As summer comes to an end, many options for keeping the kids entertained on weekends or holidays have already been exhausted, or will soon be curtailed by the colder weather.
But Kyiv still has plenty of indoor attractions to keep children amused. On top of the list are Kyiv’s numerous museums, which are packed with unexpected wonders, breathtaking interactive experiments and fascinating artifacts.
The Kyiv Post has picked out the capital’s best museums to visit with kids this fall.
Experimentarium
The Experimentarium is an exciting science museum and a great place for 7-13-year-olds to learn more about the world around them. The museum’s permanent exhibition includes around 250 interactive exhibits that demonstrate the achievements of modern science in various fields. The inspiring experiments in chemistry and physics, the exhibition in the anatomy hall, and the surprising aural effects in the acoustic room will be long remembered by any child. Among the best activities are creating a cloud and launching it up to the ceiling, painting an intricate pattern with the help of just a pendulum, building a bridge without nails, and wandering through a mirror maze.
2A Verkhniy Val St. Open Tues. – Fri. 9:30 a.m. – 7 p.m., Sat. – Sun. 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Entrance fee is Hr 60 to Hr 155. Tel. 044-425-6581
Pharmacy Museum
This museum is dedicated to the history of Ukrainian pharmacies, and fully reproduces the interior of a European pharmacy in the 18th – 19th centuries. In those times a pharmacist commonly used to be a doctor as well, so the pharmacy museum also includes a shop, a laboratory and waiting rooms.
The museum has more than 2,000 exhibits containing all kinds of containers and bottles for the preparation of various herbal mixtures, old prescriptions, pharmacists tools from centuries past, and even bottles with snakes preserved in alcohol.
Kyiv Pharmacy museum has more than 2,000 exhibits and fully reproduces the interior and atmosphere of the European pharmacies of the 18th and 19th centuries. (Anastasia Vlasova)
In addition to medicines, there are jars of face powder and face cream, bottles of perfume, tooth cleaning powder and even ink, as all of these things used to be sold exclusively in pharmacies in the 18th and 19th centuries. The thick 19th-century antique pharmacy book, filled with prescriptions, medicine formulas and prices – all written in Latin – is one of the most interesting exhibits there, but both children and adults will find the rest of the museum’s vast collection interesting as well.
7 Prytysko-Mykilska St. Open Mon. – Sat. 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tickets are Hr 20. Tel. 044-425-2437
Water Museum
One of Kyiv’s most popular museums is located not far from the European Square in the building of the city’s 19th century water tower – the city’s first centralized water-supply system. The museum is, of course, dedicated to water, and it covers the entire hydrological cycle, from evaporation of water from the sea, to condensation of water vapor into clouds, precipitation onto the land, and the return of water from land to sea via rivers.
There are a number of dynamic exhibits here, depicting heavy rain, storms, and waterfalls. In particular, there is an artificial river where visitors can create their own river bed. The bubble exhibit and the huge toilet seat are the kids’ favorites, but there’s lots of information about the history of Kyiv’s water supply system to keep adults interested as well. In addition, there is a children’s playpark outside for younger visitors.
1V Hrushevskoho St. Open Mon. – Fri. from 10 a.m. till 5 p.m., Sat. – Sun. from 10 a.m. till 6 p.m. Tickets cost Hr 20 for children, Hr 30 for adults. Tel. 044-279-5333
Natural History Museum
The more than 30,000 exhibits in this museum paint a complete picture of the flora and fauna, tribes and peoples that have inhabited the territory of Ukraine from ancient times until the present. All the exhibits are authentic – children of any age will be excited to see with their own eyes an original Cro-Magnon’s human’s hut constructed out of mammoth tusks and bones, a huge mammoth skeleton, as well as a vast collection of skeletons of fish from the Paleozoic era and mammals from the Neogene period.
The museum has geological, zoological, botanical, paleontological and archaeological sections. But be warned: the rules are very strict in this more traditional museum – running, making too much noise and touching exhibits are strictly forbidden.
15 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho St. Open Wed. – Sun. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tickets cost Hr 35 ($1.40) for children, and Hr 60 for adults. Tel. 044-235-6266
Kyiv Planetarium
Kyiv’s planetarium allows its visitors to “travel to the stars” while still keeping their feet on the ground. The planetarium’s projector can display nearly 7,000 stars located in the northern and southern hemispheres. Children can also observe and learn about the causes of meteor showers, solar and lunar eclipses, discover the secrets of comets, and find out what causes the northern lights.
The planetarium also has a spherical cinema that shows films or digital slide shows on various topics, such as interesting facts about the planets of our solar system, the origins of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, astronomical seasons, and much, much more.
Children can also take a break from filling their heads with the wonders of the universe in the planetarium’s café or in its play zone.
57/3 Velyka Vasylkivska St. Open daily from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Hr 80 for children, students, pensioners, and Hr 100 -120 for adults.
