Updated: March 31, 2024

The museum encompasses the Union house, the location where the emirate’s founding fathers signed a declaration that marked the formation of the UAE in 1971.
The museum was designed by Moriyama & Teshima Architects in the shape of a manuscript, with seven columns built into the museum to resemble the pens used to sign the original declaration. The building has eight permanent pavilions.
The historic signing of the Constitution of the United Arab Emirates, the raising of the first UAE flag, and the formation of the United Arab Emirates as a country on 2 December 1971 took place within the area that forms the museum today. The museum is designed as a document to signify the signing of the UAE constitution.