Discover Benelux | Amsterdam Highlights | Rembrandtplein & Amstel
The curious world of NEMO TEXT: ELLA PUT | PHOTOS: NEMO
Did you ever wander what kissing might do to you? How lightning arises? Or how water can become drinkable? You can find out the answers to these and more at the NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam, one of the only museums in the world where you are allowed to touch all the exhibited objects. As soon as you enter the central station of Amsterdam you will see the enormous sea-coloured building that houses the NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam. Situated just a stone’s throw away from the dazzling city centre, visitors of every age and from all over the world can submerge themselves in actual laboratories and scientific workshops to learn more about science and technology. What makes the science museum so special is its approach to visitors. Rather than 22 | Issue 31 | July 2016
giving its visitors information, the NEMO stimulates their curiosity by letting them participate in several workshops: “We are not a museum that just provides information, we want to stimulate our visitors to ask themselves question about science and technology, it can be fun and exciting for everyone,” says Jasper Ongkiehong, from NEMO’s marketing and communication department. To make science and technology interesting for everyone, the museum offers a diverse and wide range of permanent and interactive collections on topics from puberty to lightning. In NEMO you can go on a bike into the universe, experiment in the laboratory or even ‘lock’ yourself in a soap bubble. You can become a professor in NEMO’s own laboratory or participate in one of the
workshops in the Family Workplace. There you can experiment with science yourself. During workshops with your family or with friends you can have a race with your own balloon wagon, make your own magnet or lamp and find out what a magnetic field is or how you can light up a lamp. Furthermore, visitors can enjoy magnificent views of the city from the recently renovated rooftop square with the exhibition Energetica, where several interactive installations teach NEMO’s visitors about wind, water and the sun. The rooftop, which also has its own restaurant, can be visited for free without a museum ticket. Emerge yourself and your family in the curious world of NEMO and conclude your fun and exciting experience on the rooftop with a beautiful view of the Amsterdam skyline. www.nemosciencemuseum.nl/