Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Centre received over 47,000 students in 2015

AL AIN, 5th January, 2016 (WAM) – In 2015, some 47,390 school students visited the Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Centre building (SZDLC), situated within the UAE World Desert section of the Al Ain Zoo, providing a comprehensive exhibit interpretation of Abu Dhabi Emirate's desert environment, traditions, conservation efforts, and emerging sustainable sensibilities. Ghanim Mubarak Al Hajeri, Director-General of the Zoo and Aquarium Public Institution in Al Ain Zoo, described the number as a ''record'' in the current operational phase which is only confined to school visits before the official opening to the public. He said the centre provides visiting students an exciting, edutainment experience that makes their lifestyle more sustainable. The SZDLC features interpretation designed according to a hybrid exhibit design character, balancing an interpretive centre/museum design approach with science centre exhibit principles; the end result is a "formal" museum look animated by exhibits that emphasise hands-on exploration, experimentation, flexible messaging and "fun" that visitors typically experience in science centres. The centre's mission is to continue the environmental legacy of its founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed, by challenging the public to explore the connections between themselves and the UAE's desert environment, with a goal of fostering understanding, appreciation, and protection of the desert and its diversity, while highlighting Al Ain and the Al Ain Zoo as stewards of the Emirates natural heritage. – Emirates News Agency, WAM - http://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates/1395289926515.html