{
  "id": 4775149,
  "title": "Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi turns to Lego for new interactive exhibition",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/natural-history-museum-abu-dhabi-turns-to-lego-for-new-interactive-4775149",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-01T03:06:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National UAE",
    "slug": "the-national-uae",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/art-design/2026/09/01/natural-history-museum-abu-dhabi-turns-to-lego-for-new-interactive-exhibition/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi has introduced an interactive exhibition utilizing Lego bricks to delve into topics ranging from the universe's inception to life on Earth. The exhibition, titled Natural Brickstory, operates until November 8 and integrates the museum's scientific collections with hands-on building activities. This immersive experience is organized into themed zones, drawing inspiration from Earth's history, wildlife, and the cosmos.\n\nVisitors are encouraged to participate in collaborative builds while simultaneously learning about the scientific concepts and specimens exhibited throughout the museum. Notable large-scale Lego structures include dinosaurs, contemporary wildlife, astronauts, and models representing minerals and elements of the natural world. Notably, a detailed Lego replica of the museum itself is also featured.\n\nThe exhibition caters to children, inviting them to congregate around larger builds before engaging in play areas where they can construct their own creations, such as flowers and small buildings. The exhibition spans 13.8 billion years of natural history, but instead of merely observing models, visitors actively construct and explore.\n\nInteractive elements such as excavation-style zones allow children to unearth and examine objects, while trails and workshops complement the program. The museum anticipates adding more activities in the near future. Museum director Peter Kjaergaard emphasizes that play is essential for learning and discovery, fostering curiosity, imagination, and creativity—qualities vital to scientific inquiry.\n\nAmong the exhibition's highlights are Stan, a highly complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, and a fragment of the Murchison meteorite, which contains material dating back billions of years. The displays also explore Abu Dhabi's prehistoric past, current biodiversity, and the planet's future.\n\nNatural Brickstory complements existing galleries rather than functioning as a standalone attraction. Children captivated by a Lego dinosaur, animal, or space model can subsequently explore the broader museum to gain deeper insights into the scientific aspects of those subjects. Alia AlHammadi, the museum's acting partnership and commercial department director, anticipates that this collaboration with Lego can inspire individuals to perceive familiar locations from a novel perspective and experience the museum in an entirely new manner.\n\nThe exhibition aligns with the museum's broader strategy of merging collections with interactive experiences and community science initiatives. Spread over 35,000 square meters, the museum, designed by Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo, also houses research facilities engaged in paleontology, earth sciences, biodiversity, and conservation. Natural Brickstory is included in standard museum admission, priced from Dh70 for adults, while UAE residents receive a 30 percent discount until September 30. The exhibition is accessible until November 8.",
  "summary": "Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi has launched a new interactive exhibition that uses Lego bricks to explore everything from the origins of the universe to life on Earth. Natural Brickstory, which runs until November 8, combines the museum’s scientific collections and natural history stories with building activities. Spread across a series of themed zones, the experience takes inspiration from…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The National Business",
        "title": "Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi turns to Lego for new interactive exhibition",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/natural-history-museum-abu-dhabi-turns-to-lego-for-new-interactive",
        "published": "2026-09-01T03:06:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}