ilmi, a new Center for Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STREAM) learning, created by HRH Princess Sara Bint Mashhour Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, wife of HRH the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has been announced today.
ilmi – meaning “my knowledge” in Arabic – will be a fully accessible Science Discovery and Innovation Center that inspires and empowers young people across Saudi Arabia to explore, create, and solve challenges in a hands-on way. A philanthropic, non-government initiative incubated and supported by the Mohammed Bin Salman Foundation “Misk” as one of its subsidiaries, ilmi will also operate in partnership with Mohammed Bin Salman Nonprofit City.
Commenting on the launch, HRH Princess Sara Bint Mashhour Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud said, “ilmi will be a beacon of creativity, learning and accessibility. It will offer all Saudi Arabia’s young and lifelong learners the ability to realize their potential, drive further advances in the Kingdom, and help shape the future. Together, I hope that we will all create ilmi, and inspire and support our next generation.”
At ilmi’s core is a unique approach that seeks to develop a detailed, qualitative picture of how young people across Saudi Arabia best connect with STREAM subjects. Using this information, with its young audiences, and alongside parents, teachers, learning experts, employers, scientists, creatives, and entrepreneurs, ilmi will co-create a regularly refreshed program of STREAM content – ensuring that its learning offering remains relevant to young people as their needs evolve.
Located at Mohammed bin Salman Nonprofit City in Riyadh and opening in 2025, the new ilmi Center will span 27,000 square meters and reflects the City’s goals to embody creativity and sustainability through integration with its natural surroundings, extensive landscaping and the use of natural light.
Planned permanent exhibits will be based around three core themes – Our World, Our Selves, and Our Inventions – and will focus on subjects including space, ecosystems, and AI. The Center will also host a variety of co-created installations, events, talks, performances, and learning-partner programs designed to build a new STREAM community in Saudi Arabia.
ilmi will offer an integrated digital platform combined with a series of pop-up learning experiences across Saudi Arabia. These will start to go live this summer and aim to get young people, parents, families and friends of all ages and abilities excited and engaged in STREAM prior to the opening of ilmi’s physical home.
Launching soon, ilmi’s online offering will feature a series of exciting, gamified design challenges that explore key STREAM concepts, connect them to real-life, and invite participants to come up with creative responses as part of a competition. To support this initiative, ilmi will also hold a series of live activations that will explore the STREAM content behind each digital challenge and encourage families and friends to work together to create and build solutions live.
