It is getting cold in Stockholm.
Although the famous expression in Sweden says: det finns inget dåligt väder bara dåliga kläder (there is no bad weather only bad clothing), it is still lovely to spend time somewhere warm and dry 🥶.
In this blog (which will consist of 2 parts) I gathered information about the best free (part 1) and paid (part 2) indoor playgrounds one can find in Stockholm.
Paid Indoor Playgrounds in Stockholm
The second part is about paid venues with indoor playgrounds because it is good to have some options!
I did take the liberty in preparation for this blog to ask the below-mentioned venues if they would be willing to provide some kind of discount or promo code. Unfortunately, none are available to date, my dear reader. But I will let you know if this changes.
There are only a couple of categories I want to include here: Museums and Entertainment Centers:
1. Museums
Etnografiska Museet (Temporary Exhibition)
From 3.02.2023 until 30.04.2023
Etnografiska Museet is located in Museiparken alongside Technical Museum, Police Museum and the Sports Museum.
It houses a collection of about 220,000 items relating to ethnography, or cultural anthropology from around the world, including China, Korea, South and Southeast Asia, the Pacific region, the Americas and Africa.
On 3.02 the museum opened a new indoor playground "TestLab LEK". Stroll In has not been there yet, but definitely looking forward to visiting! Here is what the museum says:
"Not exactly an indoor playground, but an exhibition where there will be games available to use, books to read, toys from all over the world, places to climb and lots more. We will also offer daily activities such as crafts and trying out musical instruments together in groups. Some of these will require booking"
Dance Museum (Temporary Exhibition)
From 11.02.2023 until 1.10.2023
Dance Museum is located in the heart of Stockholm, on Drottninggatan. Founded by Rolf de Mare, the museum has, among other things, the world's second-largest collection of stage costumes from the Russian Ballet 🩰, an extensive collection by Isadora Duncan, and a variety of objects from all corners of the world.
On 11.02 the museum opened a new temporary exhibition "en TUFF TUFF resa": In a playful way, the exhibition tells about life on tour and behind the scenes a hundred years ago. How happy were the happy 1920s? What was everyday life like for dancers on tour? Welcome to a world where the big has become small and the small has become big! (dansmuseet.se)
Stroll In has not been there yet, but definitely looking forward to visiting!
Junibacken
Junibacken is like one big playground in itself. It is located in the city centre, in Djurgården, the museum island.
This museum is dedicated to children and their families👨👩👧👦, therefore children of all ages are welcome there (although, the best age would probably be between 2-12, let me know in the comments below if you think otherwise).
Junibacken explores the worlds created by Swedish children's literature📚. It is interactive and offers lots of opportunities to play🧸, dress up🎭 and discover the world of your favourite children's books characters.
Read more about this space in Stroll In Review.
Technical Museum
Tekniska Museet (or Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology) is located in the Museum Park and is Sweden’s largest museum of technology. It is so very interactive, that naturally, it has to be part of this list of Indoor Playgrounds in Stockholm, as it is a playground in itself (apart, of course, from the Museum part of it, where objects are out of reach and are there to be "touched with the eyes" only 👀).
There are several themed areas that are suitable for play (construction for kids, computer games, mind games, etc), but I wanted to highlight the huge play area shown in the photo above. Although crowded most of the time, this is a great playroom to run, climb, and explore your own body limits🤸♀️.
Police Museum
Police Museum is also located in the Museum Parken, in the same building as the National Sports Museum 👮♂️👮♀️.
There is a great play area on the ground floor - "Police, police". This playground is for children of 3-12 years old (whereas the rest of the museum is most appropriate for 12 years and up). Here little visitors can play and learn about the police work as well as try out a real police car and a motorcycle. There is also one fun digital activity on the first floor, where the visitors can try on different police uniforms, otherwise, I would say that the rest of the museum exposition is not child-friendly.
Read more about this space in Stroll In Review.
Toy Museum
Stockholm Toy Museum is located on Skeppsholmen island, near the Modern Museum and The Museum of Far-Eastern Antiquities.
In this Museum visitors can discover toys from as early as the 17th century, sorted by themes (for example dolls 🎎, cars 🚗, theatre 🎭, etc). Unfortunately, not all toys are possible to touch or play with, but there are plenty of activities and interactive games on the way, like horse riding 🐎 or role-playing in Bamse's kitchen or Skalman's boat 🚤.
This museum is suitable for children from 1 year old.
Read more about this space in Stroll In Review.
Nobel Prize Museum
Nobel Prize Museum is a museum about the Nobel Prize and Nobel laureates, located in the Stock Exchange building in Gamla Stan.
The museum itself is not very interactive, however, it has a specially dedicated area for young visitors (5-13 years old) - "The Bubble Chamber".
This playroom encourages young visitors to learn about the Nobel prize and the Nobel Laureates. Visitors can play pretend and dress up for the Nobel Prize Award. There is also a small cosy library 📚 and a puppet house 🧸. Museum offers a quiz challenge for kids (5-13 yo)🕵️♀️. A small prize waits in the end for those who find all the answers correctly 🏆.
Nordic Museum
SOURCE: nordiskamuseet.se
Nordic Museum is located in Djurgården, the museum island. This museum is Sweden's largest cultural history museum. It has approximately 1,5 mln objects starting from the 18th century. This museum is a must-visit and it has fun activities for kids as well (that have to be booked in advance).
The Museum has two activities rooms for kids:
The Playhouse (Lekstuga) - is a big playroom where kids can discover in a playful manner the daily lives of people at the end of the 19th century. It is open only on the weekends and during school breaks and is welcoming to children (and their parents) from 5 yo (although children as young as 2 could certainly enjoy the activities there as well). The play sessions last 45 minutes and there are only 20 kids who can play at once. This activity is not free and it is best to prebook the time well in advance.
Another activity for older children (from 8 yo) is the Time Vault (Tidsvalvet) - an amazing 1,5-hour interactive experience, that portrays more than 150 years of history and children's everyday life 🧑👧. The exposition is stunning and offers plenty of interactive activities for kids, including scary stories, trying out costumes with surprise mirrors, puzzles, quizzes and more. This activity is available every day. It is not free and one has to pre-book the time.