Arabic Islamic Science Museum

Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre, Kuwait

Arabic Islamic Science Museum

An interactive museum exploring the Golden Age of Arabic history and science, at one of the world’s largest cultural centres.




Overview

Kuwait’s Arabic History and Science Museum is part of the ASCC, one of the world’s largest cultural centres. A purpose-built celebration of the Islamic Golden Age and its legacy, the museum includes dual-language (Arabic/English) soundscapes, multi-user interactive tables, touchscreen games, immersive films and holograms.

A variety of digital activities are on offer: creating traditional craft, a game replacing the missing pieces of ancient manuscripts, a photographic touchscreen quiz, and an immersive film about the science of optics, ‘Camera Obscura’.

The visitor experience begins with soft recitations of ancient Arabic poetry, played through sound cones hung from the ceiling, and ends at ‘Legacy of the Golden Age’, a huge 16-user, interactive table.

Project breakdown

NewAngle developed 20 dual-language (Arabic/English) exhibits for this purpose-built museum at one of the world’s largest cultural centres.

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Soundscapes

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Multiplayer interactive tables

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Touchscreen interactives

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Films

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Pepper’s Ghost holograms

Timeline

Project team

Interactives

  • 'Legacy of the Golden Age' is a huge interactive table designed for up to 16 visitors to explore Golden Age discoveries and their impact on scientific developments today.

Pepper’s Ghosts

  • Four actors were filmed performing as ancient scholars speaking classical Arabic; the footage was then used to create Pepper’s Ghost holograms.

Animation

  • A three-minute film, ‘Camera Obscura’, is projected onto a circular table. Motion graphics, onscreen text and a voiceover tell the story of Ibn al-Haytham and his discovery of the camera obscura effect.