Shuttle buses without drivers, trains floating on magnetic fields and other visions of the future will be on display at the Aichi world fair next year. But Expo 2005's centerpiece will be rooted deep in the past -- the frozen remains of a woolly mammoth.
The beast's nearly intact head, tusks and a front leg were excavated from the Siberian tundra in June, and expo organizers plan to put them on display in a laboratory with a gallery so visitors can watch as scientists conduct tests.
"We want people to look at the future by starting with a perspective of the past," says Naoki Suzuki, the scientist overseeing the exhibit, which goes on display in March outside Nagoya.