From bubbles to Dinosaurs: Inside SCRF’s Junior Museum

Organised by UAE company, Science Street, the edutainment space is a hit with families seeking hands-on learning opportunities that mix wonder and curiosity with science concepts that can be easily grasped by early learners. With themed “corners” arranged like a journey through interactive experiments, music, motion, colours and even dinosaurs, the Junior Museum is built to engage the youngest of festival goers.

“It’s like a nursery of discovery,” said Mohammed Essam, Coordinator at Science Street. “We wanted to create a space where fun meets learning—and the result is a two-hour adventure that takes children through arcade games, musical floors, illusions, smoothie-making, fossils, and science shows. Each zone is designed to engage the senses and stimulate young minds.”

Tiny explorers, big experiences

Children begin at the Arcade Corner, where they play with bubbles and learn how soap works as a protective barrier. Then it’s on to the Interactive Ballroom, a game zone where soft-shooting arcade machines are carefully calibrated for preschoolers. They even get to step onto a giant piano and play music using their feet—a tactile lesson in rhythm and sound.

From there, children engage with mechanical gears and launch paper airplanes at the Machines Corner, followed by the ever-popular Smoothie Bike, where they pedal to power blenders and make fruit smoothies with ingredients like banana and strawberry.

“I liked the bike the most because I made juice by riding!” said Anas, 5, grinning after pedalling his way to a strawberry blend.

The journey continues with the Dino Corner, a crowd favourite. Children dig through a sandpit for dinosaur bones using miniature excavation tools and colour fossil-shaped dinosaurs. The experience is capped with a photo booth where they pose inside a giant dinosaur egg.

A festival of science for the youngest minds

In the Science Corner next, children play doctor at an “Operation Table” simulation that teaches motor control and focus, attempting to remove parts without touching the sides—a buzzer sounds if they do. The area also includes lessons in optics, sound, and air pressure. A Bernoulli Table demonstrates how air moves objects by levitating balls using air streams.

“We want them to come away with a love for science,” added Essam, who is also the Operations Manager at the institute that has branches in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. “Whether it’s optics, soundwaves, or how air works, they’re learning through doing.”

The experience wraps up with a live science show, where young audiences are introduced to bubbly experiments and slime—all presented in child-friendly formats that blend wonder with basic scientific principles.

“We keep it simple but magical,” said Essam. “Bubbles, slime, and smiles—what more could a young learner want?”

For four-year-old Fairouz, it was the bubbles.

“The bubbles went everywhere! I want to come again,” she said.

The Junior Museum is part of SCRF 2025’s larger mission to blend books, science, and creativity through more than 600 interactive sessions and workshops running until May 4. This year’s theme, “Dive into Books”, invites families to explore reading through a spectrum of experiences—from pixel art and robotics to DNA models and dry ice experiments.

The festival, now in its 16th edition, is organised by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) and features literary and creative greats as well as publishers from around the world, offering a cultural mosaic of ideas, skills, and inspiration.