Berlin is a city loaded with things to see and do, and with over 170 museums and galleries to visit, it can be a bit tricky to narrow down just where to start. Over the summer, we decided to put off our museum visits until it starts to get colder, and in fact visited our first museum with Mackenzie this past Sunday. There are lots of great museums in Berlin to visit with kids but the following are on the top of our list!

Deutsches Technikmuseum

The German Technical Museum is a very cool place, filled with trains, plains, boats and all sorts of other items that are related to technology and production of things like paper, fabric, medicines and more. We just went there last weekend and found that there are lots of ongoing exhibits. Plus you get a lot of bang for your buck. The entry fee for adults is 6 euros (kids, but it also includes free coat check (which is a really great feature in the winter) — and you can even check your luggage there if you are on your way out of town.

There are many interactive elements around the museum, but not quite as many “hands on” items as I would have thought. For example, you can’t usually approach many of the locomotives or airplanes to really get a good look inside, although there are one or two that are more accessible with a guide (and some tours are actually free). I know they have their reasons for this, mostly because other people have surely misbehaved and ruined it for everyone else — but I was just a bit disappointed.

The museum is very sprawling, covering 26,000 sq. meters and also includes an outdoor park with functioning windmills and picnic space. You can easily spend an entire day there without really fully experiencing everything. Mackenzie, at almost 4 years old, liked the planes and boats. We thought she would really like the trains since she’s a big fan of Thomas — but we went there first and all she kept asking about was the plains. After wandering around in there for 3+ hours, we’d gotten an overview of nearly everything the museum has to offer, but we will definitely be going back there to really get into the history about everything there, like the fighter planes, many ship models and production exhibits.

Until the end of February 2013, you can also view the Wind exhibit, which showcases all sorts of ways that we use wind for power and how humans have used wind over the years to their own benefit.

Trebbiner Strasse 9
10963 Berlin
Tel. 030 902 540
Open Tues – Fri: 9am-5:30pm, Sat & Sun: 10am – 6pm. Closed Mondays
Admission: Adults €6, Kids €3.50 — discount available with Berliner FamilienPass which is available for €6 in the museum shop
Website: www.sdtb.de

5 Museums to Visit with Kids in Berlin

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Museum for Naturkunde Berlin

Mackenzie is a major fan of the natural history museum in Frankfurt. And who can blame her since it’s loaded with cool dinosaurs, stuffed animals that you can get up close and personal with and other cool exhibits. The Naturkunde here in Berlin has an extremely impressive collection of animals in alcohol, with over 276,000 creatures in jars, and for me personally, that’s always a major highlight. And they also have lots of other great natural history exhibits with other animals and of course dinosaurs.

Invalidenstrasse 43
10115 Berlin
Tel: 030 2093-8591
Open Tue to Fri: 9.30 a.m. – 6.00 p.m, Sat, Sun & holidays: 10.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m. Closed Mondays
Admission: Adults €5, Kids €3, Preschoo-aged kids free
Website: www.naturkundemuseum-berlin.de

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Labyrinth Kindermuseum

Developed for kids ages 3-11, the Labyrinth Kindermuseum (one of several kids museums in Berlin) is said to be one of the better museums for younger kids below 5 years old. With all sorts of exhibits that let the kids build things, explore their senses and more, it seems like a place kids will truly love. But don’t forget to bring house shoes, thick socks with ABS on them or similar because shoes are not allowed in the museum itself.

in der Fabrik Osloer Straße
Osloer Straße 12
13359 Berlin
Tel: 030. 800 93 11-50
Admission: €4.50 per person but family tickets are also available based upon family size
Website: www.labyrinth-kindermuseum.de

 

5 Museums to Visit with Kids in Berlin

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Berlin U-Bahn Museum

If your kids are into trains and subway cars, and how the whole network of subway cars works together this is the place to go. But a bit of planning might be required since it’s only open one Saturday a month!The museum is located in the historical signal tower at the U-Bahn station Olympiastadion (U2) (the entrance is on the right, next to the yellow U-Bahn end car) — and when you buy your tickets, they are actually old, authentic subway tickets printed right there for you. You’re then able to look at and touch all sorts of technical equipment that will make you feel like you’re leading the trains right through Berlin.

Open: Second Saturday of the month 10:30am – 4pm
Admission: Adults €2, Kids €1 — or free with the Berliner Familienpass
Website: www.ag-berliner-u-bahn.de

 

DDR Museum

If you’ve ever wanted to take a trip into the past and see how people lived when The East was still separated from the world, this is the place to go. Not only can you learn about how people were oppressed or how people risked their lives to leave, but you’ll also get a better understanding of what it was really like to live in this time and age…and for a girl who grew up in the US with access to everything under the sun, it’s a concept that is rather hard to grasp.

What is really cool about the DDR Museum is the fact that it’s an extremely hands on museum, and in fact, you’re encouraged to rummage through cabinets, open doors to rooms and truly explore the exhibits. In fact, they call themselves “the most interactive museum in the world.” We haven’t been there yet personally, but I think this museum should really be a lot of fun!

Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 1
10178 Berlin
Open Sun – Friday: 10am – 8pm, Saturday: 10am – 10pm
Admission: Adults €6
Website: www.ddr-museum.de

5 Museums to Visit with Kids in Berlin

To learn about more great museums you should explore around Germany, visit the other blogs which are part of the monthly German Stammtisch via the links below: