Weekend van de Wetenschap on 3 and 4 October: NEMO, Boerhaave and the Philips Museum open for free, saving a family of four up to EUR 86

Taking children to a Dutch science museum usually means the entrance fee is the biggest cost: NEMO in Amsterdam charges EUR 21.50 per person from age 4, so a family of four spends EUR 86 at the door. This weekend is the exception. Weekend van de Wetenschap is a nationwide open weekend run by NEMO Science Museum for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science: on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October more than 300 universities, institutes, companies and museums open labs, observatories and workshops. On 30 September the official site listed 1024 activities, 746 free, 190 free with registration and 88 paid, aimed at children aged 8 to 14 with their parents and grandparents. For international families the hurdle is language, not money: the site is Dutch-only with no language filter. The next step is to pick a venue that normally charges and reserve any free tickets today.

• Why it is worth a dedicated day: venues that normally charge are free these two days. NEMO is free on both days but needs a free ticket from its ticket page first; Rijksmuseum Boerhaave in Leiden opens for free only on Sunday the 4th; the Philips Museum in Eindhoven is free on both days, and children can sign up to build a mini TV.
• Work out what your family saves: saving = normal adult ticket x adults + normal child ticket x children. NEMO charges EUR 21.50 for everyone from 4, so two adults and two children save 4 x 21.50 = EUR 86; Boerhaave is EUR 17.50 for adults and EUR 7 for ages 4 to 17, a saving of EUR 49; the Philips Museum is EUR 13.50 and EUR 7, a saving of EUR 41. Families with a Museumkaart already get into these three free, so what they gain is a registered place, not money.
• For families who do not speak Dutch: the site has no English version and no language filter. We went through all 1024 activity pages; 9 state they run fully or partly in English, clustered at CWI and FNWI on Amsterdam Science Park, the VU O|2 Lab, The Science Camp on Kinkerstraat, Erasmus University's Mindgic Predictions on Sunday, and DIFFER in Eindhoven; most hands-on experiments, stargazing and tours also work for children who do not follow Dutch.
• Before you go: most activities need no ticket, but those that do say 'Registratie: Vereist' on the activity page, and once places are gone you cannot get in; many activities run only on Saturday or only on Sunday, and 695 of the 1024 are on the 3rd only. Sunday 4 October is also World Animal Day, and the site flags animal-themed activities. Filtering by province and age, then by day, is quicker than browsing the map.

Where

300+ organisations nationwide・filter by province on the site

When

Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October・times differ per activity

Price

746 free・190 free with registration・88 paid

Note

No English site or language filter・NEMO needs a free ticket・Boerhaave free on Sunday only

Hokimi field note: decide which paid venue you want free first, then plan the route: in Amsterdam put the NEMO free ticket and the English activities on Science Park on the same day, in the south go to the Philips Museum, and on Sunday in Leiden combine Boerhaave with the expert talks on the free ground floor of Naturalis. Sources: source 1, source 2, source 3, source 4, source 5, source 6, checked on 2026-09-30.