Monday 11 November 2013

The Labyrinth Kindermusem, Berlin

The Labyrinth Kindermuseum in Berlin is located a little way out of the city centre but it is very easy to reach by public transport and is well worth the trip. We visited with a four year old and a two year old and they were absolutely enchanted, we spent hours here.

Despite the name, it's no museum in the traditional sense. There are no display cases and 'do not touch' signs. Instead, the large room is stuffed full with hands-on activities and interactive experiences. Every six months or so the theme of the exhibition changes. When we visited the theme was "Ganz weit weg - und doch so nah" ("So far away, and yet so near") which is running until the 30th March 2014.

The Labyrinth Kindermuseum, Berlin

It is an amazing journey through the homes and lives of children across the world, experienced through all the senses. The room is organised into different areas, each crammed full of exciting and inviting activities. There are rails and rails of dressing up clothes, packed with outfits from across the world, with staff on hand to help the children dress themselves in the costumes.

The Labyrinth Kindermuseum, Berlin

There is a market stall with play food and a real yurt, full of cushions and books for storytelling.

The Labyrinth Kindermuseum, Berlin

In a pretend school, children can complete geographical and language puzzles and play with themed toys, and upstairs there are more puzzles and crafts. Next to a small area with wooden toys suitable for younger toddlers is an amazing construction area where children can put on a high visibility vest and hat before using sections of pipe, foam blocks and sheets to actually build themselves a home.

The Labyrinth Kindermuseum, Berlin

You need to take your shoes off while you are there, but I was able to borrow some special shoes from a basket so that the children could do a spot of shoe cleaning.

The Labyrinth Kindermuseum, Berlin

The Labyrinth Kindermusem was an absolute highlight of our trip to Berlin, and I am so envious that we don't have something like this near us. I'll leave you with a short video of Harry exploring some of the different play food in the yurt - we spent ages in here!


See the Labyrinth Kindermuseum website for more details. In particular it's worth checking the opening times, as during term time the attraction is not open every day for individual visitors. Admission currently costs 4.50  € and a family ticket is available. 

We were kindly provided with complimentary access to the museum.

17 comments:

  1. This sounds really great. I like how they change it and the best way to learn through play. Never mind taking my children I'd love to go as I find it really interesting how things are different all around the World.

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    1. I definitely enjoyed it as much as the children!

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  2. I love how museums are becoming so much more interactive. It makes sense that children will happily absorb the information rather than simply being shown it.

    Looks like a fabulous place to visit!

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    1. We visited another museum in the morning that was very interesting, but it was just full of display cases and things that the children couldn't touch. This one didn't have so many information boards, but it definitely captured their interest a lot more.

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  3. Fab post!! Can't say I will ever be visiting Berlin anytime soon though - grrrr :( Does look a fab place though!

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    1. Thank you, I'd definitely recommend Berlin both for children and adults!

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  4. Awww sounds like a great Museum!! Must go to Berlin ;-)

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  5. This sounds fantastic for little ones - what do you think the upper age limit is? I've never been to Berlin but would love to go there.

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    1. They market themselves as aiming at children from 3-11, although my daughter is 2 and there were definitely lots of younger children there that loved it. When we visited on a Friday afternoon it was mainly pre-schoolers there, but I think that older children would definitely get a lot out of it. I believe that they run group sessions for school children that are probably a bit more structured. But there were plenty of learning activities that older children could engage with, like learning words and songs in different languages.

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  6. Ooo we missed this when we went to Berlin - next time !

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    1. It's definitely worth a visit and I think it gets missed out of the usual tourist itineraries because it's not so central and a smaller attraction.

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  7. I've never been to Berlin and I SO want to go - if I do make it there this is one place I'll be sure to check out. Looks BRILLIANT!

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    1. You definitely should check it out, I hope that by writing this post it will raise awareness of it because it really was fantastic!

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  8. I visit Berlin so many times with my family but never find these kind of place for my kids there. I never find a spare time to spend with my wife alone due to kids. But you did excellent job here to provide me useful information about that wonderful kinder museum.Next time i definitely visit that place with kids hope they like that place and learn something new.

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