Dubaï Moving Image Museum, Cinema history museum in Barsha Heights, United Arab Emirates.
The Dubaï Moving Image Museum is an art museum in Barsha Heights dedicated to the history of visual entertainment. It displays a collection of mechanical devices including vintage cameras, magic lanterns, and zoetropes that show how people created moving images.
The museum was founded in 2014 and collects objects from Western Europe, America, and Asia that show how technology for moving images spread across the world. These devices come from the era before cinema and modern projectors, when inventors and engineers created solutions to make movement visible.
The museum demonstrates how moving images have been part of human life for centuries and how people have always been fascinated by capturing and sharing movement. The collection tells the story of this curiosity long before cinemas existed.
The museum is located in a central district of Dubai and is easy to reach, with wheelchair access and an accessible entrance. It maintains regular hours on most weekdays, so check specific times before planning your visit.
The museum houses a notable collection of pre-cinematographic devices that show how people experimented with optical tricks in the 19th century to create movement. These early inventions were often artistic and entertaining toys before they became tools for more serious visual storytelling.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
