National Museum of Qatar - Family Exhibits

The brand new National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) in Doha is one of Middle East’s latest prestigious projects. Showcasing and celebrating the Qatari history and culture in an architectural masterpiece, the museum aims to be a contemporary sanctuary for the people of Qatar as well as international visitors. Their goal is to be a museum for everyone, not only for art connaisseurs: a family should be able to visit the museum together, with all family members enjoying themselves. Taking into account all types of visitors from the start, the museum sets out to be as inclusive as possible. With decades of practice in creating unforgettable visitor experiences, the NMoQ knew OPERA Amsterdam and Studio Louter were the perfect match to do the job.

The six family exhibits are based on the themes Natural History, Archaeology, Navigation & Movement, Life on the Land, Life on the Coast and Oil & Gas. Every exhibit has a storyline, a distinct style and unique interactive games. For example, children experience what it’s like to dig up archaeological treasures in a digitally projected desert and they learn what these objects tell about how people lived in the past. Meeting a digitally projected Falcon and Saluki in the desert, children can interact with the animals by making the Falcon fly by moving their arms and the Saluki barks when they come close. Understanding and appreciating fading cultural rituals, children can sit with a projected Qatari man who teaches them in an interactive way how to perform the original coffee ritual, including the smell of fresh coffee, cardamom and saffron. The Persian Gulf is brought to life with large projections, allowing children to ‘dive’ for pearls like people used to do in the past and they can conduct schools of fish with their bodies.