World’s First Happiness Museum Opens in Denmark

• In Denmark, the second happiest country in the world, now lies the first-ever Happiness Museum.
• Created by the think tank The Happiness Research Institute, this museum houses exhibits and hosts interactive activities.
• Its goal is to offer a little happiness from different perspectives and create a political and societal change.

Copenhagen, Denmark, the fifth happiest city on earth this 2020, now houses a small museum about the big things in life – the Happiness Museum.

Created by a think tank called the Happiness Research Institute, this museum was opened on July 14 to offer hope as the coronavirus pandemic rages on. The Happiness Museum is a 240-sq. m. (2,585 sq. ft.) space dedicated to the idea of happiness and how it is perceived and discussed over the centuries.

According to Meik Wiking, CEO of the Happiness Research Institute, the organization focuses on studying about the well-being, happiness, and quality of life to facilitate a political and societal change. He also said that the institute studies the science of happiness to understand why some societies are happier.

Wiking shared that the museum itself is created to be “a place where people can experience happiness from different perspectives” and to allow them to see exhibitions where they can become wiser.

The museum features exhibits and interactive activities so those who visit can experience and see how people from different places see the same things differently. They hope that these experiences can help their research to move forward in the future.

Wiking shared:

“It’s the same things that drive happiness no matter where we’re from, and I hope that people will see that in the exhibition.”

While the Happiness Museum strives to promote positivity, its management is also aware that as a public place, the traffic may not be enough to sustain it.

Nevertheless, they continued to open up and operate under strict policies, implementing social distancing, one-way paths, and a limited number of admissions in place to ensure safety because as Wiking said, “the world needs a little bit more happiness.”