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5 New and Upcoming High-Tech Museums Not to Miss in Abu Dhabi
The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi alone is a $1 billion project.
In the past decade, Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, has made clear it’s prioritizing museums and cultural attractions. It’s launched one of the most ambitious museum development projects in the world, with a particular focus on establishing new institutions around the tourism hub of Saadiyat Island. While the city’s museum history began modestly (with the Al Ain Museum in 1971), the current era is defined by clear vision for how it wants to position itself in the future, and a monumental investment — one museum alone has a price tag of $1 billion. The opening of Louvre Abu Dhabi in 2017 marked a turning point, signaling the country’s intent to position itself culturally on par with cities like Paris.
Today, most of the new museums are on Saadiyat Island, in the Saadiyat Cultural District. When finished, it’ll be one of the world’s densest clusters of cultural institutions. Its creation has been a project from the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, which has invested billions into turning the city into a global hotspot for museum aficionados and art lovers.
The projects aren’t just to grow the city as cultural tourism hot spot. It’s also to help diversify the country’s economy beyond oil, which now accounts for about 30 percent of its gross domestic product, or GDP. By establishing world-class museums, the country can create new revenue streams outside the energy sector. Short term, that means cultural tourists to spend money, but long term, it could bring in all the other industries associated with museums, such as science, conservation, research, and education. It’s a sign of a willingness to spend significant amounts on projects that reduce the country’s dependence on oil, support sustainable tourism, help boost national pride, and position the city as a thought leader in the global cultural arena.
Here are five museums either already opened or opening soon that we can’t wait to explore in 2025 and beyond.
teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi
Unlike traditional museums, teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi is not a static gallery of objects or art. Instead, it’s an immersive, interactive museum where visitors play a key role in the process. Highlights include the “Levitating Void,” a glowing sphere that responds to touch, and the “Mirrored Garden of Ovoids,” where light and sound seem to ripple as visitors wade through water. There’s also “Autonomous Abstraction” and “Biocosmos,” both of which draw inspiration from nature and use modern technology to mimic swarming insects and flocking birds. It’s sort of a sensory experience, inviting visitors to experience art as a living, responsive environment.
teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi isn’t the only museum like this in the world. There are several teamLabs in Japan, as well as places like Macao and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. teamLab also has installations and collaborations in galleries from San Francisco to Sydney. But the one in Abu Dhabi is the biggest to date, so you’ll probably want to budget at least two hours to explore it — three would be better.
The museum just opened in April 2025, so it’s advised to buy tickets in advance online as it’s likely to sell out most days initially. Tickets are AED 150 (about $41) for adults, AED 115 (about $31) for teens, and AED 50 (about $13) for children. For now, it’s open 10 AM to 7 PM daily.
teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi: Saadiyat Cultural District, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE
The Zayed National Museum
Zayed National Museum is described as both a living monument to the UAE’s founding father (Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan), and a sweeping summary of the nation’s history, culture, and transformation. The building has five soaring steel towers rising from a mound, designed to evoke the idea of falcon wings rising from the desert. In practicality, they act as thermal chimneys to sustainably draw down cool air throughout the galleries.
Inside, the museum takes guests through the history of the UAE with a mix of permanent galleries and a temporary exhibition space. The museum is organized chronologically, with different galleries representing eras like ancient humans, the bronze age, and the development of Arabic and the spread of Islam. There are traditional displays like artifacts, art, and dioramas, but there are also multimedia shows and interactive installations. One of the more fascinating galleries, even if you’re not interested in the country’s history, is the “Through Our Nature” gallery, with immersive experiences on the UAE’s landscapes and wildlife.
On site, there will also be a few shops, a cafe, an outdoor gallery, and performance venues. And don’t miss the 60-foot-long reconstruction of an ancient shipping vessel. It was large at the time, but feels wildly small for sailing around the Arabian Gulf, as early sailors did. It’s expected to open later in 2025, though an exact date has yet to be set.
The Zayed National Museum: Saadiyat Cultural District, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE
The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi
After years of anticipation — and construction that’s been running for more than a decade — the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is set to debut in late 2025 on Saadiyat Island. The building was designed by Frank Gehry, who also did the Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain, with a cluster of cone-shaped galleries, glass bridges, and a large central atrium in homage to the original Guggenheim NYC.
At more than 450,000 square feet, it’ll be the largest Guggenheim in the world. It’s expected to have modern art from not just the Middle East, but also West Asia, North Africa, and South Asia. It’ll be tech-heavy, too, with a center just for art and technology, plus labs and workspaces for research and conservation. Like the other two museums thus far on this list, it’ll be in the island’s Saadiyat Cultural District. Interestingly, the project has been controversial, with human rights groups claiming the builders were failing to recognize workers rights on the project. In 2011, more than 130 international artists, curators, and writers agreed to boycott the museum until decision-makers guaranteed better labor protections. However, those in charge did make changes to the code of conduct, and now, the $1 billion building is almost ready to open. It’s expected to be finished in 2025, with a formal grand opening in early 2026.
The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi: Saadiyat Cultural District, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi
The Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi is also set to open in late 2025 on Saadiyat Island. It’s architecturally stunning, with a structure inspired by geometric rock formations. It’s 375,000 square feet, so almost as large as the Guggenheim, with a focus on science and non-human history. It starts at the beginning of time, roughly 13.8 billion years ago with the Big Bang, eventually ending with the world’s modern natural history — and what may come next.
The museum will be home to “Stan,” a nearly complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton more than 30 feet long from nose to tail, and a piece of the Murchison Meteorite, containing cosmic dust more than seven billion years old. It’ll also have a science and research hub for projects related to local marine life and desert biodiversity and conservation.
The United Arab Emirates (and the greater Arabian Peninsula) is becoming more and more recognized each day by archaeologists as being significant to the development of humanity. Recent discoveries show that the Peninsula was not just a route for early humans to migrate out of Africa, but a permanent homeland where people settled, evolved, and flourished. Excavations at sites like Jebel Faya (in Sharjah, the third-most populous city in the UAE) have found evidence to suggest human occupation as early as 125,000 years ago, making it one of the oldest known anthropological sites outside of Africa.
Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi: Saadiyat Cultural District, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Hedonist Gallery in Abu Dhabi
Hedonist Gallery is a gallery, not a museum, but it’s still packed with art. It’s in Marina Mall, also on Saadiyat Island, and just opened in February of 2025. It specializes in 20th-century art from some of the world’s most well-known artists, such as Picasso, Miró, and Dalí. While the Abu Dhabi Gallery is brand new, the company has existed for more than a decade, with operations in Dubai and Jakarta. While most of the pieces are for sale, the new Marina Mall location functions much more like a museum, where anyone is invited to come in and admire art.
The gallery will be in place for the foreseeable future, as it was installed in partnership with Bin Sulaiman Art+, an arts-forward cultural group in the country. Combined, the two organizations opened the gallery as a sanctuary for art appreciation and admiration — so, really, it’s fine to walk in and look around with absolutely zero intent of buying anything. It’s usually open from 10 AM to 11 PM.
Hedonist Gallery in Abu Dhabi: Marina Mall – Ring Road – Al Kasir – Al Marina – Abu Dhabi
Bonus: Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial
Photos: Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi/Lance Gerber
The first-ever Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial (which started in November) isn’t a traditional museum — but it’s still hugely culturally significant and packed with art. The exhibition turned Abu Dhabi and Al Ain (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) into open-air galleries, with more than 50 site-specific installations. More than 70 regional and international artists participated in their creation, spanning sculpture, sound, light, mixed media, and interactive installations. There are also guided tours, film and movie screenings, culinary tours, and live performances, creating multiple ways to interact with the art and displays.
Programming and activities runs roughly 10 AM to 10 PM, and it’s free and unticketed. That’s partially because it would be difficult to ticket, but mostly because the idea is to show how art and culture can be a part of everyday urban life. Unfortunately for travelers, the event ends at the end of April 2025. While no date for the next festival has been announced, it’s likely it’ll happen again, considering both the weight of the resources put behind it, and the government’s desire to turn the country into a cultural hot spot. In the meantime, there’s a full list of other festivals and events on the Experience Abu Dhabi tourism site. 
