Science, math, fossils, food, music, history, art… Do you know what your children like the most?
Whatever it is, you’re sure to find a museum in Barcelona or its metropolitan area related to their hobbies and tastes, so they can enjoy and learn to the fullest! And the fact is that museums have become a very important tool for the development of boys and girls, since they promote family relationships, invite to ask questions, question different topics, imagine and dream!
In this article, we make a list of 16 museums that we consider ideal to go there with girls and boys. So, if you’re thinking of coming to the Centre Esplai Hostel to spend a few days with your family, take out your pen and notebook and make a note of these incredible museums for children!
Which will be the most interesting and fun museum?
1. Menja, Actua, Impacta exhibition
Menja, Actua, Impacta is an exhibition developed by Fundesplai and Demà. It is located at the headquarters of Centre Esplai, in the city of El Prat de Llobregat.
It is an immersive, innovative and provocative experience that proposes a local and global journey through the food system. It is an exhibition that encourages us to mobilize and commit ourselves to improve food choices as a lever of change for a healthier, fairer and more sustainable tomorrow. The little ones in the house are sure going to love it, as there are lots of activities and workshops related to sustainable food!
2. CosmoCaixa
The CosmoCaixa is one of the most important science museums in Barcelona and its metropolitan area! It is located in the Sant Gervasi district and is well worth a visit if you decide to go there as a family. The little ones in the house will have a great time!
It is a museum that is divided into several spaces. Each of these spaces is dedicated to the dissemination of a specific branch of science: there is the Universe Room, where there is an interactive tour, the Kósmos space, where you can see which laws of physics govern nature, the Evolution section, which reviews evolution from the first single-celled beings, the Frontiers section, where you can see the evolution of the human brain, the Flooded Forest, which is a fragment of the Amazon rainforest, the Geological Wall, which shows 7 pieces of rock from various parts of the Earth and the Planetarium, which offers projections of astronomical dissemination. Proposals for all ages and interests! Don’t miss the Espai Click, Creactivity and all the family workshops.
3. Museum of Natural Sciences
You will find the Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona in the Parc del Fòrum. It occupies a total of 9,000 square meters and is a versatile space where you will find very interesting and diverse facilities and services to go with children and teenagers.
It is a museum that has a permanent exhibition called “Planet life“, in which boys and girls can see how rivers, mountains and oceans, together with organisms, form a global ecosystem that regulates the conditions of the planet. How interesting! In addition, this museum also has temporary exhibitions, lots of family activities, a media library with books and audiovisual documents related to biodiversity and the planet, and the “Science Nest”, which is a space for the children aged 0 to 6 where they can play with natural materials and ask all the questions that come to mind!
4. Museum of Mathematics
It’s been a while since we saw that at the article to the best parks for boys and girls in the metropolitan area of Barcelona there was one called Parc de Can Mercader, which houses the Museum of Mathematics of Catalonia! This is a super cool museum that boys and girls love because they can experience, touch and learn a lot by manipulating different figures and materials.
At the entrance to the museum, you will find one of the most important mottos of this space: Prohibited NOT to touch! So, it invites us to experiment with the materials on display. There are 6 rooms in total, which are named after various personalities in the world of didactics and mathematics. In addition, you can also find equipment dedicated to children from 0 to 10 years old, which is the Montessori Room, with materials and games to learn mathematics in a manipulative way inspired by Montessori pedagogy.
5. Water museum
The Water Museum can also be found in Cornellà de Llobregat, like the previous one. Occupies one of the modernist buildings of Central Cornellà! It is part of this set of museums that offer enormous learning and a great multitude of activities for children.
Inside this museum, you can find the permanent exhibition “Water: the impetus of the city”, which takes a tour of the techniques and challenges involved in supplying Barcelona and the metropolitan area, always from a sustainable perspective around this element. In addition, the museum is a cultural, heritage and educational space that makes available to everyone a set of activities, games, workshops, talks and debates where the children of the family can participate to learn through the experiences! Great, isn’t it?
6. Museum of Illusions and Big Fun
The Museum of Illusions and Big Fun is one of the most fun and mind-blowing museums you will find in Barcelona and its surroundings! It is located in the middle of the city, specifically on La Rambla, in front of the famous Boqueria market! Are you ready to have the best time?
Grab your camera and take pictures! The Museum of Illusions consists of a bunch of 3D paintings that seem to come alive. In fact, they are personalized paintings, as they have been made by hand by independent artists from Barcelona. You will see what optical illusions are more special and fun. To laugh out loud!
7. Catalan Institute of Paleontology
If children are starting to be curious about fossils and dinosaurs, you can’t miss the museum of the Catalan Institute of Paleontology! This museum is located in Sabadell, and we can already tell you that the experience of visiting it is unique and incredible!
The Catalan Institute of Paleontology has two permanent exhibitions: on the one hand, on the ground floor, you will find the exhibition “Today you investigate!” to have a taste of paleontology. On the other hand, on the first floor, you will find the exhibition “The Triceratops returns to Sabadell“. In addition, there is a fossil restoration laboratory and other areas where you can enjoy audiovisuals that recreate landscapes – of the Pyrenees area – from 66 million years ago.
8. Catalan Railway Museum
The Railway Museum of Catalonia can be one of the most attractive museums for children. You only need to go to Vilanova i la Geltrú to enjoy a day surrounded by trains of all kinds and from all eras! So good!
This museum is, in fact, a very, very valuable heritage facility that is dedicated to the railway world. Here you will see through all the trains and railways they have, the history of this means of transport without moving from Vilanova! You will be able to see railway culture, stories, experiences and documentaries that will leave children speechless.
9. Wax Museum
The Wax Museum is a must stop if you come to Barcelona. In addition, it is located in the center of the city, which was the former headquarters of the Banc de Barcelona. It is a very emblematic building that will introduce you to characters who are also very emblematic.
During the year 2020, a reform was made in this museum and, therefore, it is now completely renovated. There are 120 more figures, new technologies that we have never seen before, sets, etc. All of this distributed in a total of 28 areas that you can explore in their entirety when you visit the museum with your family! The Wax Museum also offers very interesting activities and workshops.
10. Chocolate Museum
The Chocolate Museum is a piece of equipment that is sure to be enjoyed by boys and girls! It is a museum located in the city of Barcelona, specifically in the old convent of Sant Agustí. You can’t miss his visit!
This is a museum that presents a journey through the origins of chocolate, its arrival on the European continent and its spread as a nutritional element with medicinal properties. To learn its history, the Chocolate Museum has created a set of activities that allow the user to experience and interact with the products, to awaken sensitivity and creativity. We highly recommend it!
11. Maritime Museum
You will love the Maritime Museum of Barcelona! It is located in the emblematic building of the Royal Medieval Shipyards, right at the end of Barcelona’s Raval district.
This museum is very, very interesting, as it has a lot of collections that show the maritime culture of Catalonia and help to understand its history. You can see many different models of ships, nautical instruments, marine painting, cartography, etc. In addition, you will find very fun family activities such as “The Sea of Heaven”, “The adventure of sailing beyond the sea”, “Monsters that cross seas and walls”, etc.
12. Barcelona History Museum (MUHBA)
The Barcelona History Museum does not have a specific location, but is divided into several points in Barcelona, as it is where the Roman archaeological remains have been found. So, you will find this museum in Park Güell, in Vil·la Joana, in Turó de la Rovira, in Fabra i Coats, in Casa de l’Aigua, etc.
The MUHBA offers a space of 4,000 m² where you can see underground Roman remains and observe how families lived at the time and what the rooms in their homes looked like. It is impressive to see! You make a leap in time that leaves anyone speechless. It is worth saying that you will find family visits of different types. Take advantage of these important findings!
13. History Museum of Catalonia
The History Museum of Catalonia was created in 1990 in a building that is located in the old warehouses of Port Vell in Barcelona.
It is a museum that aims to exhibit and explain the history that Catalonia has as a collective heritage. It is a narrative museum and preserves objects that are directly related to the history of Catalonia. In addition to the guided tour, you will find many different types of family activities, such as cultural, leisure, seminars, days, etc.
14. Music Museum
Does your son or daughter really like instruments and music? Then you can’t miss this museum: The Barcelona Music Museum. It is very close to Plaça de les Glòries, right next to the National Theater of Catalonia
We are talking about a museum that has a huge collection of more than 500 musical instruments. You will be able to find the cello of Pau Casals, a sarangui from India and fragments of works by Albéniz on guitar and piano, for example. But the family activities that we can find in this museum are also very interesting: workshops to build an instrument, an introduction workshop to the practice of the instrument, participatory musical stories, etc.
15. Contemporary Art Museum of Barcelona (MACBA)
The MACBA (Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art) is one of the most famous museums in Barcelona and is located in the middle of the historic center of the city, in the Raval district.
It is a museum that includes visual arts, performance, dance, film, music, events and educational activities. These are programs that explore the most critical views of contemporary art today. If you come to visit the museum as a family, including children, there are special programs that offer artistic and educational experiences that allow users to reflect with the body, touch the word, converse with the objects and listen to the space!
16. The smallest museum in the world
Finally, we bring you the smallest Museum in the world. This museum does not have a specific location, but it is a slightly different concept from what we have been seeing so far!
These are artistic interventions hidden in the old water brushes on the facade of some buildings in the Vila de Gràcia neighborhood, in Barcelona. These holes become small exhibition rooms, in this way we can bring art closer to the little ones in the house! A super interesting idea isn’t it? Let’s see if you can find all these hiding places!
What did you think of the museums we propose in this post? If you know more that are in Barcelona or its metropolitan area, do not hesitate to tell us and we will include it in the article! We hope you enjoyed it!