Kids Corner | Have fun and learn something too

Apr 2, 2012

Thank goodness the days seem to be growing longer and the sun has returned to brighten the landscape. It’s beautiful but not yet warm enough for the outside activities to be in full force.

Now is the perfect time to explore the museums and attractions that may not be a usual part of the family repertoire: a cultural breath of fresh air before the warm weather allows us to cast aside our coats once again.
It is worth noting that all the mentioned museums can cater to children’s parties – something a little different to enthrall excited children.

Danmarks Tekniske Museum
Tucked away in the north of Zealand lies Danmarks Tekniske Museum. Founded in 1911, the museum holds a large collection of vehicles, including over 30 full-sized aeroplanes and many enchanting cars. We have visited the museum a few times now, which adds a comforting amount of familiarity and an increasing fondness for our favourites. The collection is housed inside an enormous hanger that you enter via the small, but nicely-presented coffee and gift shop.
It is quite something to enter the building and see so many different vehicles, some suspended, others so large you simply can’t fail to be impressed. Whenever we go there is always a steady throng of visitors, but never so many that it feels busy or that you cannot take time over the exhibits, and there always seems to be a calmness surrounding the rooms.

To be perfectly honest, the majority of the visitors are male, aside from the mothers of the boys (that’s me) or grandmothers, but then this is every little boy’s dream museum. It is like landing in the playroom car box, only of course everything is life-sized.
Something to bear in mind is that the hanger is not heated, so in winter, and I tell you this with experience, it can be absolutely freezing. I recommend layering up if you go in the colder months. We love this unassuming museum and will most certainly go again another day, when it rains so heavily you can hear the drumming on the corrugated ceiling, reassuring you that coming to visit was a great idea.

Fabriksvej 25, 3000 Helsingør; adults: 50kr, children: free adm; www.tekniskmuseum.dk

Orlogsmuseet
Orlogsmuseet, the Danish Naval museum in the centre of Copenhagen, is also a good standby in the case the weather is lousy. It’s perfect for adventurous children, only too happy to release their inner pirate aboard the numerous ships in the basement. As part of their summer programme, the museum invites pirates to come and give a character reference in between voyages. It’s in Danish, but there is plenty of buccaneering action in between to entertain.

Frederiksholms Kanal 29, 1220 Cph K; adults: 60 kr, under-17s free adm; www.orlogsmuseet.dk

Zoologisk Museet
A five-minute drive away from many of the international schools is a wonderful museum that beautifully reinforces the curiosity that emerges after a visit to see the live animals at the Zoo. It is called the Zoological Museum, Natural History Museum of Denmark. Part of the University of Copenhagen, the Zoo Museum (as we know it) houses an extensive collection of over 10 million specimens, all presented in modern exhibitions. The children will love the ice wall that hosts the Woolly Mammoth, and the Darwin exhibition upstairs is fascinating for children and grown-ups alike.