places that you must bring your kids to

[oak]

Let's start a list on places for kids in the helsinki area.

Helsinki domestic animal zoo: http://www.hel2.fi/Tourism/EN/Ohjelmaa_ ... ategoria=5

Sealife: http://www.sealife.fi/page.php?page_id=43

Linnanmäki amusement park: http://www.linnanmaki.fi/en

Marketanpuisto: bb/viewtopic.php?t=10710 and http://www.marketanpuisto.fi.

Helsinki zoo: http://www.hel2.fi/zoo/index_eng.html

Nuuksio: http://www.luontoon.fi/page.asp?Section=5131 (perhaps not so good to very young children)

Places that I have not been to personally but I heard good feedbacks:

Serena: http://www.serena.fi/component/option,c ... ang,en_EN/

Rehndahl: bb/viewtopic.php?t=10745

My son is 2.5 years old and I live in Espoo. So my list is definitely a very limited one. Welcome to add more!

[2boys]

http://www.hoplop.fi - large indoor play centre for kids, located in Vantaa within the Vantaanportin Retail Park. The address is: Antaksentie 4, 01510 Vantaa. Open Monday to Friday 10am - 8pm and Sat- Sun 10am - 6pm. Entrance fees are 8 euros for children over 95cm tall and 5 euros for children under 95 cms.

http://www.legoshow.com - only until August 30!

http://www.urheiluhallit.fi/makelanrinne.asp - awesome indoor pools that are enjoyable for ALL ages!

http://www.hel2.fi/liv/eng/stadium.html - until Sept. 11

http://www.puuhamaa.fi/eng/

My boys are 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 and have loved it all!

[enk]

Places that I have not been to personally but I heard good feedbacks:

Serena: http://www.serena.fi/component/option,c ... ang,en_EN/

Rehndahl: bb/viewtopic.php?t=10745

My son is 2.5 years old and I live in Espoo. So my list is definitely a very limited one. Welcome to add more!

I'll never touch foot in Serena again. IMO it's filthy and there's a lack
of supervision there. I'll take my kids to Puuhamaa any day over Serena.

Rehndahl is great though!

-enk

[Rosamunda]

Yes, Serena has had serious problems in the past and were told to seriously clean up their act. Someone I know was there when a child drowned in one of the pools (a few years ago). I have been once and I agree, it was filthy and I was terrified of losing sight of my kids who were much younger then.

[Rosamunda]

Suomenlinna has treasure hunts for kids. And you can buy a map of the underground tunnels.... take a torch and play at pirates. There is also a toy museum there and a submarine, and a ton of other stuff (canons etc). Excellent place to fly kites too.

Seurasaari is also a nice place to walk, especially in the autumn (take peanuts for the squirrels).

There have been past threads on sledding hills on the forum: Malmi, Kaivopuisto and the small hill behind the old brewery on Bulevardi etc etc.

Megazone (for bigger kids)

The Natural History Museum (near Kamppi)

The greenhouses in the University Botanical Gardens in Kaiseniemi (gigantic waterlilies) educational but not boring.

The theatre museum at the Cable Factory (you can dress up and go on stage)

[sammy]

The Natural History Museum (near Kamppi)

Yes - as we know, skeletons are endlessly fascinating! There's a T-rex skull in there so mention that & the kids will not let you sleep until you've agreed to go But of course the butterfly collections and so on are interesting, too.

My favourite place in Helsinki when I was a kid & visited the town... mum & dad had to take me there almost every time

[Rosamunda]

One of my kids is into rocks so..... we have done the Geology museum in Espoo (impossible to find but somewhere upstairs in Otaniemi), excellent collection. And there is a great collection in the University Museum in Senate Square (which is also great for older kids: science laboratories, old science equipement etc). But if you are not into rock then don't bother.

[sammy]

One of my kids is into rocks so..... we have done the Geology museum in Espoo (impossible to find but somewhere upstairs in Otaniemi), excellent collection. And there is a great collection in the University Museum in Senate Square (which is also great for older kids: science laboratories, old science equipement etc). But if you are not into rock then don't bother.

Have you been to Heureka? I haven't but from what I've managed to see from the train windows, there's a largish collection of rocks outside the entrance. Your kid would probably feel like home in that ersatz Stonehenge

[Rosamunda]

Were there during the summer. My personal favourite is the granite from Nuuksio with the spherical patterns... orbital granite, or something like that. Actually Heureka is MUCH more fun in summer because the outdoor bit has some really good interactive stuff, which is closed in winter. We saw a film about the Sun.

Recommend an annual subscription which allows unlimited entry AND guests.

[RA]

The Natural History Museum (near Kamppi)

Yes - as we know, skeletons are endlessly fascinating! There's a T-rex skull in there so mention that & the kids will not let you sleep until you've agreed to go But of course the butterfly collections and so on are interesting, too.

My favourite place in Helsinki when I was a kid & visited the town... mum & dad had to take me there almost every time

But.... isn't the museum closed? As I recall they were renovating the place and had moved to Viiki. Or have they reopened it again. I do so loooooove this place. My dad shot and stuffed some of the African animals on exhibition there btw... way back in the 70s. They brought the giraffe from Botswana.

[sammy]

But.... isn't the museum closed? As I recall they were renovating the place and had moved to Viiki. Or have they reopened it again. I do so loooooove this place. My dad shot and stuffed some of the African animals on exhibition there btw... way back in the 70s. They brought the giraffe from Botswana.

Cripes, it seems to be so! It says here

http://www.fmnh.helsinki.fi/nayttelyt/l ... orjaus.htm

that they'll open in 2008. Sorry about that, it's a few years since I last went there & I don't pass the museum by often...

But Viikki reminds me of another nice place, can't remember if it's ben mentioned already - Gardenia:

http://www.gardenia-helsinki.fi/english.htm

Kids interested in nature might well like to visit that

[Xochiquetzal]

The stage area of linnanmaki has a temporary large obstacle course suitable for younger children. My daughter absolutely *loved* it. It is free so a nice afternoon trip via train or bus and let the kids play.

[Mölkky-Fan]

We went to the Espoo Auto Museum this weekend. It has quite a few (maybe 60 or so) old cars, including some cars which you would recognise from your fathers/ grandfathers.
It has a collection of old Russian/ Eastern block cars which you would never guess the manufacture years of (some from the 90s which look like 1950s vintage)!
It also has some motorbikes/ scooters/ and other old fashioned machines. It is quite near to Marketanpuisto off Ring III. The curator (if I can use this word for a man in overalls) spoke good English, and was knowledgeable if you are a classic car geek like me.

Condition of most cars is average (with a couple of cars having been nicely restored), but has a nice basic selection. If the weather is good you can also walk around the nice lake nearby.

Here is the web page:

http://www.saunalahti.fi/automuse/txteng.htm

It is not suitable for very small kids due to some steep stairs and not very good flooring, but my group had a 3 year old, 2 x 8 year old boys and 2 x 11 year old girls... and they all enjoyed it.

[sinikala]

One of my kids is into rocks so..... we have done the Geology museum in Espoo (impossible to find but somewhere upstairs in Otaniemi), excellent collection. And there is a great collection in the University Museum in Senate Square (which is also great for older kids: science laboratories, old science equipement etc). But if you are not into rock then don't bother.

Have you been to Heureka? I haven't but from what I've managed to see from the train windows, there's a largish collection of rocks outside the entrance. Your kid would probably feel like home in that ersatz Stonehenge

Heureka that Sammy mentioned is ideal for kids 7-14, plenty of interactive things for them to do. We went there one winter (without kids) a bit lightweight for adults, but it is intended for kids, so fair enough.

And to add more about the one that Penelope was talking about.... the collection just off Senatintori is the
Geological Museum of the Finnish Museum of Natural history and it is housed in
Helsinki University Museum Arppeanum. Like many Finnish museums (IMHO), poorly publicised, poorly signposted, very few visitors, but a very interesting place to visit.

[sammy]

And to add more about the one that Penelope was talking about.... the collection just off Senatintori is the
Geological Museum of the Finnish Museum of Natural history and it is housed in
Helsinki University Museum Arppeanum. Like many Finnish museums (IMHO), poorly publicised, poorly signposted, very few visitors, but a very interesting place to visit.

Very true - you need to look for it actually... presumably the staff wish to enjoy their afternoon nap in peace

Some nice old gizmos from the collections, btw:

http://www.museo.helsinki.fi/english/co ... hysics.htm