Etihad Museum

The Etihad Museum stands on the site where the founding rulers of the emirates met on 2 December 1971 to sign the agreement that created the United Arab Emirates. Etihad means union, and the museum tells the story of how seven separate emirates came together, focusing mainly on the years from 1968 to 1974. It opened at the end of 2016 and welcomed the public from January 2017.

The building, designed by Moriyama & Teshima Architects, is shaped like an unfurled manuscript, and its tapering golden columns recall the pens used to sign the declaration. Most of the 25,000-square-metre museum lies underground, lit by lightwells, which keeps the historic site above ground open; a reflecting pool and strip of sand mark where the shoreline ran in 1971. That site includes the circular Union House, where the signing took place, a re-created guest house where the rulers stayed during the negotiations, and the tall flagpole that flies the national flag beside them.

Inside, eight permanent pavilions use films, archive photographs, documents and interactive displays to follow the negotiations between the rulers, the drafting of the constitution and the early years of the federation. Personal objects, from passports to belongings of the founding fathers, bring the political story down to human scale, and one pavilion is devoted to the constitution itself. There is also a temporary exhibition hall, a library, an education centre, a shop and a restaurant.

The museum is open daily from 10am to 8pm, with last entry at 7pm, and free guided tours run at 11am, 1pm, 3pm and 5pm. Tickets are sold through Dubai Culture, with reduced rates for students and free entry for young children. Allow around 90 minutes, or longer if you join a tour, which is the best way to understand the background if you know little about the UAE. The building is modern and accessible, and it is fully air-conditioned, making it a good choice for a hot afternoon.

Visitors who want context for everything else they see in Dubai will find this one of the most useful stops in the city, and older children often enjoy the interactive displays. The museum is on Jumeirah Road at its junction with 2nd December Street in Jumeirah 1. A taxi is the simplest way to arrive. Jumeirah Mosque, the J1 Beach seafront and the cafés of Jumeirah Road are all a short drive away.