Al Ain: Visitors are trickling into the new Geological Park as word spreads of the UAE’s first-of-its-kind facility at Al Jahili Garden in Al Ain.
The new park is an outdoor natural history museum of sorts, and visitors can now take in the unique experience as authorities prepare to officially declare it open later this year.
A newly built pavilion is on display featuring 12 stones of different origins as the park gears up for the big opening.
“The park has yet to be fully operational,” said an official from the Environmental Unit at Al Ain Municipality. The park will shortly get more geological specimens from different parts of the Emirates, along with a team of dedicated tour guides who will serve visitors at the park to answer their queries.
Blessed with a beautiful landscape, the UAE has diverse geological characteristics that inspire scientists and students to get into the nature to study and enjoy.
“The park is an initiative to blend education with leisure and shape up yet another tourism hot spot in Al Ain,” said Engineer Abdullah Sultan Al Deri, Head of Research and Development Section, at Al Ain Municipality.
Al Dari said tour guides constitute the first Emirati group that has received a tailor-made training at the UAE University (UAEU).
Nine-member squad has completed a theoretical course and will now get practical training at the Geological Park to provide visitors with information on each of the stone and its composition and natural forming process.
All of the newly trained tour guides are employees of Al Ain Municipality and they have volunteered to serve as tour guides, he said. They will work in groups of two during morning and evening shifts in addition to their regular job responsibilities at the municipality.
Engineer Suhail Al Muhairi, Executive Director of Infrastructure and Assets Sector at Al Ain City Municipality, said the park, which reflects the UAE’s environmental and natural diversity, would set a new trend by blending education and leisure. The park has brought under one roof some of the country’s major geological features in the form of 22 carefully selected rocks.
For setting up the park, four organisations such as Al Ain Municipality, UAEU, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and NAEL Construction collaborated. The park’s mural was unveiled by Shaikh Hazza Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, General Manager of the Office of the Ruler’s Representative in the Eastern Region, as part of the UAE’s 42nd National Day celebrations in December last year.
He commended the efforts of collaborating organisations for the project.
Speaking on the occasion, Shaikh Hazza said that Al Ain is moving fast towards providing distinctive services and facilities based on the best international standards.
Dr Mattar Al Nuaimi, General Manager of Al Ain Municipality, said: “The Geological Park forms a natural museum that disseminates information concerned with UAE nature and its geographical diversity.” Al Ain Municipality had been following the directives of Abu Dhabi Executive Council and implementing new ideas in the current construction boom in the oasis city, he said.
According to Engineer Al Deri, the park is a natural scientific landmark and its design is done in collaboration with Emirati students. A competition was held for the design of the park that was won by Muna Abdullah Saeed, Alia Juma Salem, Nahed Ahmad Khamis and Reem Mattar Abdullah — all students of the College of Engineering at the UAEU.
The students expressed their happiness as their ideas are transformed into landmark reality.
“The design reflects the geological nature of the UAE displaying its desert, mountains, hills and oasis, [by] taking into consideration the sun, shadows, air movement as well as the design of fountains to cool the location in summer,” said Muna.
