New weekend and after-school activities for families, inspired by the museum’s collection
Abu Dhabi, UAE – 27 March 2026: Louvre Abu Dhabi is introducing a new season of activities for families inspired by the museum’s collection, bringing together ‘Family Weekends’ and ‘After School Activities’ centred on creative, object‑based learning.
Designed to encourage curiosity and shared discovery, the programme invites families and students to engage directly with artworks through guided gallery encounters and hands-on workshops.
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Family Weekends
Taking place throughout the month, Family Weekends invite families to explore art through weekly thematic workshops rooted in object-based learning. Each weekend centres on one workshop theme, delivered across both Saturday and Sunday with two free drop-in sessions each day. The April programme begins with a preview weekend at the end of March. Register onsite.
Workshop #1: Make an Aluminium Foil Relief
Inspired by Food for Thought by Maha Malluh, participants are invited to explore how food brings people together across cultures. Families are invited to create an aluminium relief capturing personal memories, family stories or moments of togetherness, reflecting on the role of shared meals in building community.
Date: 28 and 29 March
Time: Two sessions per day, 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM
Price: Free, drop-in sessions
Workshop #2: Picasso Inspired Family Portraits
Drawing inspiration from artworks featured in the exhibition Picasso, the Figure, participants are encouraged to learn about Picasso’s portrayal of family and loved ones. Using transparent sheets, families can create layered outlines that are transferred onto paper to produce expressive family portraits.
Date: 4 and 5 April
Time: Two sessions per day, 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM
Price: Free, drop-in sessions
Workshop #3: Make an Aluminium Foil Coin
Participants will design their own memento coins using aluminium foil leaf work, inspired by the museum’s coin collection. The activity explores ideas of value, exchange and memory through historic examples from different civilisations.
Date: 11 and 12 April
Time: Two sessions per day, 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM
Price: Free, drop-in sessions
Workshop #4: Design Your Travel Journal or Postcard
Taking inspiration from Paul Klee’s Oriental Bliss, this workshop invites participants to reflect on their favourite travel stories and journeys. Families can create postcards or travel journals using colour, line and motif, writing messages to share with loved ones.
Date: 18 and 19 April
Time: Two sessions per day, 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM
Price: Free, drop-in sessions
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After School Activities
Starting in April and running until the end of June, Louvre Abu Dhabi’s After School Activities programme invites students from all school ages to engage with the museum’s collection.
Led by Museum Educators, the sessions combine close-looking in the galleries with hands-on creative activities, using artworks as entry points for curiosity, discussion and making.
Discover the Collection and Let’s Sketch
Students can explore key artworks from the Louvre Abu Dhabi collection connected to themes such as UAE heritage, Islamic art, geometric patterns, emotions and the representation of animals in art. The session begins in the galleries and is followed by a guided sketching activity using specially designed Let’s Sketch booklets, encouraging observation, self-expression and attention to detail. Artworks explored include Propagation by Giuseppe Penone, an architectural frieze carved with Quranic verses from the Ghurid Empire and the Monumental Lion acoustic automaton.
Date: Every Tuesday
Time: 2 Sessions per day 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM
Suitable for: All school ages
Seek and Find: Quest for Materials
This interactive session introduces students to material heritage and preservation, exploring how artists across time have used natural and man‑made materials to create objects. Guided by a Museum Educator, students follow a materiality quest through the galleries, solving riddles and uncovering materials drawn from the natural world. Featured artworks include a portable temple from Fiji, a Greek limestone sphinx and an octagonal box from China.
Date: Every Wednesday
Time: 2 Sessions per day 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM
Suitable for: All school ages
Special Drawing at the Museum
This skill building session is designed for Cycle Three art students and focuses on observational drawing and visual documentation. Students will examine selected artworks from the collection, including Young Emir Studying by Osman Hamdi Bey and a prehistoric Japanese jar with cord patterned decoration, before taking part in a guided drawing session in the galleries.
Date: Every Wednesday
Time: 1 Session per day 4:00 PM to 6:00PM
Suitable for: High school students, especially art students
Picasso Inspired Workshops
Students explore selected works by Pablo Picasso, including Woman with a Mandolin and Paloma, following a structured learning path through the Picasso, the Figure exhibition. The session concludes with a hands-on workshop encouraging creative responses to Picasso’s approach to form and portraiture.
Date: Every Thursday
Time: 2 Sessions per day 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM
Suitable for: All school ages
Families and students are invited to experience the activities at Louvre Abu Dhabi. Parents are encouraged to join our daily Guided Tours, Free of Charge until April 30.
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About Louvre Abu Dhabi
Created by an exceptional agreement between the governments of Abu Dhabi and France, Louvre Abu Dhabi was designed by Jean Nouvel and opened on Saadiyat Island in November 2017. The museum is inspired by traditional Islamic architecture and its monumental dome creates a rain of light effect and a unique social space that brings people together.
Louvre Abu Dhabi celebrates the universal creativity of mankind and invites audiences to see humanity in a new light. Through its innovative curatorial approach, the museum focuses on building understanding across cultures: through stories of human creativity that transcend civilisations, geographies, and times.
The museum’s growing collection is unparalleled in the region and spans thousands of years of human history, including prehistoric tools, artefacts, religious texts, iconic paintings, and contemporary artworks. The permanent collection is supplemented by rotating loans from 19 French partner institutions, regional and international museums.
Louvre Abu Dhabi is a testing ground for new ideas in a globalized world and champions new generations of cultural leaders. Its international exhibitions, programming and Children’s Museum are inclusive platforms that connect communities and offer enjoyment for all.
About the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi
The Department of Culture and Tourism–Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) drives the sustainable growth of Abu Dhabi’s culture and tourism sectors and its creative industries, fuels economic progress and helps achieve Abu Dhabi’s wider global ambitions. By working in partnership with the organisations that define the emirate’s position as a leading international destination, DCT Abu Dhabi strives to unite the ecosystem around a shared vision of the emirate’s potential, coordinate effort and investment, deliver innovative solutions, and use the best tools, policies, and systems to support the culture and tourism industries.
DCT Abu Dhabi’s vision is defined by the emirate’s people, heritage, and landscape. We work to enhance Abu Dhabi’s status as a place of authenticity, innovation, and unparalleled experiences, represented by its living traditions of hospitality, pioneering initiatives, and creative thought.