STEM-Focused Field Trips in Dubai at OliOli
OliOli® Children’s Museum in Al Quoz, Dubai, offers a safe, structured yet joyful environment where hands-on play meets curriculum goals. With six permanent galleries and over 40 interactive exhibits, every visit is uniquely designed to build skills across STEM, the arts, and personal development. Since opening, OliOli® has hosted 100+ schools, helping teachers reinforce topics like forces, motion and ecosystems through play. Educators report that field trips here are among their favorite outings. Read Reviews.
From weather and aerodynamics to teamwork and design, OliOli®’s galleries align with core learning objectives while developing character, life skills and wellbeing. Schools can customize each visit by choosing any four of six galleries, tailoring the trip to specific grade-level standards. Each gallery’s hands-on stations let students explore science and nature concepts (e.g. buoyancy, weather patterns, ecosystems) through play, while also building motor skills, creativity, collaboration and resilience. Optional add-ons – like the Crazy Catapults physics workshop – further reinforce concepts (students launch projectiles with real slingshots) in a fun competitive format.
Key Visit Details: Field trips are just 2 hours long, with morning slots at 8:30 AM or 10:30 AM, making them easy to fit into a school day. OliOli®’s location (62 4A Street, Al Quoz) is centrally accessible. The museum staff handle all logistics – from gallery guidance to safety – so teachers can focus on learning outcomes.
Aligning Field Trips to Curriculum
OliOli®’s field trips are inquiry-based and curriculum-aligned. Teachers work with staff to link the chosen galleries to classroom topics, ensuring relevance. As co-founder Asha Ramchandani explains, “our team are ready to lead students on hands-on exploration of topics like forces and motion…students launch rockets and dive into interactive exhibits to uncover the secrets of science”. In other words, textbook concepts come to life. Each gallery frames play around concrete learning goals – from Newton’s Laws to the water cycle – while also fostering 21st-century skills.
Schools choose 4 of 6 galleries per visit. This flexibility means you can, for example, pair the Air Gallery with Cars & Ramps to reinforce mechanics, or combine Water with Future Park for nature and creative arts topics. The museum offers themed workshops (on request) like the popular Crazy Catapults, where kids use slingshots to learn projectile motion in a team challenge. By weaving in such extras, teachers can custom-build a rich, hands-on learning adventure that matches their lesson plans.
The result is a child-friendly journey where inquiry and play drive learning. One educator observed: “Children’s curiosity led the way…every moment was an educational experience”. By encouraging exploration (with no “wrong” answers), OliOli® nurtures independent thinking and problem-solving – key life skills – all within a safe, supportive setting.
The Six Interactive Galleries
Each gallery at OliOli® focuses on core concepts and skills. Below, we highlight how every exhibit contributes to holistic development – from science and sustainability to teamwork and wellbeing.
Air Gallery: Physics and Creativity in Motion
Discover the physics of wind, aerodynamics and motion in a playful setting. The Air Gallery lets children launch paper planes and rockets, aim wind cannons, and feel a 110 km/hr mini-hurricane – turning abstract laws into thrilling discovery. By experimenting with air streams and vortex rings, students learn aerodynamics, Newton’s Laws of Motion, air pressure and friction. This open-ended play enhances fine motor control and spatial reasoning, and requires them to adjust shapes or angles to achieve flight. In the process, kids practice design-thinking and hypothesis-testing (“If I change this wing angle, will it fly farther?”), which builds critical thinking and resilience.
STEM Concepts: Aerodynamics, buoyancy (of air), Bernoulli’s principle, wind pressure, gravity and friction are all observable through hands-on play.
Engineering & Experimentation: Building and testing simple models (paper planes, streamers) reinforces trial-and-error learning and perseverance in problem solving.
Motor Skills & Coordination: Manipulating objects against strong air flows hones fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness.
Character & Resilience: Adjusting failures (e.g. wrong flight) encourages grit; experiencing the simulated hurricane teaches respect for nature’s power in a controlled way.
Connections: The Air Gallery bridges indoor learning with outdoor science. Students witness how wind creates weather phenomena (from gentle breezes to storms), linking physics to environmental science and inspiring awe about natural forces.
Water Gallery: Science of Water and Nature
Our Water Gallery is one of the most popular, with over 10 interactive stations dedicated to water play and discovery. Here children splash through rain showers, create water vortices, fire water cannons, and even wash a car – all activities that illustrate how water behaves. Through this fun experimentation, students explore scientific principles like density, buoyancy, pressure, gravity, flow and weather. For example, watching objects sink or float teaches buoyancy and density at a visceral level. A rain spout lets kids feel natural rainfall indoors, highlighting cause-and-effect in the water cycle. Every splashing experiment is an opportunity to ask “why?” and “what happens if…?”, reinforcing inquiry skills.
Scientific Concepts: Buoyancy, density, pressure and gravity are investigated hands-on (e.g. building dams, making whirlpools, or floating boats).
Environmental Awareness: Students learn about the importance of water as a resource, seeing it flow and cycle. Rain and river exhibits connect play to real-world weather patterns and water management (e.g. dams).
Life Skills: Controlling water flow or rescuing floating objects requires critical thinking and planning. Kids see cause-and-effect firsthand (“if I block the water here, what happens downstream?”), strengthening problem-solving.
Motor & Social Skills: Pouring, pumping, and scooping water engages gross and fine motor development. Working together at shared pumps or filling stations builds teamwork and communication. As one gallery description notes, “every experience will also support your child’s social skills, critical thinking and gross motor skills”.
Connections: The Water Gallery brings children closer to the natural world. It underlines sustainability themes – such as how rain feeds rivers and why clean water matters – making environmental science tangible. Water play also has soothing, sensory-rich benefits that support wellbeing and confidence.
Toshi’s Nets: Risk, Play and Confidence
Toshi’s Nets is a unique, netted playground that encourages safe risk-taking. Envisioned as a giant crochet sculpture (weighing 800 kg!), it is “part trampoline, part playground” for climbing and exploration. As children crawl, climb and balance through its colorful tunnels, they build gross and fine motor skills while instinctively assessing risks (How high can I go? How to pass this tunnel?). The exhibit’s design invites kids to challenge themselves: the gentle wobble of the nets provides thrills without danger. This risk-friendly space helps students learn to make choices and manage safety, which are essential life skills. Kids learn to take turns, help peers through obstacles, and even strategize routes – nurturing cooperation and empathy.
Physical Development: Climbing, crawling and balancing on the nets develops strength, coordination and spatial awareness.
Character & Risk Management: The Nets encourage safe risk-taking: children step out of comfort zones (higher climbs) in a controlled setting, building confidence. They also learn to recognize limits (e.g. height rules) and follow instructions, reinforcing decision-making skills.
Creativity & Imagination: With its Alice-in-Wonderland vibe, the net space naturally sparks imaginative play and exploration.
Teamwork & Communication: To navigate the structure, children often help each other, learning to wait their turn and collaborate. The gallery itself “enhances social skills through helping each other and taking turns”.
Connections: Toshi’s Nets brings elements of outdoor adventure indoors. It replicates the physical challenge of climbing trees or jungle gyms, developing healthy physical habits. The confidence a child gains here – learning they can reach new heights – carries over to character development and a positive attitude in other contexts.
Future Park: Digital Creativity and Ecosystems
In Future Park (developed with Japanese art collective teamLab), technology and art merge. Children draw pictures on tablets and see their creations come to life on large interactive screens, allowing every child to be an artist and programmer at once. This gallery emphasizes creative co-creation: kids can collaborate to decorate digital worlds, turning STEM and art into play. Through interactive games, they also learn about ecosystems and habitats. For example, one exhibit lets children catch virtual animals or play in a digital forest, teaching the importance of each creature and environment. The emphasis here is on imagination, creativity and technology literacy.
Digital Art & Technology: Children sketch and animate, learning the basics of digital media. This promotes fine motor control with styluses and introduces coding concepts (cause-and-effect of drawing on screen). As Asha Ramchandani notes, “technology has been used to create immersive exhibits to promote creativity and innate curiosity”.
Collaboration & Co-Creation: Multiple students can interact together, combining drawings into a shared scene. This social play teaches cooperation and communication.
Environmental Science: Topics like animal habitats and ecosystems are woven into the digital games (e.g. a screen where a fish must navigate a river), linking to curriculum topics. The field-trip description even lists “habitats” and “ecosystems” as key learning topics.
Creative Confidence: By seeing their own art animated on walls, children gain a sense of pride and ownership, encouraging expressive confidence and joy in learning.
Connections: Future Park bridges physical play with computer technology, preparing students for a tech-driven world while keeping creativity at the core. It also subtly introduces sustainability: as they create creatures and habitats, students reflect on nature’s diversity and our role in it. This gallery builds 21st-century skills (digital literacy, co-creation) in a playful context.
Cars & Ramps: Engineering Through Play
The Cars & Ramps gallery is an engineering challenge zone. Here kids can design, build and race their own toy cars on elaborate tracks and ramps. This concrete play space illustrates physics: students see how acceleration, mass, gravity, friction and force affect motion. When a car slows on a slope or jumps a ramp, they experience Newton’s Laws firsthand. They can then adjust their designs (adding weight or changing wheels) in real time – a hands-on experiment in STEM.
Physics Concepts: By racing cars and jumping them down slopes, children discover principles of motion and energy (e.g. heavier cars go faster downhill). The gallery explicitly teaches Newton’s laws, friction and resistance as part of play.
Engineering & Design Thinking: Building a stable car or an exciting ramp requires planning and creativity. This trial-and-error process teaches persistence: kids learn to cope with failure (a car that crashes) and modify solutions.
Problem Solving: Adjusting weight or reshaping a track enhances critical thinking. Children form hypotheses (“If I add more clay weight, will it jump farther?”) and test them immediately.
Teamwork & Risk-Taking: Students often work in teams to assemble tracks or race cars, practicing communication. The designers note that this process “supports the development of… healthy levels of risk taking”, encouraging children to take on engineering challenges together.
Connections: Cars & Ramps blends play with real-world engineering. It fosters perseverance – important for character development – as children learn that failure is part of innovation. The active, physical building and racing promotes energy and excitement, contributing to wellbeing and engagement.
Incredi-Balls: Ball Physics and Collaboration
Incredi-Balls is a whimsical gallery of rolling ball machines and paths. Children can experiment with six different ball-run exhibits and even build their own tracks. As balls cascade through chutes, launchers and loops, kids witness forces, kinetic energy, gravity and momentum in action. They can modify tracks to make new outcomes, observing cause-and-effect. This gallery is also highly collaborative: students must work together to construct large runs, passing pieces and adjusting angles.
Physical Science: Constructing and observing ball runs teaches gravity, inertia and energy transfer. Each ball’s roll becomes a lesson in physics. Students “observe gravity at work” as part of play.
Design & Problem Solving: Building a smooth ball track requires planning and fine motor skill. Kids hypothesize (e.g. “will this path make the ball jump?”) and refine their designs on the fly. This continuous design cycle sharpens spatial reasoning.
Teamwork: Creating large ball runs is often a team effort. Children learn to delegate (who holds pieces, who tests the track) and to adapt ideas together. This “hands-on experience of building, adjusting, and collaborating…supports observation skills, problem-solving skills, and design/spatial thinking skills”.
Perseverance: If a ball gets stuck or a tower falls, kids troubleshoot and try again, building resilience. Shared success in watching a ball complete the course fosters a growth mindset.
Connections: Incredi-Balls turns science into a kinetic spectacle. The gallery’s playful nature makes learning physics joyful, while the team projects promote social skills. The excitement of building and watching elaborate runs also contributes to positive social interaction and wellbeing among students.
Holistic Development Through Play
Across all galleries, OliOli® emphasizes whole-child development. Beyond academic concepts, each experience builds character, life skills and wellbeing:
Character & Confidence: Safe risk-taking (in Toshi’s and racing) and creative success (in Future Park and Incredi-Balls) help students build courage and self-esteem. When a child masters a net climb or completes a ball run, they gain confidence.
Teamwork & Social Skills: Nearly every activity involves collaboration – whether kids race cars against friends, help each other navigate nets, or jointly design an art scene. These interactions foster communication, patience and empathy.
Creativity & Curiosity: Open-ended play encourages free thinking. Instead of one “right answer,” children can experiment and imagine. As founder Asha Ramchandani notes, this approach counters the “only one correct answer” mindset and encourages creative thinking.
Physical Wellbeing: The museum’s emphasis on movement – climbing, splashing, building – supports physical education in a fun way. Children burn energy and develop coordination, mirroring the benefits of outdoor play within a controlled space.
Environmental & Science Literacy: By engaging with natural elements like wind and water, and exploring habitats, students gain awareness of the environment. Concepts of sustainability (water as a resource, balance in ecosystems) are learned indirectly through these exhibits.
Emotional Safety: OliOli® is designed for all abilities (wheelchair-accessible, sensory-friendly galleries like Water and Future Park). Staff are trained in first aid and many are certified in special needs support, making educators feel reassured. Indeed, many parents note that OliOli® “feels like a safe space” for children. This nurtures a positive learning mindset, as kids are free from fear and can explore comfortably.
Educators see the benefits immediately. One teacher said, “the friendly staff were attentive and knowledgeable about each gallery and learning principles. It made the trip perfect for my students.” Another praised the personal attention and playful guidance (“Miss Sahar and John…gave us the perfect experience”). This highlights how OliOli® combines structured guidance with child-led discovery – a balance that maximizes learning.
Customization and Add-Ons
OliOli® understands each school’s needs. Teachers can request theme focus or curriculum links, ensuring the trip complements classroom lessons. For example, a biology class might emphasize the Water Gallery’s ecosystems, while a physics class could dive deep into air and motion exhibits. Guided worksheet activities and educator-led spots can be arranged.
Proven Experience with 100+ Schools
Having collaborated with over a hundred UAE schools, OliOli® has refined its field trip program to align with educational standards. Buses can be dropped right at our doorstep in Al Quoz. The emphasis on safety and structure means teachers can relax.
Every field trip includes a brief orientation, 60 minutes of guided play through the chosen galleries, and a wrap-up discussion. The staff-visitor ratio is high – one educator reviewed that museum guides like Ms. Jen and Mr. Farai led each activity “with patience and care”. Such personal attention ensures even shy or special-needs students thrive.
Why OliOli® is the Premier Choice
OliOli® Dubai stands out as the premier educational field trip destination in the UAE because it masterfully integrates curriculum-based learning into joyful, child-led play. Each gallery’s design reflects developmental goals – from STEM to socio-emotional growth. This dual focus on knowledge and character development is rare in an indoor play space.
In the words of one visiting educator, “You will definitely see us again…our students had a wonderful time!”. With glowing testimonials, curriculum alignment and meticulous logistics, OliOli® offers an unforgettable inquiry-based experience that hits every mark on the educational checklist.
For Dubai’s school administrators and teachers looking to enrich science, nature and character education, OliOli® promises an inspiring, hassle-free day of learning through play.
Frequently Asked Questions
OliOli® is an experiential children’s museum in Dubai, offering interactive, curriculum-aligned galleries that support inquiry-based learning. With hands-on exhibits across science, technology, art, and wellbeing, it provides a structured yet joyful space for educational exploration, making it ideal for school field trips.
A typical school visit lasts 2 hours, with two available slots: 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM and 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM. These durations are designed to align conveniently with school schedules while offering ample time for exploration.
OliOli® caters to children from FS1 to Year 6 (KG to Grade 6). The galleries are designed to engage multiple age groups, and visits can be customized to match the developmental and academic level of the students.
Yes. Each field trip is curriculum-aligned, focusing on key learning outcomes across STEM, environmental science, the arts, and personal development. Teachers can choose galleries and optional workshops to reinforce classroom topics.
Absolutely. Schools can choose any 4 out of 6 interactive galleries to tailor the visit according to educational goals and age groups. The flexibility ensures each field trip is purpose-driven and relevant to current learning units.
Yes. Trained OliOli® educators guide students through the exhibits, provide demonstrations, and ensure safety throughout the visit. This allows teachers to focus on observing student engagement and learning outcomes.
OliOli® follows stringent safety protocols, including child-safe equipment, clearly marked staff supervision, and structured flow within galleries. Each group is accompanied by trained facilitators to ensure a safe and smooth experience.
Yes. Schools may opt for workshops and interactive shows, such as the popular Crazy Catapults physics challenge. These add-ons reinforce STEM topics in a fun, hands-on environment and can be requested during booking.
While the visit duration is designed to be completed without breaks, schools may request use of designated areas for snack time based on availability. However, it’s recommended that students eat before or after the trip.
To book a field trip, schools can contact OliOli® directly via the official website, email, or phone. The education team will assist with date availability, gallery selection, workshop inclusion, and logistics to ensure a seamless booking process.
Parents & Kids Love
School Trips at OliOli®
Happy stories from families who’ve made unforgettable memories with field trips at OliOli®.
