The Etihad Museum

I love having visitors because it usually means I get to explore and discover together with them. This was Erika's third visit, so there was the added challenge of showing her something new. We decided to go up to Dubai on Saturday and visit a brand new museum, that actually officially opened that very day! We went to The Etihad Museum, where the story of the birth of the UAE is told.

The building itself has been designed in the shape of a manuscript, with seven columns being built into the building, to symbolize the seven pens used to sign the Union agreement.

It is located next to the Union House, where the signing of the treaty establishing the UAE took place in 1971. This project also involved restoring the Union House to its original state, and the existing flagpole was replaced with a slightly taller, 123m mast.

Oh my, this was another amazing visit, what an experience! Such a beautiful building and so much information to take in. Another must, if you have the slightest interest in the fascinating story of the formation of this country.

All the exhibits and installations were interactive and experience driven. Sometimes it felt like we were in the middle of the "Minority Report" with all the high-tech and super futuristic touch screens.

This part of the exhibit was dedicated to the Founding Fathers. Each ruler was presented with their family tree, lots of photos and also personal belongings like glasses, rings, watches, passports and guns etc.

There was an exhibit covering the 'Stamp and Postal History':

A map of the UAE, with a touch screen that displayed small movies with glimpses from the past, describing life here in the UAE just before the unification.

Another very cool display, for each cube you put in the square in the middle of the table, a small movie played on the wall behind us.

Moving around this exhibit, you would only hear the sound while standing right below each speaker.

One part of the exhibit was dedicated to the UAE constitution and included the actual declaration itself in full. Very interesting to read more about the rights and responsabilites of the Emirati citizens.

A beautiful staircase.

The library and the Inner Garden.

After the visit to the Etihad Museum we were really hungry, so we went to have lunch by the Dubai Mall Fountains. A bit of Lebanese, mmm!

Our next stop was the large bookstore Kinokuniya, Erika's paradise on earth..!