The museum celebrates the history, culture and stories of the UAE.
The long-awaited Zayed National Museum is set to open its doors this December in the heart of Saadiyat Cultural District. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Lord Norman Foster, the striking structure takes inspiration from the wings of a falcon — a nod to a cherished Emirati tradition — and will serve as the national museum of the United Arab Emirates.
Created in honour of the UAE’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the museum embodies his enduring values of unity, compassion, education, and cultural pride. Across six permanent galleries and a rotating temporary exhibition space, visitors will journey through 300,000 years of human history via rare artefacts, immersive storytelling, public programming, and groundbreaking research.
Ancient artefacts
The journey begins in Al Masar Garden, a 600-metre outdoor gallery inspired by the native landscapes that shaped Sheikh Zayed’s worldview. Divided into three zones—desert, oasis and urban—the garden showcases indigenous flora and interactive installations, including a working falaj system and sensory exhibits. Twelve striking animal sculptures pay homage to traditional hunting and highlight the importance of native species in Emirati heritage.
Inside the museum, six permanent galleries unfold a narrative of the UAE’s evolution. Our Beginning reflects on Sheikh Zayed’s legacy, while Through Our Nature explores how geography influenced life across the Emirates. To Our Ancestors reveals archaeological finds tracing back 300,000 years. Through Our Connections delves into early trade, the Arabic language and Islam’s spread. By Our Coasts celebrates the seafaring communities built on fishing, pearling and commerce, and To Our Roots explores the customs and traditions of inland desert life.
Key highlights include the Abu Dhabi Pearl — one of the oldest known natural pearls — and the Blue Qur’an. These pieces are housed alongside archaeological treasures spanning the Palaeolithic to Iron Age, many of which were unearthed by Sheikh Zayed’s early preservation efforts.
Faith and Diversity
The region now known as the UAE played a pivotal role during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as it was one of the earliest regions to embrace Islam. And the discovery of the earliest mosque in the UAE, dating back to the Abbasid period in Al Ain, is a testament to the country’s deep-rooted Islamic heritage.
Let’s not forget the intriguing tales of Sir Bani Yas Island. While Islam spread across the land, a small group of Christians continued practising their faith in a monastery and a church on this very island. This shows the unique tapestry of cultures that have woven together to create the UAE’s vibrant identity.
A trading hub
An 18-metre reconstruction of a Bronze Age boat, the Magan Boat, takes centre stage as a feat of historical engineering. Built without nails using ancient techniques and natural materials like reeds and palm-fibre rope, it’s the result of a collaboration between archaeologists from Zayed University and NYU Abu Dhabi, inspired by ancient Mesopotamian texts dating back to 2100 BCE.
His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi said: “The cultural legacy of the UAE has been nurtured over decades, from the establishment of its earliest cultural institutions to today’s expansive vision for cultural exchange and knowledge. Saadiyat Cultural District represents the next chapter in this national journey, curating world-class institutions that honour the past and engage the future. As the national museum of the United Arab Emirates, Zayed National Museum is the legacy of our Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. It is a tribute to his boundless belief in people, in their ability to learn, to uphold the values of unity, compassion and national pride. This museum is more than a place of preservation; it is a promise to future generations, a beacon of our identity, and a space where our story is told not just through objects, but through emotion, memory and vision. This institution will carry our story forward for generations to come.”
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GO: Visit https://zayednationalmuseum.ae for more information.