Al Ain Oasis
Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority
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Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority
OUR SERVICES
- Multimedia set-up
- Exhibition Design
- Content Production
- Serious game / Gamification
- Video Production
- Interactive Installation
- Design / Manufacturing
Discovering a settlement more than 4,000 years old
The millennial hub of a civilisation
ETT is proud to have collaborated with the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority in the creation of this installation which aims to enhance the experience of visitors discovering the Al Ain Oasis. Thanks to multimedia supports such as the Eco-Centre, it is possible to better observe and understand the Oasis’ eco-system and its importance to Abu Dhabi‘s cultural heritage.
Preserving a cultural treasure for humanity
The Eco-Centre not only guides visitors through the history of the Oasis, but also shows all the environmental measures that have been taken over time to preserve this desert pearl that dates back to the third millennium B.C. and perhaps even earlier. Its interpretative philosophy is based on the presentation of the unique thousand-year-old cultural landscape of the Al Ain Oasis as a living, complex ecosystem that has thrived thanks to the continuous tradition of water management and related cultivation. Through the interactive experience of the network of falaj in the miniature Oasis and the viewing of the three-tiered agricultural landscape of groves, field crops and orchards in the Oasis Garden, visitors will understand the self-sufficient ingenuity of the local community to overcome the harsh conditions of the surrounding desert climate.
Inside the Eco Centre you can enjoy a fully immersive experience among the exhibits developed by ETT with 7 exhibitions accompanied by educational and interactive installations that tell the story of the oasis, together with an educational game explaining its creation. Screens, touch screens, projections, proximity sensors and other state-of-the-art technologies guide the visitor on a sensational journey. An eco-friendly place of knowledge that embodies a combination of tradition and innovative technology that helps to blend its organic form into the landscape. An immersive cinematic experience will enrich and complement this experience by illustrating the importance of the Oasis in the past, present and future. The West Gate exhibition offers an intimate journey into the Falajscape, the watercourse that flows from the main spring to the palm groves and shows the ingenious irrigation system.
Exhibits
Exhibit A: Welcome Message – Introduction to Al Ain Oasis – A proximity-sensor-activated welcome clip shows Mr. Mohamed Al-Dhaheri explaining the historical context of Al Ain. He explains the importance of these UNESCO World Heritage sites and the actions taken over time to protect them in a manner compatible with the city’s development. Exhibit B: The Growing Palm Tree – Characteristics, Relationship to Humans and Environmental Function – The exhibit narrates the evolution of the country’s symbol of hospitality, from seed to mature plant. The illustrations show eleven characteristics: domestication, protection, green chlorophyll, salt of the earth, atmospheric water, artificial tree, shade and soil, male and female, fertilisation rite, child palm, made for the desert. Exhibit C-D: The Palm: Products and Uses – A touch application introduces a palm grove scene with a short animation. By touching the POIs relating to the various parts of the tree, visitors can browse icons representing the products and uses of the palm. Selecting one of the products activates a video and visitors can see more photos and descriptions in Arabic and English. Exhibit E: The oasis, a creation of the desert peoples – The application guides visitors through the progressive stages of oasis development, helping them to discover the geographical points of interest, techniques and knowledge related to the creation of an oasis and the development that characterises each historical period. In the upper part of the screen, a navigable timeline indicates the three historical phases in which the development process took place – the Neolithic, Early Bronze Age and Iron Age – while the lower part lists related knowledge. By touching the knowledge icons, visitors will see the information and a QR code that links to the World Bank of Traditional Knowledge website.
Exhibit F: Oasis Landscaper’s Game – The game, which can be played via touch stations, allows visitors to choose between different types of terrain and elements from which to combine them to create an oasis. The visitor begins to cultivate his or her own garden in an aerial view of the oasis. Here he can choose fruit trees or crops, the irrigation system and the style of living and see the evolution of each action on the big screen, receiving a score for his choices on the large wall screen. Exhibit G: Professions and ceremonies in the oasis – In a semicircular area with three large screens, visitors learn about past professions and ceremonies in the Al Ain Oasis. By selecting one of the entries from a central touch screen of, ceremonies or professions, visitors can access interviews enriched with multimedia content. Different levels are shown on the screens: on the central screen a narrator describes the selected theme, while on the left and right screens related images or videos are displayed. The three ceremonies identified are the Eid Al Adha ceremony (the sacrificial feast) and the Al Taomina grain harvest festival (the ceremony of the conclusion of the Holy Qur’an), while the six professions representative of the Al Ain oasis are: Al Baidar (the farmer) Al Shawwaf (the harvest guardian) Al Daya (the midwife) Al Mutawaa (the mosque teacher) Areef Al Falaj (the Falaj guardian) Al Baseer (the water diviner). Exibit CINEMA – Immersive cinema experience: From oasis to space, for a sustainable planet –The Eco Centre has two presentation modes: an educational one with projection of maxims and phrases and an immersive one. Every 10 minutes or via a manual remote control, the Eco Centre can change the presentation mode. In the immersive mode, the light and monitors are switched off and the performance begins, an immersive projection on the floor, a projection mapping across the polygonal table, two side projections and a large projection on the exit door.
An immersive film experience takes the visitor through the past and present and explains why the oasis is important for the future. It emphasises how its sustainable ecosystem can be studied as an example for a sustainable planet. West Gate Exhibit – An intimate and evocative journey into the Falajscape, the watercourse that flowed from the main spring to the palm groves, to discover the falaj, the ingenious irrigation system. When visitors enter the West Gate, they experience a looped video projection of water showing the Falaj’s irrigation system. On the wall, a long light panel about eight metres wide explains the Falaj system in both languages (Arabic and English). Al Ain Oasis App – Developed by ETT using BLE (Bleutooth Low Energy) Beacon technology, the mobile application guides visitors through the Al Ain Oasis and enriches the visitor experience with supporting multimedia content (video, audio, photo gallery) related to the 13 panoramic views along the itinerary within the Al Ain Oasis.
These contain a brief narrative of the historical and socio-cultural aspects of the oasis. The app also has game functions related to the unique vegetation of the Al Ain Oasis and located at a number of points of interest scattered around the oasiscape.