We caught the Big Bus (with commentary) from Waffi City and it stopped right outside the entrance to the museum. Even if you are not into history or culture you should nt miss this as it gives you a real insight to the rise of Dubai with various scenes through the ages and a short film. After half an hour we hopped on the next Bus and continued with our tour.

We went to the Dubai Museum to get a sense for the history and culture of the area, as the resort where we were staying could've been anywhere in the Western world. The musuem was the best option to accomplish this (though I'd also recommend the tour offered twice a week at the Jumerieh Mosque) but it needs some work, as it lacks any evidence that anyone's updated the information provided since the 1990s. But it did provide us with a good introduction of Dubai's history and culture and it was a worthwhile visit. It took us a little over one hour to get through it, though I confess that we skipped the astronomy and some of the less pertinent displays towards the end that seemed like spacefillers.

We visited the Museum in a very hot day, after a long stroll in the Creek, and it was nice to breath some fresh, contitioned air!!
As you visit the museum, you go thru the history of Dubai, from desert houses with their typical wind towers to modern Dubai. Mannequins are used to recreate the atmosphere of an old creek, a night in the desert and to show how oyster fishing was performed.
You'll see old maps of the Gulf and aerial pics of the development of Dubai city in the last decades, really impressive!

WE visited the fort museum in July. The temp was 40oC outside and very humid. With only two days stop-over we decided to see as much as we could. The museum looked very small from the outside, and the heat was unbearable. But once in, you go down under the ground and it was beautifully cool. It was absolutely fantastic and so interesting, even for the children. We were amazed at the history of Dubai. An absolute must if you are visiting, and give yourself a couple of hours, as there is so much to see. At the end of it there is even a shop selling lots of souveniers of Dubai, which we found hard to get anywhere else.