When I found an invitation to the opening of the exhibition in the Swiss Children’s Museum (Schweizer Kindermuseum) in Baden in my mailbox, my heart cheered. And not only my blogger’s heart (because, obviously, we will have the opportunity to go somewhere where we haven’t been yet and I will be able to write about it on the blog) but mainly my Czech, patriotic, heart. It was an invitation to the exhibition “Weihnachten in Tschechien”, ie Christmas in the Czech Republic, which is co-organized by Czech expatriate clubs. Before the opening, we went to the museum to see all its exhibitions. And there was definitely lots of to look at, what to admire, what to listen to, what to try, what to play with … well, I’ll get to that …
Getting there
The Kindermuseum can be found at Lädliweg 7 in Baden, less than 25 kilometers northwest of Zurich. Parking is available in the immediate vicinity of the Parkhaus Ländli (note that they do not accept a Postfinance card when paying).
Stroller “parking” is available in front of the museum. You can not enter the museum premises with your stroller, the museum has its own buggies.
Opening hours and admission
The museum is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 2 pm to 5 pm, on Sundays from 10 am to 5 pm (special opening hours of the museum during the holidays can be found on the website).
Admission is 12 francs for adults, 4 francs for children.
Temporary exhibition: Rocket, Moon, and Stars
We were advised to go down from the top floor during the tour. So we climbed the stairs to the 2nd floor (there is also a lift), where the exhibition “Rocket, Moon and Stars” is located.
This exhibition was a perfect fit for us because our older son had the topic “Planets and Space” in the school last quarter and our younger son had a “project week” focused on the Sun, Moon, and Earth the previous week, so the boys could repeat well and also strengthen their knowledge.
And our youngest enjoyed it because in addition to info tables with interesting information, interactive displays (rather for older children) there is also a table with LEGO, where children can assemble rockets or anything they want according to their imagination.
Permanent exhibition: Discover the world of children
Part of the first floor is dedicated to the school. What did the school class look like centuries ago and how today? What were the teaching tools for natural history or physics?
In other rooms, you can take a look into the world of children’s puppet theaters, get acquainted with Pipi long stocking, or play with your senses.
Ground floor
On the ground floor, you can learn how children, and especially access to them, have developed over the last 300 years. That is since they were seen as “small adults”, when they were mainly used as an auxiliary workforce, either on farms, in the family businesses and later in factories.
It is only a century since the view of children has completely changed. The school became an important part of their world, children (especially in richer families) began to have their own rooms, their toys… and the exhibition of period toys is dedicated to the ground floor of the museum. And that they are sometimes real gems.
Temporary exhibition: The Dream of Flying
Only until 31 December this year you can see the exhibition “Dream of Flying” in the basement of the museum. This interactive exposure shows how diverse the human desire for flying can be. For example, as reflected in fairy tales and children’s books (see a witch on a broom or flying carpet), which flies in nature itself (such as maple achenes), young and old visitors will encounter aviation pioneers, professional and hobby pilots.
Christmas exhibition: Christmas in the Czech Republic
Best of all 😀
The Christmas exhibition, which will last until 5 January in the museum, offers visitors an insight into Czech Christmas traditions, from slicing apples to Christmas carp. In the “Christmas Room”, it presents Czech culture with a number of traditional artifacts, from a costumed doll, through the Mole to classic Christmas glass decorations.
In the pre-Christmas time, there are workshops with various activities at the museum every weekend – from painting glass balls to decorating gingerbread.
Summary
- The museum, located in a beautiful historic villa, does not look large from the outside, but inside you will find 5 floors of interesting exhibits, interactive stations, and children’s games. You can spend the whole afternoon with children (say from the age of 4) and you will not be bored. Neither you nor the children.
- All the information is only in German.
- In the basement, there is a small “cafeteria” – which is basically a vending machine with drinks and sweets.
