Visiting a museum as a family is a great way to connect and explore together. Luckily, there are still some museums with free entrance in Stockholm. Some of them have picnic areas with microwaves and high chairs, so you can pack your lunch instead of buying one.
Since the beginning of 2023, most of the museums introduced paid entrance but kept some opportunities to visit their venues for free. Let's take a closer look.
Army Museum (free Tuesdays between 17:00-20:00)
Hallwyl Museum (free Wednesdays)
Historical Museum-Economy Museum (free Wednesdays during September-April)
Natural History Museum (free Sunday once a month)
Maritime Museum (free until 22.01.23)
Royal Armoury (free Thursdays)
Let's look at them in more detail:
Army Museum (Armémuseum)
The Swedish Army Museum is a museum of military history located in the district of Östermalm in Stockholm. It reopened in 2002 after a long period of closure and was awarded the title of the best museum of Stockholm in 2005. Its displays illustrate the military history of Sweden, including its modern policy of neutrality, and of the Swedish Army (Wikipedia).
This Museum has a number of activities for children (of school age). For example, it offers Family Tours every weekend for families with children 6-10 years old. It also offers a number of challenges, such as "The Spy Mystery" and "Canon Bingo".
Hallwyl Museum (Hallwylska Museet)
Hallwyl Museum is a Swedish national museum housed in the historical Hallwyl House in central Stockholm located on 4, Hamngatan facing Berzelii Park. The house once belonged to the Count and Countess von Hallwyl, but was donated to the Swedish state in 1920 to eventually become a museum. In 1938, the museum was officially opened (Wikipedia).
This Museum has a number of activities for children (of school age). For example, it offers Family Tours every weekend for families with children 6-9 years old (that is not free and has to be pre-booked in advance). Otherwise, there is a playroom in this museum.
Historical Museum-Economy Museum
(Historiska Museet - Ekonomiska Museet)
The Swedish History Museum is a museum located in Stockholm, Sweden, that covers Swedish archaeology and cultural history from the Mesolithic period to the present day. Founded in 1866, it operates as a government agency and is tasked with preserving Swedish historical items as well as making knowledge about history available to the public.
The origin of the museum is the collections of art and historical objects gathered by Swedish monarchs since the 16th century. It has a number of permanent exhibitions and annually hosts special exhibitions tied to current events (Wikipedia).
This Museum offers a number of activities for families with children, for example, Weekend Workshops or discovery trails, such as "The adventure backpack" (from 7 yo) or "The lonely Lion" (from 5 yo). Most of the activities are offered to children starting from 5-6 years old. There are some activities offered throughout the museum as well, for example, try out different smells, make words with runes or try out some costumes from the past.
Natural History Museum (Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet)
The National Museum of Natural History is a biological and geological museum in Stockholm that was established in 1819. The museum is Sweden's largest museum and also houses Cosmonova, a planetarium and Sweden's only domed IMAX cinema (Wikipedia).
This Museum has more than 10 different exhibitions that offer young visitors to learn about the world in an easy playful manner. There are some paid activities as well, like an escape room or Cosmonova experience.
Maritime Museum (Sjöhistoriska)
The Maritime Museum is about Swedish naval history, merchant shipping and shipbuilding. It was open to the public as early as 1938! It holds around 100 000 objects, including more than 1500 models of ships and boats (yes, the ships model collection is enormous). Visitors can learn about both military and merchant naval activities throughout Swedish history starting from the 18th century (Wikipedia).
The Museum has three levels, but the highlight for the little visitors is located on the lower floor - the Blubb - lekrum - an indoor playground area for kids kids 0-6 years old. Here kids can dress up, play on the boat, learn about naval knots, listen to calm music and much more. This Museum also offers a family viewing over the weekends for families with children over 7 years old.
Medieval Museum (Medeltidsmuseet)
