The Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi will be “like going in a time machine,” with galleries that will transport visitors to the UAE capital as it was several million years ago, according to a scientific research lead at the museum.
The Late Miocene Abu Dhabi gallery, for instance, will house several one-to-one scale models of animals that once inhabited the emirate. Visitors will find themselves in the midst of a model environment with rivers of freshwater fish, crocodiles, turtles and even hippopotamus that were unique to the region, smaller than their African counterparts.
“One of the things that astonishes people was that Abu Dhabi was kind of like east Africa,” said Mark Beech, a scientific research lead at the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, when speaking at a panel on Sunday at the Al Sidr Environmental Film Festival, which took place at The Arts Centre at NYU Abu Dhabi.
“There wasn’t an Arabian Gulf at this time. You had giant rivers running through the western region of Abu Dhabi. These rivers were teeming with crocodiles, with hippopotamus, with freshwater fish. These are all species that were local to this area.”
Many of these unique species will be described in detail for the first time, offering a significant contribution to the global scientific community. “Therefore this collection is very important,” Beech said.
Our museum is global, but with an Arabian lens
Brigitte Howarth,
curator at the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi
The section will also present fossils from the Miocene epoch, a period 5.3 to 23 million years ago. It will also house pieces from the famous Mleisa Elephant Trackway that was discovered in the western region of Abu Dhabi. The tracks were left by a herd of elephants as they crossed a muddy area in the Al Dhafra Region seven million years ago.
“You'll see not only the fossils of these animals, but traces of the tracks made by them,” Beech said. “It gives you almost an immersive experience. We will have reconstructions of what these animals really looked like and how they interacted. It's like going in a time machine.”
The museum will cover the entire age of the universe, a story that stretches some 13.7 billion years, with elements that include the Murchison Meteorite, which contains a huge range of organic “stardust”, and pre-solar grains that formed long before the current solar system existed.
However, the Natural Museum History Abu Dhabi will stand distinct from similar institutions around the world in its focus on the region. After delving into the landmark moments in the planet’s history, including the mass extinction events, it will begin its exploration of the evolution of the Arabian Peninsula.
“You will understand the geological formation of Arabia and the early forms of life,” Beech said. “I've been with some of our team already collecting important fossil specimens from Jebel Hafeet. We have some very good Eocene fossils from about 50 million years ago. We have fantastic giant gastropods and other fossil marine organisms, because Abu Dhabi was under the sea in this period.”
It is after this gallery that the museum begins its exploration of the Late Miocene period in Abu Dhabi. While the museum will show the ecological diversity of Abu Dhabi in its prehistoric times, it will also delve into the richness of the landscape today, upending the notion that deserts are barren of life.
“Our museum is really all about being a global museum, but with this Arabian lens,” Brigitte Howarth, curator at the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, said at the panel.
Howarth pointed out that the museum will have a gallery showcasing the several different types of environments found across the world, several of these will be dedicated to the desert.
“We have multiple desert environments,” she said. “We have big, deep dunes with sabkha (sand, salt or mudflats) that are represented. We have coastal sand that is represented.”
As the colours of the sand change, so do the chemical properties and therefore the flora and fauna it can sustain. “One of our huge challenges is to document all of the life that occurs in all of these different environments,” Howarth said. “But then also understanding how they relate to one another.”
This research will be paramount to writing effective conservation plans. The museum is not only dedicated to showcasing the wonder of the natural world, but research and working for its conservation as well.
“The biodiversity of the UAE, the biodiversity of the desert, is surprisingly rich,” said Peter Kjaergaard, director of the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi. “One of our tasks is not only to document that but collect that biodiversity, so we will have a full understanding of the biodiversity today and that we continue to collect specimens in the decades to come.”
Kjaergaard also pointed out that the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi will be working with its neighbouring institutions in the Saadiyat Cultural District. This collaborative spirit is already under way, as the museum has lent major pieces, including the Murchison Meteorite, to Louvre Abu Dhabi as part of its children’s exhibition Picturing the Cosmos.
The Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi will have a robust outreach and educational programme, Kjaergaard said. “We will be working closely together with schools. This will be a place for learning, for sharing, for education, but we’ll not stop there. We also have programmes inviting local communities. We want this to be an open, vibrant, exciting, engaging place where you can participate in what we do.”
Kjaergaard also said that it was more important now than ever to direct collective focus and care to the understanding and betterment of the planet’s diversity.
“The Natural History Museum is, more than anything else, a meeting place,” he said. “It’s a place where we can be together and we can have a conversation about what really matters to us. One of the things that matters to all of us is the next step that we're going to take as shared humanity. The decisions that we will make in the next couple of decades will determine centuries to come. This is one of the reasons why we're building a natural history museum here.”
Construction of the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi is expected to be completed in 2025.
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
Brief scores:
Day 2
England: 277 & 19-0
West Indies: 154
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Arabian Gulf League fixtures:
Friday:
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- Al Wahda v Al Dhafra, 5.25pm
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- Sharjah v Al Wasl, 5.20pm
- Al Jazira v Al Nasr, 8.15pm
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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GAC GS8 Specs
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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
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- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
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Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Naga
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THE BIO
Favourite place to go to in the UAE: The desert sand dunes, just after some rain
Who inspires you: Anybody with new and smart ideas, challenging questions, an open mind and a positive attitude
Where would you like to retire: Most probably in my home country, Hungary, but with frequent returns to the UAE
Favorite book: A book by Transilvanian author, Albert Wass, entitled ‘Sword and Reap’ (Kard es Kasza) - not really known internationally
Favourite subjects in school: Mathematics and science
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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Torque: 370Nm
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GULF MEN'S LEAGUE
Pool A Dubai Hurricanes, Bahrain, Dubai Exiles, Dubai Tigers 2
Pool B Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Jebel Ali Dragons, Dubai Knights Eagles, Dubai Tigers
Opening fixtures
Thursday, December 5
6.40pm, Pitch 8, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Knights Eagles
7pm, Pitch 2, Jebel Ali Dragons v Dubai Tigers
7pm, Pitch 4, Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Exiles
7pm, Pitch 5, Bahrain v Dubai Eagles 2
Recent winners
2018 Dubai Hurricanes
2017 Dubai Exiles
2016 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2015 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2014 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
MATCH INFO
Wales 1 (Bale 45 3')
Croatia 1 (Vlasic 09')
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