Abu Dhabi, UAE: Louvre Abu Dhabi welcomed 1,671 students from GEMS Education, along with 30 university students and alumni from across the UAE, for two special Students Takeover initiatives, reaffirming the museum’s commitment to fostering learning through art and culture.

On Monday, 21 April, as part of its dynamic Students Takeover the Museum programme, the museum welcomed students from across GEMS Education schools. As the museum remains closed to the public on Mondays, the takeover provided students and teachers with exclusive access to the galleries, along with a tailored programme designed to spark curiosity and creativity.

Throughout the day, participants engaged in a variety of educational activities inspired by the museum’s collection and universal themes. Teachers led activities, supported by Louvre Abu Dhabi’s educational resources, including curated training materials and learning guides.

Building on this momentum, Louvre Abu Dhabi also welcomed university students and alumni (under 25 years) as part of its annual University Take Over the Museum programme. Now in its third season (2024–2025), the programme challenged students across the UAE to explore human history through a wide lens, connecting different historical and cultural moments through time.

This year’s theme, "Threads of Time," invited students to creatively interpret the museum’s collection, architecture, and universal narrative.

Representing five leading universities — Zayed University, UAEU, NYUAD, Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, and HCT — participants took on roles such as Artists, Content Developers, Educators, Graphic Designers, Media Support, and Volunteers to bring their creative interventions to life across the museum’s spaces.

The season concluded on Thursday, 24 April 2025.

Maral Jule Bedoyan, Education and Learning Resources Manager at Louvre Abu Dhabi, emphasised the museum’s growing role in the education ecosystem: “Louvre Abu Dhabi is proud to be a space where education and culture meet in meaningful ways. Dedicating entire days for schools and universities to take over the museum reflects our deep commitment to empowering students and teachers alike. This forms part of a broader strategy to position the museum as a learning incubator—one that supports daily school visits, integrates with academic curriculum, offers teacher training, and provides opportunities to host classes within the museum itself.”
Noura Mohamed Almansoori, Museum Educator, at Louvre Abu Dhabi, further explained that the program “Truly showcases the museum as a space where learning can happen in a fun and inspiring way, by welcoming a total of 6 schools (GEMS World Academy schools + their cluster schools) to experience the museum as an extension of their classroom in engaging educational encounters at the museum.”These initiatives continue to strengthen Louvre Abu Dhabi’s position as an inclusive, accessible platform for cultural education, offering meaningful engagement for students and empowering educators to shape inspiring learning journeys through art.

Students Takeover the museum continues to strengthen Louvre Abu Dhabi’s role as an inclusive, accessible platform for cultural education, offering meaningful engagement for students and empowering educators to shape inspiring learning journeys through art.