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Nur Alem, Astana: the mirrored sphere in winter

Nur Alem, Astana: what is open inside the Expo sphere

The Museum of Future Energy inside the Nur Alem sphere closed in December 2024. The building now houses the alem.ai centre, and visitors can enter only the Singularity Museum on the first floor.

  • Old museum closed
  • Ticket 2,500 tenge
  • Tue–Sun 10:00–18:30
  • Sphere 80 m across
See photos · 5 When to go Plan the trip

Photo: Екатерина · Pexels

Verified: 2026-11

Nur Alem, Astana: when to go, month by month

  1. January: best time
  2. February: best time
  3. March: best time
  4. April: best time
  5. May: best time
  6. June: best time
  7. July: best time
  8. August: best time
  9. September: best time
  10. October: best time
  11. November: best time
  12. December: best time

The museum is indoors and listed as open Tuesday to Sunday all year on alem.ai.

Nur Alem, Astana: why go

Future Energy museum has closed

The operator says it stopped admitting visitors in December 2024. Descriptions of eight energy floors are out of date.

Singularity Museum, first floor

This is the only part open to visitors now. The alem.ai site mentions immersive technology, interactive tours and events.

The Nur Alem sphere from outside

Kazinform gave 80 m across and 100 m high in 2018. Lit patterns appear on the glass at night, visible from outside.

Who enters free

Children under 7, people with disabilities and companions, mothers of large families, and pensioners on Tuesdays, with ID.

Nur Alem is the glass sphere at the centre of the Expo 2017 site in Astana, and most guides still describe a museum that no longer exists. The operator says the eight-floor Museum of Future Energy stopped admitting visitors in December 2024. The building now holds the International Centre for Artificial Intelligence, alem.ai, and tourists can visit only the Singularity Museum on the first floor.

Older guides are out of date If a blog or tour promises floors on wind, solar and space energy or the old ticket price, it is describing the closed museum. Ask a tour operator to confirm what their stop includes.

Tickets and hours as of November 2026

Figures below are from the alem.ai site on 6 November 2026.

ItemDetail
HoursTuesday to Sunday, 10:00–18:30
Mondayclosed for maintenance
Entry2,500 tenge
Guided tour, up to 30 people10,000 tenge, entry tickets extra
Where to buyonline via YouTicket
Operator’s addressMangilik El Avenue 55/13

Free entry covers children under 7, visitors with disabilities and their companions, orphans, mothers of large families and WWII veterans, with supporting documents. Pensioners go free on Tuesdays. The guided tour only makes sense for a group, unless you are happy to pay the flat rate alone.

What you can and cannot enter

Only the first floor is pitched at visitors. The upper floors run education and work programmes, so do not expect your ticket to take you there.

FloorUse, per alem.ai
1public space, Singularity Museum
2–3TUMO Astana, free programme for ages 12–18
4Tomorrow School, 18 and over, by application
5research university
6start-up campus
7research labs
8digital government programme

The site describes the first floor only in broad terms: immersive technology, interactive tours and events. It gives no exhibit list or suggested visit length, so treat this as a short stop.

The building from outside

The sphere itself remains the reason to come, and you can see it on any day. Kazinform gave its diameter as 80 m and its height as 100 m in 2018, and noted light patterns at night, which makes an evening visit appealing. Sources credit the design differently: Kazinform names the German architect Albert Speer Jr., while Sxodim names the firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill. We did not resolve this.

Planning the rest of your day

Pair it with a walk in the Astana Botanical Garden, which Informburo places near the Expo site, or finish at Khan Shatyr or Baiterek. The wider day plan is on our things to do in Astana page. A 2017 article mentions an underground car park for 1,000 cars with three free hours, and we do not know if that still applies. We also found no current bus route, so check the address in a map app.

Not verified yet We could not confirm what the Singularity Museum displays or how long it takes, whether the observation deck and glass bridge are open, parking terms, or photography rules inside.

Nur Alem, Astana: tips before you go

  1. Monday is a maintenance day, so choose another day.
  2. Tickets sell online through YouTicket.
  3. We could not confirm whether the eighth-floor deck is open.

More to see nearby

Frequently asked questions

Is the Nur Alem museum still open?
The Museum of Future Energy is not. The operator QazExpoCongress says it stopped admitting visitors in December 2024. The Singularity Museum on the first floor of the same building is open.
How much is a ticket to Nur Alem?
The alem.ai site listed 2,500 tenge on 6 November 2026 for the Singularity Museum. A guided tour for up to 30 people costs 10,000 tenge, with entry tickets on top. Tickets sell online through YouTicket.
Can you still go up to the observation deck?
It was open on the eighth floor with a glass bridge in 2018. The alem.ai site now assigns that floor to another programme, and we could not confirm visitor access.
Is it worth visiting Nur Alem now?
For the architecture, yes: the sphere is free to see from outside. Inside, expect one floor, not the eight-floor tour that older guides describe, and plan accordingly.

Sources

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