Immersing yourself into Zayed National Museum is possible well before any gallery is reached. The approach itself sets the tone. The fountain by the entrance catches the light and cools the air, while a low, carefully composed soundscape begins to register.
Hind Al Khoori, the museum's marketing and communications director who oversees the visitor experience, says every detail has been shaped to engage more than just sight.
“When visitors walk in, they experience everything with different senses,” she says.
That idea is felt immediately indoors. Sound and scent are introduced with restraint, building softly as visitors move through the space. A custom fragrance, developed with an Emirati perfume house, sits lightly in the air. Notes inspired by local flora are present without overwhelming the space. For many, the response is instinctive.
“We’ve had people say it feels like walking into a majlis or someone’s home,” Al Khoori says. “That sense of familiarity and warmth was very intentional.”
At 10am each day, as the museum opens, a new arrangement of the UAE national anthem fills the space. Movement slows almost immediately. School groups fall quiet, conversations trail off and visitors come to a natural standstill.
“You see everyone just stop for a minute,” Al Khoori says. “There’s a real sense of pride.”
Throughout the day, instrumental compositions inspired by UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan’s poetry move through the museum’s open spaces. The melodies are familiar to some, while others respond to their tone and rhythm. The effect is subtle but constant, linking one space to the next.
A third layer draws from the country’s landscapes. Environmental soundscapes echo the desert, sea, mountains and oasis. Wind, birds and distant movement sit just below conscious attention, shaping how visitors experience the space.
Together, these elements create a setting that reflects the UAE beyond what is displayed in cases, bringing in traces of environment, memory and everyday life.
The approach extends to the people within the museum. Employees and tour guides wear uniforms developed through a design initiative involving Emirati talent. Traditional embroidery informs the details, interpreted through clean, contemporary silhouettes that align with the architecture.
For Al Khoori, these choices support a broader goal of making the museum resonate across audiences. Visitors arriving from abroad encounter a layered introduction to the UAE. Those more familiar with the culture often find themselves noticing details they have long taken for granted.
“There are things we live with every day that we don’t always think about,” she says. “Here, people start to notice them again.”
Taste forms part of that wider experience. Within Al Masar Garden, a series of cafes introduces Emirati culinary ideas in ways that complement the museum’s narrative. The garden itself, planted with native species and shaped around desert, oasis and urban environments, provides a natural setting for these encounters.
Rukn brings together flavours and speciality teas from across the Arab world, with a focus on the Gulf. Savour by Twins, led by Emirati chefs Maitha and Abdulrahman Al Hashmi, applies Italian gelato techniques to locally inspired flavours. Sidra Artisan, headed by chef Faisal Al Harmoodi, offers baked goods and all-day dining rooted in seasonal produce and Emirati ingredients.
Inside, Al Ghaf Cafe provides lighter options, while Erth Restaurant presents a more formal take on Emirati cuisine. Across these spaces, flavour adds another layer to the visit, offering a direct connection to the culture explored throughout the museum.
The impact of these details becomes most visible in how visitors respond to the space. Children often arrive dressed in traditional clothing, treating the visit as something meaningful and celebratory. Others adjust how they present themselves, responding to the atmosphere and its sense of occasion.
The museum encourages a pace that allows these impressions to settle. Visitors move through it with an awareness of sound, scent and texture that builds gradually.
“We want them to feel proud,” Al Khoori says. “To learn something new, to feel connected and to want to come back.”
In bringing together sound, scent, space and flavour, Zayed National Museum offers a layered portrait of the UAE that speaks to different audiences at once. For visitors, it provides a clear and immersive introduction to the country’s history and identity. For Emiratis, it deepens a sense of familiarity, turning everyday elements into moments of recognition and pride. The result is an experience that informs as much as it resonates.
