Why we love OliOli Dubai – the city’s FIRST play museum

OliOli Dubai is the latest child-friendly museum to open in the city. Based in Al Quoz, the interactive family-friendly museum includes eight galleries over two floors. The fun-filled rooms focus on different educational activities, with children being able to take part in different experiments.

Air gallery

In this gallery children can make and launch toy rockets, learning about the basics of thermodynamics. They can witness 110km per hour winds in the Hurricane Booth, play with the giant airway tunnels and experiment with air cushions.

Water gallery

Here children can play with a water vortex, shoot jets of water into the air, experimenting with holding a plastic ball on top of the jet, experience rain and build water ways.

Toshi’s net

This room was created by Japanese artist Toshiko Horiuchi Macadam and hosts an interactive net sculpture “designed to enhance and celebrate children’s innate sense of wonder”, said a spokesperson for the museum. Children can climb the handwoven net, which weighs over 800 kilos. According to the gallery “each child can play at a level which they are comfortable with. They know what they are capable of and then stretch a little further becoming more and more adept”.

Creative lab

Kids can use child-friendly tools to build and take apart different objects. Children are encouraged to use their imagination and creativity, and to ask questions about the different objects they work on in the lab.

Future park

This space covers a wide range of topics, from technology to art and music. Children can take part in the Light Ball Orchestra, create a 3D model of their favourite art pieces and learn about habitats and urban planning.

Forts gallery  

In this gallery, children can use their creativity to build – you’ve guessed it – forts. The room is stocked with separate pieces which children can use to build larger structures. This gallery is great for helping to develop fine motor skills, spatial skills and encourage an interest in engineering.

Toddler gallery

Designed for the youngest visitors to the gallery, this room is packed full of activities to stimulate young minds. All activities in the room are suitable for children aged two and under. Older children are not permitted to enter the room, but parental supervision of each toddler is required.

Cars & ramps gallery

Adults and children alike will love this fun-packed room. Visitors can try out, design and test different car-building activities. There’s even a ramp in the gallery, to try out and race models. Kids can learn about the laws of motion, weight and mass, along with trial and error when building cars.

Details: for more information visit Oli Oli Dubai. If you enjoyed this article, you may like this story on The Buggy Run Dubai.