Östermalm and the island of Djurgården hold a big share of the city's museums, and many of them are built with kids in mind. This is our list for a rainy afternoon or a cold weekend: hands-on science, old ships, natural history and storybook worlds, plus some history for older kids. Several sit close together on Djurgården, so two in one day is doable with younger kids too.
Nordiska museet shows how people in Sweden and the Nordic countries have lived, from the 1500s to today. In the Children's Playhouse, kids do the chores on an 1890s farm, tend wooden animals and shop at the village store.
Staff hand out maps for two family trails in English: Mission: Vaesen, a hunt for an escaped vaesen, and Mission: The Arctic, through an iceberg in the Great Hall.
An interactive museum about the Swedish pop group, with original stage costumes, gold records and the Polar Studio mixing desk on show.
Kids can sing karaoke in The Audition, set up to feel like the Polar Studio, perform on stage as the fifth member alongside Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Frida, try the Tretow Mix Challenge and an ABBA quiz. The museum cinema screens films all day.
An interactive museum of the Viking Age on Djurgården, with archaeological finds, reconstructed Viking-era settings and objects kids can touch. It tells the stories of the women, children and men who lived on Scandinavian farms, not only the raiders. Guides in Viking-era clothing answer questions.
The big draw is Ragnfrid's Saga, an indoor ride through 10th-century Europe following Harald on a raid to win back his family's fortune.
The Swedish National Maritime Museum tells the story of people and the sea through ship models, figureheads and real wreckage. Straight ahead from the entrance sits the gilded stern of Amphion, Gustav III's 1778 pleasure ship, with its cabin preserved inside.
Battle Stations! shows centuries of navy ship models and parts of the submarine Ulven. Under-7s get Blubb, an underwater play room with submarines, fish and sunken treasure.
Sweden's largest cultural history museum fills an ornate 1907 building on Djurgården with over 1.5 million objects, covering everyday life in Sweden from the 1500s to today, from homes and set tables to Sami crafts.
Kids walk into the great hall under a giant painted and gilded oak statue of King Gustav Vasa by Carl Milles. Artur Hazelius, who also founded Skansen, started the museum in 1873.
Spårvägsmuseet tells the story of Stockholm's public transport inside the renovated Gasverket gasworks. Floors 1 to 3 hold 13 vehicles, from horse-drawn carriages and boats to trams and buses, plus old uniforms, tickets and T-bana art. Floor 4 walks through the history in order.
Kids can ride the mini T-bana, and those who need to burn off energy get Snabbare, a running track on floor 3.
Sweden's largest museum runs from dinosaur skeletons in Fossils and Evolution to the native animals of Nature in Sweden, set in their habitats. Polar Tracks covers the Arctic and Antarctica, and Treasures from the Earth's Interior has gemstones and crystals.
The Animal Human is the most hands-on hall, where kids test how their bodies work against other animals. The building also holds Cosmonova, an IMAX dome theater 23 meters across.
Tekniska museet, the National Museum of Science and Technology, has ten hands-on exhibitions across 12,000 square meters. In Teknoleket, the youngest visitors build marble mazes and turn cog wheels. In The Mine, kids walk the dark old mining tracks, then try drill simulators and detonate explosives. Play Beyond Play has game stations, and the Wisdome Stockholm dome runs 3D shows on space and nature.
Historiska museet holds The Viking World, billed as the largest Viking exhibition in the world, with 2,500 original objects, interactive stations and old Norse tales. Prehistories covers Stone Age tools, art and some of the first runes, and the Gold Room shows Viking Age silver pendants and Migration Period gold collars.
Free activity trails send kids through the exhibitions, and the courtyard gives them room to run.
The Police Museum tells the story of Swedish policing since 1850, and much of it is hands-on. In Polisliv, kids try on uniforms from different eras, step into a 1930s police kiosk and switch on the blue lights in a modern patrol car. Brottsspår centers on a crime scene to solve, and En större uppgift lets younger kids sit on a police motorcycle and groom a wooden horse.
Armémuseum tells Sweden's story of war and peace through the soldiers, women and children who lived it, from the 1500s to today. Full-scale scenes with life-size soldiers and original weapons fill Artillerigården, a former artillery depot whose buildings date from the 1700s.
The Trophy Chamber holds flags and spoils captured from defeated armies, and a smaller exhibit covers Raoul Wallenberg's rescue work in World War II.
The Vasa Museum is built around Vasa, a warship that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628 and was raised after 333 years on the seabed. About 98% of the ship dates from the 1600s, covered in hundreds of wooden sculptures.
Kids can follow the family trail, compare the ship with a brightly painted model, watch the film about the Vasa Piglet, and join hands-on activities with museum staff.
Junibacken is an indoor attraction built around children's books, on Djurgården. The Story Train carries visitors through handmade sets from Astrid Lindgren's stories, from Emil to Ronja, with narration in 12 languages.
The ride ends at Villa Villekulla, Pippi Longstocking's house, where the in-house ensemble puts on theater shows. A story square holds scenes from the Moomins and other picture books, and there is a children's bookstore and a restaurant.
Östermalm and the island of Djurgården hold a big share of the city's museums, and many of them are built with kids in mind. This is our list for a rainy afternoon or a cold weekend: hands-on science, old ships, natural history and storybook worlds, plus some history for older kids. Several sit close together on Djurgården, so two in one day is doable with younger kids too.
Nordiska museet shows how people in Sweden and the Nordic countries have lived, from the 1500s to today. In the Children's Playhouse, kids do the chores on an 1890s farm, tend wooden animals and shop at the village store.
Staff hand out maps for two family trails in English: Mission: Vaesen, a hunt for an escaped vaesen, and Mission: The Arctic, through an iceberg in the Great Hall.
An interactive museum about the Swedish pop group, with original stage costumes, gold records and the Polar Studio mixing desk on show.
Kids can sing karaoke in The Audition, set up to feel like the Polar Studio, perform on stage as the fifth member alongside Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Frida, try the Tretow Mix Challenge and an ABBA quiz. The museum cinema screens films all day.
An interactive museum of the Viking Age on Djurgården, with archaeological finds, reconstructed Viking-era settings and objects kids can touch. It tells the stories of the women, children and men who lived on Scandinavian farms, not only the raiders. Guides in Viking-era clothing answer questions.
The big draw is Ragnfrid's Saga, an indoor ride through 10th-century Europe following Harald on a raid to win back his family's fortune.
The Swedish National Maritime Museum tells the story of people and the sea through ship models, figureheads and real wreckage. Straight ahead from the entrance sits the gilded stern of Amphion, Gustav III's 1778 pleasure ship, with its cabin preserved inside.
Battle Stations! shows centuries of navy ship models and parts of the submarine Ulven. Under-7s get Blubb, an underwater play room with submarines, fish and sunken treasure.
Sweden's largest cultural history museum fills an ornate 1907 building on Djurgården with over 1.5 million objects, covering everyday life in Sweden from the 1500s to today, from homes and set tables to Sami crafts.
Kids walk into the great hall under a giant painted and gilded oak statue of King Gustav Vasa by Carl Milles. Artur Hazelius, who also founded Skansen, started the museum in 1873.
Spårvägsmuseet tells the story of Stockholm's public transport inside the renovated Gasverket gasworks. Floors 1 to 3 hold 13 vehicles, from horse-drawn carriages and boats to trams and buses, plus old uniforms, tickets and T-bana art. Floor 4 walks through the history in order.
Kids can ride the mini T-bana, and those who need to burn off energy get Snabbare, a running track on floor 3.
Sweden's largest museum runs from dinosaur skeletons in Fossils and Evolution to the native animals of Nature in Sweden, set in their habitats. Polar Tracks covers the Arctic and Antarctica, and Treasures from the Earth's Interior has gemstones and crystals.
The Animal Human is the most hands-on hall, where kids test how their bodies work against other animals. The building also holds Cosmonova, an IMAX dome theater 23 meters across.
Tekniska museet, the National Museum of Science and Technology, has ten hands-on exhibitions across 12,000 square meters. In Teknoleket, the youngest visitors build marble mazes and turn cog wheels. In The Mine, kids walk the dark old mining tracks, then try drill simulators and detonate explosives. Play Beyond Play has game stations, and the Wisdome Stockholm dome runs 3D shows on space and nature.
Historiska museet holds The Viking World, billed as the largest Viking exhibition in the world, with 2,500 original objects, interactive stations and old Norse tales. Prehistories covers Stone Age tools, art and some of the first runes, and the Gold Room shows Viking Age silver pendants and Migration Period gold collars.
Free activity trails send kids through the exhibitions, and the courtyard gives them room to run.
The Police Museum tells the story of Swedish policing since 1850, and much of it is hands-on. In Polisliv, kids try on uniforms from different eras, step into a 1930s police kiosk and switch on the blue lights in a modern patrol car. Brottsspår centers on a crime scene to solve, and En större uppgift lets younger kids sit on a police motorcycle and groom a wooden horse.
Armémuseum tells Sweden's story of war and peace through the soldiers, women and children who lived it, from the 1500s to today. Full-scale scenes with life-size soldiers and original weapons fill Artillerigården, a former artillery depot whose buildings date from the 1700s.
The Trophy Chamber holds flags and spoils captured from defeated armies, and a smaller exhibit covers Raoul Wallenberg's rescue work in World War II.
The Vasa Museum is built around Vasa, a warship that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628 and was raised after 333 years on the seabed. About 98% of the ship dates from the 1600s, covered in hundreds of wooden sculptures.
Kids can follow the family trail, compare the ship with a brightly painted model, watch the film about the Vasa Piglet, and join hands-on activities with museum staff.
Junibacken is an indoor attraction built around children's books, on Djurgården. The Story Train carries visitors through handmade sets from Astrid Lindgren's stories, from Emil to Ronja, with narration in 12 languages.
The ride ends at Villa Villekulla, Pippi Longstocking's house, where the in-house ensemble puts on theater shows. A story square holds scenes from the Moomins and other picture books, and there is a children's bookstore and a restaurant.
