The RAE says that happiness is a “state of pleasant spiritual and physical satisfaction” and although it is clear that not all of us perceive it or express it in the same way, we do wander through life aspiring to it to a greater or lesser extent. Pablo Claver, an entrepreneur with more than 18 companies behind him, is convinced that an important part of being happy depends on oneself, which is why he has just opened the Museum of Happiness in Madrid. The center is the second in the world that deals with this intangible good, after the one in Copenhagen, which belongs to the Danish Institute of Happiness. «We went to see it with two of my partners and we said: ‘We have to bring it to Spain.’ But we saw that it was a museum that was too expositional and a little boring, so, with all the scientific endorsements and rigor, we have introduced more than twenty immersive experiences and tools that may help us improve our well-being because there is no magic recipe that will make us happy,” explains Claver.
Perhaps that is why the museum, whose entrance costs eleven euros, wants to measure the satisfaction of its visitors, so before entering this almost 600 square meter area, it asks each client, using a happy meter, what their mood is. to five, a question that will also be asked at the end of the experience to check if the secrets contained in the center have fulfilled their objective. “This is a journey through literature, geography, history, cultures, studies and the science of happiness, but you must enter with an attitude of trying,” he comments.
In fact, smiling at the camera is almost mandatory for a barrier, similar to the one that prohibits entry in car parks or highway tolls, to be raised and give access to the visitor. Once inside, between panels that show the world map of happiness with the happiest and least happy countries in the world and “inspiring” phrases from what Claver defines as the ‘dream team’ of happiness and among whom are Tal Ben-Shahar , Marian Rojas, Martin Seligman or Teresa de Calcutta – there is a space for one to take a photo with them – the visitor can de-stress by jumping on small trampolines, jump down a slide, jump on a plank on a mat identical to the that protect the high jumper or hit, figuratively, the villain he selects on a touch screen where the Joker or Alex from ‘A Clockwork Orange’ are.
‘Marketing’ and happiness
But not all activities at the Museum of Happiness require physical effort. Along with exhibitors and display cases with objects that review the importance of happiness throughout the centuries, the inevitable union between ‘marketing’ and happiness itself, and sections dedicated to literature that delves into personal growth and self-help with copies of books such as ‘The Little Prince’, in Braille, the emoticon version of ‘Moby Dick’ or the best-seller ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’, by Dale Carnegie, the space makes use of technologies such as augmented reality to simulate what it would be like to have a panda bear as a pet, proposes drawing a smile in the serious self-portraits of Frida Kahlo, Van Gogh or Velázquez and explains, with the help of a mirror, one of the best kept secrets of art: why the Mona Lisa seems to be smiling at each and every visitor.
Games that test the level of knowledge are also the order of the day. Thus, one screen invites the visitor to guess which animals have the ability to smile, another shows the different emotions and feelings that can be shown with a simple smile. Meanwhile, in another section, the visitor explores happiness through the five senses: taste, smell, touch, hearing and sight. But there are three proposals that Claver highlights from the set: the only laughter therapy chamber in Spain, the garden of smiles – an installation that simulates a park with relaxing sounds and walls on which “empowering phrases” are projected – and ‘The closet of truth’, one of the three experiences prepared by the magician and psychologist Miguel de Lucas.
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