Abu Dhabi’s Natural History Museum has opened to the public, taking the shape of pentagonal natural rock formations to reflect the cellular structures of the natural world.
Designed by Dutch architect Mecanoo on behalf of Miral Group and Abu Dhabi’s department of culture and tourism, the 35,000-sq-m museum contains permanent galleries, temporary exhibition spaces and theatre facilities.
The museum’s highlight may be the 11.7m-long almost fully complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton named “Stan”, one of the best preserved fossils of the predator from the Late Cretaceous Period.
The museum also contains a Murchison Meteorite specimen, which since crash-landing in Australia 40 years ago has given scientists valuable information about the early solar system and the building blocks of life.
Located in the Saadiyat Cultural District, the museum contains water features and lush vegetation, symbolically referencing its natural desert surroundings. The district contains the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the upcoming Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
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