- NMACC, Reliance Foundation and Qatar’s Dadu Children’s Museum unveil India’s first immersive social-emotional learning experience
- Over 100 children from under-resourced communities inaugurate the transformative exhibition through Reliance Foundation’s Education and Sports for All (ESA) initiative
- Groundbreaking exhibition adapts Yale University’s globally acclaimed RULER framework to help children recognise, understand, express and regulate emotions
- Interactive journey blends neuroscience, storytelling, art, creativity and play to cultivate empathy, resilience and lifelong emotional well-being
- ‘Emotions Lab’ to expand beyond Mumbai with customised editions for schools and Anganwadis, taking emotional literacy to underserved communities
- Isha Ambani says learning must ignite curiosity while equipping every child with emotional intelligence both inside and beyond the classroom
NE EDUCATION BUREAU
MUMBAI, JULY 16
In a world where academic excellence alone is no longer enough, India has taken a pioneering leap towards nurturing the emotional well-being of its youngest citizens. Marking a transformative moment in the country’s educational landscape, the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC), in collaboration with Reliance Foundation and Dadu, Children’s Museum of Qatar, has unveiled ‘Emotions Lab’—India’s first immersive exhibition dedicated to emotional literacy and social-emotional learning.
More than an exhibition, Emotions Lab is a vibrant experiential ecosystem where science, creativity, storytelling and play converge to help children understand one of life’s most important subjects—themselves. The initiative seeks to cultivate empathy, resilience, confidence and emotional awareness, recognising these as essential life skills alongside academic achievement.
The exhibition made its India debut with a dedicated Education and Sports for All (ESA) Day, welcoming more than 100 children from NGOs supported by Reliance Foundation, ensuring that the country’s first experience in emotional literacy was shared with children from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
Adding warmth to the inaugural event, Isha Ambani, Director, Reliance Foundation, personally interacted with the children as they explored a series of immersive installations designed to help them recognise, understand, express and regulate their emotions in a joyful, engaging and psychologically safe environment.
Presented as a flagship attraction of NMACC’s annual Bachpan Festival, Emotions Lab has been specially curated for children aged five to eleven years and their families, offering an innovative learning experience that places emotional intelligence at the centre of childhood development.
“We believe learning should be an adventure driven by playfulness and curiosity. We are thrilled to build on our partnership with Dadu, Children’s Museum of Qatar to bring Emotions Lab to young minds in India. It is vital for children to learn emotional literacy and intelligence early in life, both inside and outside the classroom. The exhibition with a dedicated day for children under our Education and Sports For All (ESA) initiative, is in line with our commitment to ensure educational experiences are accessible to all children,” said Isha Ambani, Director, Reliance Foundation.
Where Every Emotion Becomes a Lesson
At the core of Emotions Lab lies the internationally acclaimed Mood Meter, developed by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence as part of its globally recognised RULER Framework, which has transformed emotional education in schools across the world.
Thoughtfully adapted for Indian children, the exhibition introduces the five pillars of emotional intelligence—recognising, understanding, labelling, expressing and regulating emotions—through interactive installations, sensory experiences and guided activities that make emotional learning intuitive and enjoyable.
Children are encouraged to decode facial expressions and body language, explore how daily experiences shape emotions, understand the connection between feelings and relationships, and develop healthy strategies for self-expression and emotional regulation.
The experience extends beyond interactive exhibits through an engaging NMACC Art Walk, where art becomes a powerful medium for imagination, observation and self-expression, further reinforcing emotional awareness through creative exploration.
Education Beyond Classrooms
The inaugural ESA Day reflected Reliance Foundation’s commitment to democratising experiential learning by ensuring that children from under-resourced communities gain access to world-class educational experiences.
Driven by Reliance Foundation’s ‘We Care’ philosophy, the Education and Sports for All (ESA) initiative continues to create equitable opportunities in education, sports and life-skills development, empowering children to dream fearlessly and realise their fullest potential.
The organisers said Emotions Lab has been developed through extensive collaboration between Indian and international education experts, transforming conventional exhibition spaces into dynamic environments where curiosity, play and emotional discovery become powerful learning tools.
From a Museum Experience to a National Movement
The exhibition, which will remain open to the public at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre until August 2, 2026, is only the beginning of a much larger vision.
Following its Mumbai showcase, Emotions Lab will be adapted for schools and Anganwadis across India, extending emotional literacy programmes to children in underserved communities and integrating social-emotional learning into everyday education.
The initiative also builds upon the remarkable success of ‘Light Atelier’, the inaugural exhibition in the Museum in Residence series, which inspired more than 13,000 children in 2025 through immersive explorations of light, colour and shadow.
By seamlessly blending neuroscience, experiential education, creativity and play, Emotions Lab reimagines childhood learning—not merely as the pursuit of knowledge, but as the lifelong journey of understanding oneself and others. In doing so, it offers a compelling blueprint for the future of education—one where emotional intelligence is recognised as the foundation of confident, compassionate and resilient generations.
