There are few places in Denmark where children are frowned upon. Rather, the youngest members of society are welcome in even the most popular cafes and restaurants, the most highbrow boutiques and stores. But it’s one thing to play with a heap of Legos while mummy and daddy sip their cappuccinos; it’s quite another to endure hours of ancient history or - blechhhhhh! - fine art.

But taking the perspective of a child is something that comes quite naturally to many Danes. As a result, a number of museums have entire sections devoted to helping children - no matter what their age - experience the collections on their own level. While some of these places offer a quiet place to park the kids while the grown-ups go off to see the exhibit, others encourage parent participation.

One of the most child-friendly museums in Denmark is the Lousiana Museum of Modern Art outside Copenhagen. It seems organisers here have asked themselves: Who decided that inspired people like Picasso and Miró had to cast their sculptures in boring black iron when there are materials like green papier-mâché in this world?

The three-storey children’s wing opened with the aim of giving children a space of their own where they could express themselves freely in a place that even some adults find elitist. Here, children can find inspiration for making their own artwork while their parents enjoy the museum’s other exhibits. Some families prefer to visit together, while some children, perhaps regarding the space as their own private studio, arrive alone with a packed lunch and stay all day.

The tower-shaped children’s wing offers a wide range of activities. At ground level a blue sofa in an all-blue room provides the perfect setting for storytelling and relaxation. Next door, heaps of crayons and white paper invite parents with smaller children to take a break together. Plastic sheets and white paper cover the floor and walls on one side of the room - a clear sign that painting and drawing are not meant to be confined to tables and chairs.

Walk one floor down a spiral staircase and a visitor finds activities aimed at older children. A group of 8- to 14-year-olds is busily occupied with a simple drawing program on the five computers there. The computers often act as a connecting link between the familiar and the more creative activities downstairs. The sea of Legos - you can’t avoid the stuff - in an adjoining room seems to draw a permanent crowd of younger children as well as teenagers.

The lower floor is the real studio. The room, one side of which is a floor-to-ceiling glass window that faces a lake, is filled with artwork created by previous visitors. Small Giacometti-inspired sculptures of clay (who says they all should be thin?) line up next to cardboard models of dream houses. A large fake Miró painting, which at a second glance is really a map of colourful snail trails, makes one wonder about the master’s original inspiration.

The children’s wing at Louisiana is a paradise for creative kids. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., it welcomes children of all nationalities and ages, although an adult should accompany children under the age of 7.

For children with shorter attention spans, the Children’s Museum inside the gargantuan National Museum in the centre of Copenhagen is a good choice. Here, intense action and the sounds of excited voices greet every visitor from the minute they open the door.
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This activity-packed museum aims to involve all the senses. Besides climbing rope ladders and sliding down from modest ramps on special exhibits, children can learn how to tie a turban, weigh spices on an old-fashioned scale, and even row the oars of a wooden Viking ship - among many other things.

Text is kept to a minimum here, with most of the activities illustrated by posters, videos or staff - or even other children. As most activities are geared towards children between the ages of 4 and 10, it is recommended to visit with a grown-up. However, adults brave enough to show their faces here run the risk of being shooed out by enthusiastic cries of "Just for children!"

At the Experimentarium science centre, the enthusiasm is just as gripping, if the atmosphere even more circus-like. Here, grey-haired gentlemen are seen spinning around a machine to demonstrate the law of gravity while their grandchildren investigate their sense of balance, the science of microwaves, or exactly how much water is needed every time they flush the toilet. Forget the dusty schoolbooks. Here, chemistry, biology and technology come alive through entertaining games and hair-raising experiments.

A grown-up is worth having along in the Experimentarium since one can be handy to read explanations or to change a wet shirt if a child gets too interested in some of the wetter experiments. Although the ability to read is necessary to understand the different experiments, most of the activities can be enjoyed at any age. (All instructions are in Danish, English and Swedish.) The youngest children will be well taken care of in the new Children’s Pavilion.

The Experimentarium is a rare treat, where children and adults feel equally entertained.

Families who prefer wild life over wildlife should head to the Historic and Archaeological Research Centre in Lejre, about an hour’s drive from the capital. Each year, families vie for the opportunity to live here during the summer months in a recreated Iron Age village that strikes many children as something straight out of the Flintstones.
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Although the competition is intense to live at Lejre, it’s a lot of fun just to show up for the day.

Every weekend between May and October, "try it yourself" workshops are featured for children, who are invited to take part in the real-life activities of a typical Danish family from the Iron Age to the early Middle Ages. For example, kids can help in the reconstruction of a barrow (or tomb), or help in the "fire valley," where tools are made according to old traditions.

Even the youngest children will enjoy grinding corn with stones and then mixing the meal with water to form dough. They can then bake it on a fire (with help from their parents) before taking a canoe trip on the lake. Families can also learn about the food and farming methods of the Danes’ ancestors by wandering around a reconstructed farm, complete with animals and fur-clad humans.

For children familiar with the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen, Fyrtøjet (The Tinderbox) in Odense, located just a few houses away from Andersen’s birthplace, is a treat. The Tinderbox is an activity centre that seeks to involve the children in the world of fairy tales. Storytellers and a theatre company work closely with the centre, which has its own stage. There are also workshops for children who want to make their favourite Hans Christian Andersen character into a painting or a puppet for their own performance. Tinderbox activities are conducted mostly in Danish, English and German.

Denmark also features many other child-friendly sights. Listed here is just a small sampling:

While in Odense, visit the Classic Train Museum for an experience the entire family will enjoy. Apart from the museum itself, which illustrates the history of the Danish railway, it is also possible to rent a classic train. The train, which must be booked well in advance, goes anywhere in the country that has tracks, and you can chose between steam engine, diesel or modern motor engine.

Danmarks Jernbanemuseum, the Danish Railway Museum

Dannebrogsgade 24
5000 Odense C
Tel: +45 66 13 66 30


On Jutland’s west coast, where the sky and sea meet, there is a most incredible house, decorated entirely by seashells. The house contains the country’s largest collection of seashells and ships-in-a-bottle, from Denmark and abroad, and is a treasure for children with a taste for knickknacks.

Sneglehuset, Thyborøn, The Snail House

Tel +45 97 83 11 67
Hours change depending on the season; visitors are advised to phone in advance.

In Skagen, at the very north end of Jutland, one lady with a unique habit recently opened her doors to the public. Jonna Thygesen has collected teddy bears for more than 25 years and today her house is a wonderland for anyone who has ever loved the cuddly toys. Her collection includes more than 1,000 teddy bears from Denmark, Germany and the U.K. The oldest dates back to 1907. The museum also boasts a series of Steiff teddy bears, which were produced as early as 1898. The house also illustrates the history of the teddy bear.

Skagens Bamse Hus, The Teddy Bear Museum

Oddenvej 2A
9990 Skagen
For hours and further information, please call the Skagen Tourist Board at tel. +45 98 44 13 77

If the teddy bear museum makes you hungry for more, you might check out the museum of mechanical dolls on the island of Rømø. Here, more than 200 different mechanical dolls and toys are exhibited in an old house where Santa Claus welcomes visitors no matter what time of year it is. The oldest dolls are more than 150 years old. The owner of the museum, Jytte Andersen, is also an expert in repairing old mechanical toys of almost any kind.

Danmarks Mekaniske Dukkemuseum, Denmark’s Mechanical Toy Museum

Havnebyvej 227
Dunby
6792 Rømø
Tel +45 74 75 50 13

The newly refurbished Statens Museum for Kunst (National Gallery) has opened a children’s exhibit with paintings and sculptures hung lower than usual to accommodate child’s eyes. The museum also offers workshops for children and adults on weekends. In addition to the regular admittance fee, there is a surcharge for the children’s exhibits and weekend workshops.

Statens Museum for Kunst, National Gallery

Sølvgade 48
1307 Copenhagen K
Tel +45 33 74 84 94

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
3050 Humlebæk
Tel +45 49 19 07 19

National Museum
Frederiksholms Kanal 12
Copenhagen
Tel +45 33 47 38 01

Experimentarium Science Centre
Tuborg Havnevej 7
2900 Hellerup
Tel +45 39 27 33 33

Lejre Forsøgscenter, Historic and Archaeological Research Centre
Slangealleen 2,
4320 Lejre
Tel +45 46 48 08 78

Fyrtøjet, The Tinderbox
Hans Jensens Stræde 21
5000 Odense C
Tel +45 66 11 44 14