Why Kids Love Helsinki’s Free Children’s Town Museum

A perfect rainy-day (or any day) stop in Helsinki: Children’s Town is a free museum designed for kids to play and learn.

Last summer we spent quite a bit of time in Helsinki, exploring the city with the kids and hopping from one spot to another. One of the nicest places we finally got to visit was Children’s Town, located inside the Helsinki City Museum.

Children’s Town is a free museum for kids where little ones can explore and play, while learning about the history of Helsinki along the way. Our kids loved it because they were allowed to touch and play with every item in the museum. It’s the perfect place for a few-hour stop in the city center, or an ideal activity for a rainy day.

The museum is located on Aleksanterinkatu in the Sederholm House, part of Helsinki’s oldest historic blocks. It sits right across from Senate Square and directly opposite Helsinki Cathedral. Getting there is easy; just hop on a tram and get off at Senate Square.

Sederholm House

The Helsinki City Museum is housed in the historically significant Sederholm House. The building was constructed in 1757 by merchant Johan Sederholm and is the oldest building in Helsinki’s city center, as well as the city’s fourth stone house.

Merchant Sederholm was on good terms with the Swedish Crown at the time, having granted them loans. Over the years, the house welcomed some rather distinguished guests, including King Gustav III, King Gustav IV Adolf, and Prince Henry of Prussia.

Sederholm eventually sold the building to his sons, and it later passed through several owners. Over the centuries, the house has served many purposes: it has been a tobacco factory, a girls’ school, a bakery, and even home to various restaurants. The Finnish company Hartwall also produced mineral water here between 1836 and 1841. Most recently, the building housed in Helsinki’s District Court before the Helsinki City Museum moved in.

The Helsinki City Museum opened to the public in 1995, and in 2012 it expanded further with the addition of Children’s Town following a major renevation.

Our Experience at Children’s Town

We had a really lovely visit to Children’s Town. The museum is designed to be explored by different time periods, and everything on display is meant to be touched. Kids are encouraged to play freely in every room, even though many of the items and toys are old or represent earlier eras.

In the 18th-century section, for example, children can hop into a horse-drawn carriage, sail a ship, or play shop in an old-fashioned store. Along the way, they get a feel for what everyday life was like back then; what kind of dishes people used and what ingredients were common in cooking.

This area also has a cozy rest corner for the very youngest visitors, a perfect little spot to take a breather or sit down and read a book together.

One of the most fun areas for us was definitely Grandma’s House. The rooms are decorated in full-on retro style, straight out of the 1970s. The TV in the living room plays old-school programs, and in the kitchen the kids can cook pretend meals and set the table. Grandma’s kitchen was one of the spots where our youngest spent the most time.

The old times on display were just as entertaining for us adults. I spotted so many familiar objects from my own childhood home in Kokkola, things you hardly ever see anymore. Old telephones, television, and cassette players were all completely new and fascinating to our kids.

On weekends, you might even find a grandma or grandpa “at home” in the house, but since we visited midweek, we didn’t run into them.

One of the museum rooms is set up as a 1930s elementary school classroom. Here, kids can pretend to be either the teacher of the student and explore different school subjects. They can try out a sand desk or write on slate boards, just like children did back in the day.

For me, the bead abacus at the front of the classroom and the cardboard teaching charts on the walls felt especially familiar. Coincidentally, we had just learned about the making of the these teaching charts earlier this summer during a visit to the old cardboard factory Verla, which is also one of the seven UNESCO Heritage Sites in Finland.

Our youngest’s absolute favorites in the museum were the 18th-century shop, Grandma’s kitchen, and the puppet theater. The puppet theater area also has dress-up costumes and role cards, which made it easy for imagination to take over. The room filled with dollhouses was another big hit.

Overall, the museum is beautifully designed and not too large. We’d recommend setting aside two or three hours for your visit. Older kids will likely move through the exhibits a bit faster, while younger ones tend to fully dive into play, and once they do, it’s not easy to rush them along.

If you’d like to explore the rest of the Helsinki City Museum as well, make sure to plan extra time. Those exhibits are located on the ground floor of the building and, just like Children’s Town, they’re free to visit.

Downstairs in Children’s Town there’s also a cozy area where you can warm up and enjoy your own snacks. Unfortunately, strollers can’t be used inside the museum, but there’s a covered stroller parking area available in the inner counrtyard.

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Helsinki offers an incredible amount of things to do for families with kids. Beyond the classic attractions like Linnanmäki amusement park and Korkeasaari Zoo, it’s worth seeing out some smaller, lesser-known places as well. For example, Annantalo offered free children’s programs during the summer, and our girls got to spend time painting and creating art there when it was raining.

And of course, you can always venture a little farther out. In nearby Vantaa, you’ll find the very family-friendly Fazer Visitor Center and the Heureka Science Centre.

Do you have any favorite tips to do in Helsinki with kids?

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