inspired by quantum physics.