CIMMYT celebrated its 50th anniversary, and as part of the events and activities to mark this occasion, the CIMMYT Museum was created in the Center’s El Batan campus in Texcoco, Mexico.

The planning for the CIMMYT Museum responded to the varying needs of a unique institution: the Museum serves as the public face of the Center, highlighting its successes, impacts and partnerships. It delivers time-appropriate encounters to a diverse groups of visitors ranging from visiting delegations, to donors, to partners, to internal staff, and school groups.

These criteria represented a unique set of parameters which framed the planning for the Museum. They guided our designs to achieve exhibition spaces that assert a middle ground between cutting-edge multimedia technology, and down-to-earth traditional object galleries.

Taking a step back from the didactic museum experience, which often requires extensive time- commitments by the visitor, our plan presents much of the museum’s information through intimate encounters with stand-alone exhibits which have been designed to project artistic and sculptural qualities.

All together, the new Museum is poised to become a public standard bearer for the Institute, leading the way into CIMMYT’s next 50 years.