Lost Worlds exhibition draws record number of crowds

To accommodate the crowds and to give visitors more time to visit this amazing exhibition and to take advantage of this world-class offering, organisers have extended the opening hours, doubling visiting times to grant the public of Qatar a full day opening from 8am to 11pm on weekends (Friday and Saturday).*

Visitors of all ages and nationalities have flocked to the Sheraton to see the splendours of past life on Earth and the magnificent collection of some astonishing and rare treasures from the natural world. The exhibition, which is open to the public free of charge, was organised by the National Council for Culture Arts and Heritage (NCCAH) with the help of the Natural History Museum in London.

The public's response to the exhibition has been extremely positive with Government officials, educational leaders, parents and school teachers alike applauding the way it has been set-up to appeal to children and adults of all ages. The exhibition has been specifically designed to raise awareness of the fragility of the natural world and the responsibility mankind has to preserve it for future generations.

'We are delighted with the response from the people of Qatar who have flocked to Lost Worlds in their thousands. Visitor numbers have dramatically exceeded our initial expectations,' says Hubert Bari, Manager of Exhibitions for the NCCAH. 'In order to allow the public to take full advantage of the exhibition and due to popular demand, I am pleased to say that we have extended the opening hours to give the public more flexibility and an increased number of hours in the week in which they can visit the exhibition.'

The public have another six weeks, until 11 December 2004, in which they can visit the exhibition and return again and again to marvel at the incredible sites on display; dinosaurs, birds, meteorites, fossils of extinct sea creatures, plants, reptiles, mammals and wonderful natural history artworks by world renowned artists.

Organisers are hoping that the public's positive response will ensure there are many more future cultural events in Doha in the future.

Lost Worlds is the first in a series of innovative and exciting projects organised by the NCCAH. Construction is already underway on several new museums and cultural institutions in Qatar, including the Qatar National Library which will house a permanent Natural History Museum, which with more than 5000sq meters of exhibition galleries will be the biggest of its genre in Middle Orient.

The museum will focus on the problems of preserving the environment and will present examples from the past, including the famous "Dinosaur" extinction 65 million years ago, to show today's very real threat of extinction due to mankind's activities. Important fossil collections, including giants from the past, will be - together with a gem collection, the highlight of the future museum.