Explore Nemo science museum in Amsterdam

When we get the chance we always want to bring our kids to places that stimulate their mind and at the same time let off some energy. And at the heart of the city of Amsterdam is a landmark right smack in the middle of the Ij river that will do just that!

The Nemo Science museum is the largest science center in the Netherlands and is visited by over 600,000 people every year. It contains five floors of hands-on science exhibits that you and your kids would love to have a look and try! We’ve been to this place so many times yet we keep coming back because there’s always something new added to the themes of each floor, plus we always learn something new whenever we visit.

Floors of fun activity

As soon as you enter the building, after going through the ticket counter and check point, you will be greeted with science experiments and exhibits left and right as you come to the first floor. The main feature on the floor is a show on the half-hour featuring a chain reaction circuit. Your kids will love, as ours do, to investigate the natural phenomenons of light, sound and static electricity. They will learn how to make giant bubbles and trap themselves in it! This floor also features exhibits that show how science evolved through centuries. And the best part, you get to see and touch these experiments yourselves!

Climbing up the stairs to the second floor, your auditory senses will be greeted with the clicking sound of balls in their ball factory exhibit, one of my kids’ favorite go-to places in the entire museum. Another experimental treat would be their water-cycle displays that will surely get your kiddos wet! Going up to the third floor is like going into space as your kids will learn more about the building blocks of the cosmos. From looking at the tiniest particles in the microscope to witnessing how meteors and comets can roam around close to earth!

Just when you think that Nemo is built only for kids (well, families I should say), you will be quite mistaken when you reach the fourth floor. Themed as Humania, this floor allows one to discover the essence of the human body. Some of their exhibits here have a bit more mature content but they have fun experiments that challenge the mind and the human senses. I have to be honest in saying that some of the experiments my kids have tried out here would need some parental guidance, but I myself love the brain challenges they have for the older kids and adults on this floor.

After hours of fun, we always enjoy a drink and something to eat in the top floor’s cafeteria. This is actually next to an open roof-top area where kids can still play and experiment while parents sit and chat while enjoying the view of the city. And every now and then, our kids get a small take-home toy from the gift shop by the entrance. Having a museum card was also very handy for our family. It gives us the freedom to visit whenever we want and how many times we want to. And whenever we have relatives or friends visiting from abroad, we only have to pay for their tickets and we get in for free!

If you’d like to know more about this science museum, check out their website in English, and you can also watch a short video we’ve published on our Youtube channel by clicking here, to see our boys in action! 

Back to Home

Back to Mom & Parenting