Dubai Culture’s Summer Camps Open New Horizons For Creativity Among Young Generations
Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) has announced its annual summer camps, set to take place throughout July and August across a number of its cultural and heritage assets. Designed to offer enriching and interactive experiences, the camps will provide children with opportunities to explore heritage, science, technology, visual arts, and performing arts within inspiring environments that nurture creativity, build confidence, and broaden knowledge across a variety of disciplines. The initiative reflects Dubai Culture’s commitment to empowering younger generations to uncover their creative potential, build their character, and strengthen their connection to community values and national identity.
Al Shindagha Museum, the UAE’s largest heritage museum, will host the ‘Young Merchants of Dubai Creek’ summer camp over two weeks, with the first session taking place from 13 to 17 July and the second from 20 to 24 July. Children aged 6 to 12 will embark on an interactive journey exploring the lives of Dubai Creek merchants, and the role trade played in shaping the city before it became a global hub for commerce and business. Participants will take part in a range of workshops and cultural experiences that will introduce them to the skills, values, and etiquette that characterise traditional trade in Dubai. Activities will include designing and building traditional dhows using wooden models, discovering historical trading goods such as cotton and mangrove wood, and learning about the commercial exchanges that once flourished along Dubai Creek. Children will also create handmade products and showcase them in market stalls of their own design, competing for the titles of ‘Young Merchant and Best Trade Stall.’ The programme further includes visits to one of Dubai’s traditional souqs, where participants will experience bargaining, buying, and selling, and take part in a variety of merchant-inspired challenges and activities.
Meanwhile, Etihad Museum will host its Summer Camp over two weeks, from 3 to 7 August and from 10 to 14 August, targeting children aged 5 to 12. The camp will offer participants an opportunity to explore science, history, and culture through engaging experiences that combine learning and fun. As part of the Science & Innovation Lab programme, children will take part in a series of hands-on activities, arts-and-crafts workshops, creative storytelling sessions, and team-based games and challenges that encourage collaboration and innovative thinking. Participants will also enjoy guided museum explorations, allowing them to discover key milestones in the history of the UAE and the story of its Union within a stimulating learning environment designed to inspire creativity, curiosity, and discovery.
Under the theme ‘Our Family, Our Unity,’ Dubai Public Libraries’ Summer Camp, inspired by the UAE’s Year of the Family 2026, will be held across two sessions. The first will run from 13 to 24 July, while the second will take place from 3 to 14 August 2026. Activities will be hosted across Al Mankhool Library, Al Twar Library, Al Safa Art & Design Library, Al Rashidiya Library, Umm Suqeim Library, Hatta Library, Hor Al Anz Library, and Al Barsha Community Centre. Children aged 5 to 14 will enjoy an educational experience that combines creative arts, crafts, technology, and innovation, helping reinforce family values while strengthening national identity and community belonging. Through a series of hands-on projects and activities, participants will explore Emirati heritage, customs, and traditions while gaining exposure to coding, robotics, smart systems, and sustainability concepts. The programme is also designed to develop critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, and leadership skills within an inspiring educational environment that connects heritage with creativity and technology. The camp will conclude with interactive exhibitions hosted at participating libraries, offering children an opportunity to present their artistic, technological, and engineering projects and innovative ideas to their families and community members, celebrating the knowledge and skills they have acquired throughout their learning journey.
At Al Jalila Cultural Centre for Children, Dubai Culture will present the Creativity Summer Camp across two sessions, taking place from 3 to 7 August and 10 to 14 August. Designed for children aged 4 to 14, the camp offers an immersive educational and creative journey where imagination takes root and ideas flourish through art, movement, storytelling, design, and hands-on experiences. Inspired by the wonders of nature, the programme encourages participants to explore, create, perform, and collaborate within an interactive environment that nurtures curiosity, innovation, and self-expression.
At the centre, children will take part in a diverse programme of age-appropriate workshops and activities, including pottery, visual arts and design, theatre, creative cooking, craft-based experiences, and performance activities. The programme also features a Civil Defence workshop, a visit to VOX Cinemas, and concludes with a family exhibition showcasing participants’ artistic creations and celebrating their creative journey.
Through these diverse programmes, Dubai Culture continues to create meaningful opportunities for children and young people to learn, explore, and grow, empowering them with the knowledge, skills, and creative confidence needed to contribute to the future of Dubai’s cultural and creative landscape.