Offering seven individual rides and attractions…

National Geographic has always taken its mission to educate, entertain and inspire very seriously, it’s at the core of everything they do.

And with the recent unveiling of the Middle East’s first National Geographic Ultimate Explorer, this regional mission is now a much more hands-on one.

You’ll find it on level two of The Galleria Al Maryah Island. It’s currently in the soft opening phase, but will officially open on Thursday, September 30, 2021.

What exactly is National Geographic Ultimate Explorer?

It’s an activity centre, an edutainment complex offering seven exciting attractions aimed at captivating kiddliwinks and stealthily uploading STEAM learning in them, all whilst they’re having one ‘world’s largest mammal’ of a time.

There are two VR/AR experiences — Space Jump, where snack-sized astronauts will be put through a training programme to see if they’ve got the gusto to thrive in the cavernous vacuum of space. And Recon River, puts little explorers on a raft — sending them downstream in search of rare and exotic animals to capture in their augmented viewfinders.

You might also like

This green Abu Dhabi space will stage a pub garden with live music
Free alfresco cinema returns to Umm Al Emarat Park in Abu Dhabi

There’s all the parkour fun of adventure soft play at Canopy Climbers; kids can also access the robotics lab and an upcycling centre; the Zoocoder and CritterCam installations allow you to get all Dr Doolittle and natter back to the animals.

And then there’s Terra Studio, which pits you against the raw forces of nature. Which sounds a bit unfair but “well, they have to learn some day”.

Starting with a win

To celebrate the grand opening this weekend, there’s an annual family pass up for grabs, which entitles the winner (and their fam) to unlimited entry for the entire year.

Pricing

Admission is charged at just Dhs80 for adults and kids. During the week, you get a day’s unlimited access for that, at weekend the time is capped at two hours. Children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult.

National Geographic Ultimate Explorer, The Galleria Al Maryah Island, Sat to Wed 10am to 10pm, Thu and Fri 10am to midnight. Tel: (052) 403 7166,

Images: Provided