Eastern Province
Museum

King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture - Ithra - Dharan

4.8Reviews
King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture - Ithra, Ring Road, Dhahran Saudi Arabia
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Description

The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture,  also known as Ithra is a museum located in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. 

Architecture and History 

The center was built and inaugurated in 2016 with a focus on culture, learning and cross-cultural activities. The building was designed by a Norwegian architectural firm and is an amazing sight with its futuristic architecture. The center was also listed by the Time magazine as one of the top 100 places to visit in 2018. 

Entertainment

The museum is suitable for all age groups and inside the center, one can find a children’s museum, library, cinema, theater, exhibition halls, and a separate gallery for natural history.The theater inside the museum has a 900-seat auditorium.

The center hosts seasonal events, exhibits and workshops that people can sign up for on the museum’s website. An energy exhibit is held in a separate building which showcases multiple interactive displays and gives a detailed explantion about oil refining, production and the energy industry.

The building has a huge library where visitors can sit either to study or marvel at the architecture. Some restaurants and pop ups are also found in the vicinity. The trip to the museum can be very educational and enlightening. It provides an excellent learning opportunity in terms of culture and art especially for children.

The indoor activities are open until 10 pm but most sections begin to close down after 9 pm. Visitors should plan trips of 4 to 6 hours at least in order to experience everything the museum has to offer.

Destination Type
Landmark
Museum

Location

King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture - Ithra, Ring Road, Dhahran Saudi Arabia

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Reviews

Reviews
4.8
Excellent
from 31 reviews
Excellent
29
Very Good
1
Good
0
Average
0
Poor
1
Customer service
0.0
Experience
0.0
Value for money
0.0
Cleanliness
0.0
Safety
0.0
Reviews

Google review

The architecture manages to tread the fine line between modern and heritage, with out being crass or boring. The stainless steel tubing that forms much of the interior and exterior shell reminds me of drill strings, I'm unsure if that's intentional or not. The entire building has plenty of amenities and is well signed throughout.
Mohd Idris

Mohd Idris

01/13/2024 00:54

Google review

The structure of building really amazing.the best part is you can spent your quality time in library and by paying 35 SAR you can see museum which has so many historic islamic equipments the best part you can experience view of makkah and madinah via virtual reality (VR).and you can see history of saudi Aramco.
adzri nazir

adzri nazir

01/03/2024 07:39

Google review

Its a great place for leisure and for learning and also for picture taking. The library was well arrange and looking neat. Its a great way of learning especially related on the oil and gas field and how its made.
Ihar Beliauski

Ihar Beliauski

12/21/2023 08:32

Google review

The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, Ithra, is a cultural gem that captivates visitors with its diverse offerings. Notably, the security personnel at Ithra are incredibly helpful, ensuring a welcoming environment for all visitors. Their dedication to ensuring a positive experience enhances the overall enjoyment of the diverse cultural exhibits and activities. The security team's friendliness and helpfulness add an extra layer of warmth to the already enriching atmosphere at Ithra, making it a must-visit destination for cultural enthusiasts.
Ako siRC

Ako siRC

11/04/2023 20:16

Google review

We entered in the afternoon,it was me,my wife and our 8 yr. old son. We visited the library floor by floor, what a great collection of books. When we reached the 5th floor, i saw a nice spot to read, sadly we were aproached by a lady working there, she nicely told us that children are not allowed in that floor, so we just decided to go down and head to the museum. i hope we were informed earlier. We went to buy tickets to ithra museum and and childrens museum. the ladies in the ticketing do not know the what time the session starts for children's museum, which is a bit odd considering its their job. After we got the tickets, we headed to ithra museum, in the ticket scanning, we were informed that 1 section is not allowed for kids. that information should have been extended to us by the ladies in the ticketing before we purchased ticket, right? i told them at the ticket scanning, I cant leave my son outside a section while we enjoy the artwork, can I now. the response was, his entrance is free, you did not pay for him, kinda rude huh. someone who seems to be their supervisor aproached me and apologized. I wanted to just refund the tickets but i dont want to ruin the experience for my wife and son. We entered arcade 1, after around 3 minutes, the guy at the ticket scanning came to us. He said, i told you that you cant enter here. My reply was how should i know which arcade im not allowed to enter. there should be someone in the entrance of the arcade to inform guests about this.im clearly irritated at this point. So we left arcade 1 and walked down to arcade 2. Art is subjective. i was expecting more. Arcade 3, the concept was nice, it just lacked depth for me. the lighting made it difficult to see the sea creatures and other images projected on the walls. the interactive stuffs that they have are mostly damaged and not working, probably due to wear and tear or poor maintenance. Arcade 4, is very simple but informative. i hope they expand this section. we left the ithra musem and waited in the lobby. after less than an hour waiting at the lobby, we were finally allowed to enter the kids museum. we were warmly welcomed and a guy informed us about the available activities. the painting session was composed of giving kids paint and paper, with background music playing, i thought it could have been a more entertaining and memorable experience for the kids. You can see that the staffs tried their best to entertain however many of the interactive items at the first floor are broken, not functioning properly or kind of dirty. it was already dark when we left the building. Ithra is clearly made to impress and make you say wow, sadly the service does not do the same.
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