The city of Berlin offers hundreds of different activities for kids. Unfortunately quite a few of them are not fun for the parents who accompany them or are rather expensive for a full family. The Museum of Technology in Berlin Kreuzberg is an exception to both those things: This museum is fun for all ages and very affordable.
The Museum of Technology (Deutsches Technikmuseum)
The Museum of Technology (Technikmuseum in German) opened its doors for the first time in 1983. It’s one of the largest museums in Berlin with about 26,000 m2 of space. It’s located in Kreuzberg and you can reach it in a few minutes on foot from the stations Möckernbrücke, Gleisdreieck or Anhalter Bahnhof. It’s also not far from Potsdamer Platz so you can combine it with Christmas Markets, shopping in the Mall of Berlin or a visit to the casino (without kids that would be).
What to expect of the Museum of Technology?
Technology is a fascinating and broad topic. If you look around you, it will not be hard to spot phones, televisions, computers and other technological inventions. In the Museum of Technology most of the space is dedicated to cars, planes and trains. Not only because they take up a lot of space but also because it’s still impressive that human beings have invented those things. But there is so much more to see like boats, computers, communication, printing, brewing are just a few of the topics. In total there are more than 15 permanent exhibitions in the Technikmuseum.
Different buildings with different topics
The Museum of Technology is not just one building. It’s spread over quite a large area with several buildings and there is an outside area too. It’s good to know that there are separate entrances. Both are just a short walk from each other.
The main building (Trebbiner Straße 9)
This is where most people start. You can’t miss it because there is a large plane on top of the building and you can see it from outside without trying too hard. Inside you find the planes, ships and trains. It’s impressive that many of them on the floor like the photo above shows.
The Ladestraße (Möckernstraße 26)
This is the building next to the main building. It has its own entrance and this is where you find the history of road transport, the exhibition called The Network and the Science Center Spectrum. The Spectrum is located in the former administration building of the Anhalter Bahnhof from 1874, so even the building itself has a rich history.
The museum park
The outdoor part of the museum is very surprisingly called the Museum Park. Here you can learn about wind power and energy technologies of the past and the future. It’s a nice break when the weather is good.
Insider Tip: One ticket is valid for both the main building and the Science Center Spectrum on the day you book. Right now the exhibitions Photography, Film Technology and Chemistry and Pharmacy are closed because of renovation work.
Fun for kids – Workshops and interactive
For most children it will already be fun to just walk around and see things they recognise. But it’s even better that they can interact with many objects like engines and even step aboard a small ship. If you want even more interaction, you can join workshops and find challenges in the interactive stations like completing different knots and adjusting the wind so a sail-boat floats faster. There are also workshops of kids and if you really want your children to start interacting, you should go to Science Center Spectrum. Our children (8 and 4) both had most fun in there (similar to Legoland).
The Science Center Spectrum – Experiment yourself
If your kids like to touch, press and interact with things (like all kids basically do) the Science Center Spectrum is the best part of the museum. It’s the oldest science center in Germany and it has over 150 hands-on stations on about 1,400 m2. Where in most other exhibitions you have to tell your kids to not touch anything, here you can motivate them to touch everything. The great thing is that they will even learn something along the way as well.
The stations are sorted by topic and can be found on 4 different floors:
- light and vision
- heat and temperature
- electricity and magnetism
- force and energy
- mechanics and motion
- music and sound
…and that’s not all of it. As the title already states: This part of the museum is fun for all ages and parents will also be surprised and can learn a thing or two. It’s the perfect mix for a family activity in Berlin.
Temporary exhibition: SuperCity 3000
How will we live in the future? The Museum of Technology currently has a special exhibition which is dedicated to exactly this topic and it’s called SuperCity 3000: Our City of the Future. It shows what the city of the future could look like and it’s a nice way to talk with your kids about their own ideas. The exhibition is in the main building and it runs until June 2027. More information can be found here.
Practical information and FAQ
In our opinion, the Museum of Technology is one of the best activities for kids in Berlin. We feel the mix of education and interaction is similar to the National History Museum and that’s a compliment. Besides that it’s obviously very good value for the money. Below we have listed a bunch of questions you might still have when you are planning to visit the Museum of Technology in Berlin.
The entrance to the Museum of Technology is free of charge for everyone who is younger than 18 years, but you still need a 0€ ticket (you can also get it online). For older people it costs 15€ online or 17€ at the ticket counter. Reduced tickets are 9€ online or 11€ at the ticket counter. On the first Friday of the month it’s free for everyone from 1 p.m. by the way. For this you need to book a free ticket in the online ticket shop.
From Tuesday to Friday the museum is open from 9:00 to 17:30. On Saturday, Sunday and public holidays it’s open from 10:00 to 18:00. The last entry is at 17:00. On Mondays the museum is closed.
Yes. Every ticket is valid for the Museum of Technology and the Science Center Spectrum on the day you book. Only groups need to book a free time slot for the Spectrum in advance when they visit from Tuesday to Friday between 9:00 and 13:00.
On average people spend about 2,5-3 hours in the Museum of Technology. If you also want to visit the Science Center Spectrum, you should plan some extra time. You can easily spend a full day here if you want to carefully check every exhibition.
Yes there are parking spots, but they are not free of charge anymore. You can pay by card at the parking meter or with the mobilet app. On a busy day they might all be taken so it might be smarter to use public transport. If you come by bike, there is bike parking at the main building and at the Ladestraße.
Summary + Rating
If you are looking for an activity which is fun for both children and grown-ups, go visit the Museum of Technology and the Science Center Spectrum. It’s free for kids and a regular ticket is just 15€. It will be hard to get the same amount of entertainment for that price in any big city in the world.
Fun – Kids 2-6 Years: 9/10
Fun- Kids 6-10 Years: 9/10
Fun – Parents: 8/10
Price: Very affordable (15€, free for kids under 18)
Expected time: Average 3 hours but 1 hour more if you also visit the Spectrum
Overall rating: 9/10
