There is so much to see/do at the newly opened Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Center in Maidan Hawally. There are six massive museums:
1. Space
2. Arabic & Islamic Science
3. Science & Technology-Human Body
4. Science & Technology-Transportation/Robots
5. Natural History-Ecosystems
6. Natural History-Our Earth.
We spent 3+ hours during our first visit and barely scratched the surface.
We visited Space, Ecosystems & Science/Human Body but did not have time to explore all the exhibits in each. Its worth it to visit one or two at a time and save the others for the next visit in order to get the full experience. Also be sure to tour the outside grounds to see all the amazing sculptures including dinosaurs and some by Nadim Karam.
There is also a Fine Arts Center and the museums will offer regular workshops, performance and outdoor activities. Regular workshops, lectures and other activities will also be taking place and you find the updates on the ASCC social media and website.
Timings
Saturday to Wednesday: 9am to 7pm
Thursday & Friday: 3pm to 10pm
(Be sure to go early. Sale of entrance tickets will stop 1 hour prior to closing; museums closed 30 minutes prior to closing.) Timings may change on public holidays.
Entrance fees
Adults (18+) KD 3
Kids (18-2) KD 2
Under 2: Free
My tips:
1. Wear comfortable shoes
2. Take snacks/water for the kiddos. There are cafes (the ones in Science / Human Body museum & Arabic-Islamic art were open but I didn't see a lot of kid friendly-food.)
3. Go early. It gets crowded fast & they will stop letting in new visitors when capacity is reached.
4. Be prepared to get lost or be given wrong info. We were directed to the wrong entrance for the rainforest/ aquarium 2x & told there was a cafe somewhere there wasn't. It's newly opened so staff are also still learning their way around. Be patient.
5. You won't be able to see it all at once - so take your time & enjoy all the exhibits at your leisure. You can always come again to see a different museum
6. Definitely do the Planetarium in the Space museum. It's an extra KD 2 per person but TOTALLY worth it.
7. When you enter Science / Human Body, get the swipe card. It will track all your games / scores & give you a record at the end. Also the kids need one to run the race tracker, play basketball & soccer and most of the games. Oh and the giant, multi-story slide inside ST-Human Body is amazing! Be sure to take your kids to enjoy it.
Visit the museums website here to learn more
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