Indoor Events for Kids in The Hague

Every winter the Kurhausplein in Scheveningen turns into a covered 600 m² ice rink, with lights, music and the smell of hot chocolate. First-timers can wobble around on double-blade skates while confident skaters do laps, so mixed-ability families all get on the ice.

Because it's covered, it stays warm and dry whatever the weather. A second, longer rink on the boulevard adds skating with a view of the sea.

A family exhibition at the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden that puts the creatures of ancient myths center stage, not the heroes who outwit them. Kids meet a giant snake, fish-tailed men, a snake-haired woman and a winged horse, each with its own story and power.

The creatures are grumpy after 100 years hidden in the museum, and kids set out to cheer them up.

A puppet show about Mies and Dorus, two mice who hibernate for seven months, hence the name Seven Sleepers. They bed down in the Snoepmannetje's candy shop, until Mies nibbles a new candy and something very strange happens. Kids follow Dorus and Wasco the raccoon on a quest to break the spell.

A good pick for kids who follow spoken Dutch and enjoy a story with a bit of suspense.

De Club van Sinterklaas, the crew from the Dutch Sinterklaas films, puts on a new musical stage show each year, with Sinterklaas making an entrance. Kids sing and dance along to the Club's hits, with live music, humor and fireworks.

The party starts at the door with a Pieten band, then a Pieten disco in the hall. It is all in Dutch, so it suits kids who know the songs.

Lennox is eleven, and his dad has a mysterious illness. When his dad forgets his lucky necklace before a hospital appointment, Lennox and his best friend go after him. This music theater show, inspired by the children's book Lennox en de gouden sikkel, tells the story with acting, live music and visuals.

It suits kids who like adventure stories about courage and friendship.

A children's theater show built on Pim Lammers' popular picture books, with live music, cheerful songs and plenty of humor. Kids meet a lamb who would rather play in the mud than in the meadow, and a farm full of animals with ideas of their own.

A festive outing for young animal lovers and their parents. It is performed in Dutch, so it suits kids who follow Dutch.

A hands-on library workshop about how people in the Middle Ages turned sheep's wool into warm clothes. A medieval woman talks about life in her time and brings lots of objects for kids to look at, touch, smell and maybe even taste.

Then each child felts their own bracelet, little ball or magic stone. It's led in Dutch, so it suits kids who follow spoken Dutch.

Amare marks its anniversary with an extra-festive Family Sunday. The whole building fills with music, dance, theater and creative activities, so families can move between orchestra and dance shows, hands-on workshops and smaller surprises all day.

It suits families who want a full cultural day out under one roof. The program runs in Dutch, so kids who follow Dutch get the most from the shows and workshops.

Sinterklaas and his Pieten stop by the Cool Event ice rink on the Kurhausplein in Scheveningen, the winter rink by the sea.

The 600 m² rink comes with festive lights, music and the smell of hot chocolate. It suits preschool and primary-school kids who want to see the Sint and skate on the same outing.

BOUT! is a youth dance show by Plan D where everything goes wrong: water spurts, the power cuts out, the gutter clogs and the pipes nearly burst. The kids in the audience get pulled in to connect, tape, saw, drill and build to save the day.

As they build, the pipes make music. It ends with the audience building one big chain reaction.

Kids find out what children played with in Roman times, about 2,000 years ago: balls, dolls, marbles and knucklebones, often made by the kids themselves.

Then they get to work with clay and felt alongside an (almost) real Roman lady and make a Roman toy of their own. It suits kids who like history or making things with their hands.

A sing-along party of the cheeriest Sinterklaas songs, led by Félice van der Sande, a Muziek op Schoot teacher. Kids sing, play music games and dance, all to live music.

It suits young kids getting into the Sinterklaas season. The songs are in Dutch, so kids who know them from home or school will get the most out of it, though anyone can dance along.

Rapunzel is a Christmas pantomime performed in English by AATG, using a script by pantomime writer Alex Jackson.

The cast came through auditions and includes a junior chorus of kids alongside the adult and dance choruses. A good pick for families who want a holiday show their kids can follow in English.

The Hague's Christmas circus returns to a heated big top on the Malieveld with an all-new show. More than 20 artists from around the world take the ring: a Colombian high-wire troupe, an all-female Hungarian teeterboard team, a 12-ring juggler, a contortionist, a classic clown, dancing border collies and a musician who plays five flutes at once. Dutch singer Enza, from The Winner Takes It All, sings during the show.

Om en Om en Om is a theater show for the very youngest. Karlijn and Bram set off on an adventure in a theater tent where everything spins: an umbrella, a hoop, a chair, the world. In all that spinning, they lose each other.

There are few words, just movement, music and singing. When the last spin is done, the children get to twirl and dance themselves.