Cold, wet or dark by five? These are the plans that keep kids warm and busy under a roof: theater and puppet shows, family concerts, musicals and hands-on exhibitions. We sort them by date, so the next thing coming up is always at the top. Check the language on each one, since many shows are in Slovak, and book ahead for the popular weekend slots.
AHOY! Danube is a river kids follow on foot through BIBIANA's rooms. The route starts on the second floor and flows downward, past a boat deck, a tunnel of giant fish and stops along the Danube from Roman times to today.
Kids tie a sailor's knot, pass through a lock and solve tasks, and those who finish can earn the title of little Danube captain.
A run of shows and sessions around Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince from BIBIANA, Bratislava's art house for children. In the new theater play, kids help repair a broken-down plane and meet the prince's neighbors from other planets.
Older kids can join creative reading hours with a guide who is the prince's friend, and the whole family can see the story as a ballet. Everything is led in Slovak.
A short Slovak-language show from Divadlo MaKiLe about Kika, a big sister who finds her crying little sister a pain, until the little one decides to run away from home. Kika promises to be a better sister, and then it's time to play rocket and fly through the whole apartment.
Made for kids who can't yet sit through a full-length play.
Labiatko is baby theater, the format Slovaks call a batolárium. Four actresses from the VŠMU drama academy play on a soft floor with feathers, bubbles and patches of grass, and the babies are free to crawl in, babble and join the scene. The show follows four chicks through one year, a loop that mirrors a baby's first year. A gentle first theater visit for a baby and their grown-up.
A hands-on crafting session at Ekocentrum Čunovo, built around nature themes. Tree Diaries looks at trees, and Magic of Night Butterflies turns to the moths that come out after dark.
It suits kids who like making things with their hands and are curious about the natural world, and it makes an easy indoor outing for a weekend in late fall.
A puppet version of Hans Christian Andersen's The Tinderbox, with cheerful songs, about a poor soldier who stumbles onto incredible riches. Along the way the story touches on generosity and vanity, fear of the unknown and finding courage, and asks whether the hero wins the princess's hand in the end.
It suits preschoolers and early school-age kids who can follow a story told in Slovak.
The popular Slovak kids' music duo brings its first Christmas show to the stage. Smejko and Tanculienka bake gingerbread, dance through a snowball fight and a sledding song, and teach Mňamuška the fly what Christmas is about. Smejko turns into a lazy couch potato and a hungry wolf, kids help him tidy up, and a snowman and Duško the bear reveal which present is the best one.
A musical version of The Wizard of Oz staged on ice, with skaters and aerial gymnasts telling the classic story to original songs and lighting effects.
All dialogue and songs are in Slovak. It suits Slovak-speaking kids best, and kids who already know the story can follow a lot through the skating and aerial acts.
Robo is a young chamois from the Tatras with one big trait: curiosity. It pulls him from the mountains into the big city: busy streets, strange people, tempting traps. Animals he meets along the way pass on their wisdom, and he works out that home and nature are the greatest treasure.
It's nevaDivadlo's own story, told with humor, fantasy and plenty of visual play.
Roald Dahl's story of Matilda, a girl who loves books more than TV, outthinks the adults around her and discovers she can move things with her mind. With help from her teacher Miss Honey, she stands up to Miss Trunchbull, the headmistress who rules the school by fear. This is a Slovak-language replica of the Brno City Theater production, with Tim Minchin's songs, a big cast of child performers and a live 12-piece orchestra.
A Little Fat Fairy, a Dwarf, a Little Fish with a cold, a Big Pig and a Dirty Rabbit make up a world of toys that gently pokes fun at very human quirks.
Their short stories ask how to tell someone an unpleasant truth without hurting them, and how to hear one. Told with a child's logic, it fits kids who are learning to handle anger and take criticism.
Folko the ant loves to dance and Fialka the fairy loves to sing, and in this show they get kids doing both. It's packed with catchy Slovak children's songs, simple dance moves and interactive moments where kids become part of the story. The duo are friends of Smejko and Tanculienka, the popular Slovak kids' act. The songs are in Slovak, but kids who don't speak it can still follow the dancing.
Perníková chalúpka is Engelbert Humperdinck's children's opera Hansel and Gretel, staged by the Slovak National Theater (SND) Opera at the new SND building. Janko and Marienka are sent into the woods, find the witch's gingerbread house and outwit her. A full orchestra plays catchy, folk-song melodies, and the Bratislava Boys' Choir sings too. It is sung in Slovak with Slovak surtitles, so it suits kids who know the fairy tale and can sit through three acts with one intermission.
Slovak children's singer Miro Jaroš and his band turn this year's Christmas tour into a dance party, with a big LED screen behind them. Next to his Christmas songs (Nech už nasneží, Príde Mikuláš, Lietavica, Ako na Vianoce) come more disco hits than usual, so kids and parents sing and dance together. Come in your most festive Christmas outfit. It's loud, so it suits kids who enjoy a big concert sound.
Spievankovo is the Slovak kids' song project behind a long run of videos, albums and books. Light of Christmas is its new holiday musical: the residents of Spievankovo are so busy getting Christmas ready that they forget what matters most, and the audience helps put it right. Expect live music, dancing, costumed characters like Píšťalka Tidlalka and a light show.
Cold, wet or dark by five? These are the plans that keep kids warm and busy under a roof: theater and puppet shows, family concerts, musicals and hands-on exhibitions. We sort them by date, so the next thing coming up is always at the top. Check the language on each one, since many shows are in Slovak, and book ahead for the popular weekend slots.
AHOY! Danube is a river kids follow on foot through BIBIANA's rooms. The route starts on the second floor and flows downward, past a boat deck, a tunnel of giant fish and stops along the Danube from Roman times to today.
Kids tie a sailor's knot, pass through a lock and solve tasks, and those who finish can earn the title of little Danube captain.
A run of shows and sessions around Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince from BIBIANA, Bratislava's art house for children. In the new theater play, kids help repair a broken-down plane and meet the prince's neighbors from other planets.
Older kids can join creative reading hours with a guide who is the prince's friend, and the whole family can see the story as a ballet. Everything is led in Slovak.
A short Slovak-language show from Divadlo MaKiLe about Kika, a big sister who finds her crying little sister a pain, until the little one decides to run away from home. Kika promises to be a better sister, and then it's time to play rocket and fly through the whole apartment.
Made for kids who can't yet sit through a full-length play.
Labiatko is baby theater, the format Slovaks call a batolárium. Four actresses from the VŠMU drama academy play on a soft floor with feathers, bubbles and patches of grass, and the babies are free to crawl in, babble and join the scene. The show follows four chicks through one year, a loop that mirrors a baby's first year. A gentle first theater visit for a baby and their grown-up.
A hands-on crafting session at Ekocentrum Čunovo, built around nature themes. Tree Diaries looks at trees, and Magic of Night Butterflies turns to the moths that come out after dark.
It suits kids who like making things with their hands and are curious about the natural world, and it makes an easy indoor outing for a weekend in late fall.
A puppet version of Hans Christian Andersen's The Tinderbox, with cheerful songs, about a poor soldier who stumbles onto incredible riches. Along the way the story touches on generosity and vanity, fear of the unknown and finding courage, and asks whether the hero wins the princess's hand in the end.
It suits preschoolers and early school-age kids who can follow a story told in Slovak.
The popular Slovak kids' music duo brings its first Christmas show to the stage. Smejko and Tanculienka bake gingerbread, dance through a snowball fight and a sledding song, and teach Mňamuška the fly what Christmas is about. Smejko turns into a lazy couch potato and a hungry wolf, kids help him tidy up, and a snowman and Duško the bear reveal which present is the best one.
A musical version of The Wizard of Oz staged on ice, with skaters and aerial gymnasts telling the classic story to original songs and lighting effects.
All dialogue and songs are in Slovak. It suits Slovak-speaking kids best, and kids who already know the story can follow a lot through the skating and aerial acts.
Robo is a young chamois from the Tatras with one big trait: curiosity. It pulls him from the mountains into the big city: busy streets, strange people, tempting traps. Animals he meets along the way pass on their wisdom, and he works out that home and nature are the greatest treasure.
It's nevaDivadlo's own story, told with humor, fantasy and plenty of visual play.
Roald Dahl's story of Matilda, a girl who loves books more than TV, outthinks the adults around her and discovers she can move things with her mind. With help from her teacher Miss Honey, she stands up to Miss Trunchbull, the headmistress who rules the school by fear. This is a Slovak-language replica of the Brno City Theater production, with Tim Minchin's songs, a big cast of child performers and a live 12-piece orchestra.
A Little Fat Fairy, a Dwarf, a Little Fish with a cold, a Big Pig and a Dirty Rabbit make up a world of toys that gently pokes fun at very human quirks.
Their short stories ask how to tell someone an unpleasant truth without hurting them, and how to hear one. Told with a child's logic, it fits kids who are learning to handle anger and take criticism.
Folko the ant loves to dance and Fialka the fairy loves to sing, and in this show they get kids doing both. It's packed with catchy Slovak children's songs, simple dance moves and interactive moments where kids become part of the story. The duo are friends of Smejko and Tanculienka, the popular Slovak kids' act. The songs are in Slovak, but kids who don't speak it can still follow the dancing.
Perníková chalúpka is Engelbert Humperdinck's children's opera Hansel and Gretel, staged by the Slovak National Theater (SND) Opera at the new SND building. Janko and Marienka are sent into the woods, find the witch's gingerbread house and outwit her. A full orchestra plays catchy, folk-song melodies, and the Bratislava Boys' Choir sings too. It is sung in Slovak with Slovak surtitles, so it suits kids who know the fairy tale and can sit through three acts with one intermission.
Slovak children's singer Miro Jaroš and his band turn this year's Christmas tour into a dance party, with a big LED screen behind them. Next to his Christmas songs (Nech už nasneží, Príde Mikuláš, Lietavica, Ako na Vianoce) come more disco hits than usual, so kids and parents sing and dance together. Come in your most festive Christmas outfit. It's loud, so it suits kids who enjoy a big concert sound.
Spievankovo is the Slovak kids' song project behind a long run of videos, albums and books. Light of Christmas is its new holiday musical: the residents of Spievankovo are so busy getting Christmas ready that they forget what matters most, and the audience helps put it right. Expect live music, dancing, costumed characters like Píšťalka Tidlalka and a light show.
