Abu Dhabi to build new natural history museum

The Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi will for the first time present the history of life on Earth through an Arabian lens (Photo: Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism)

Abu Dhabi has unveiled plans for the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, which will be located in the emirate’s Saadiyat Cultural District. It will be alongside the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the upcoming Zayed National Museum and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. 

The museum, designed by architects Mecanoo, is currently under construction and is due to be completed at the end of 2025. 

The Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism said the design will resonate with natural rock formations, reflecting the museum’s goal of improving understanding of and engagement with the natural world’.

The new museum’s collection will be home to ‘Stan’, a mostly complete 39-foot-long (11.7 metres) Tyrannosaurus rex and Murchison Meteorite specimen, which crash-landed in Australia more than 40 years ago.