Explora, the Children's Museum of Rome
Free to experiment! If you are looking for one, the first on the list is – just a few steps from Piazzale Flaminio – dedicated to both young and old explorers. Structured like a small city on a child’s scale, it consists of a 2,000 sqm pavilion with 15 themed areas to discover through play and imagination.
Free to experiment! If you are looking for a museum for children and by children, the first on the list is Explora – just a few steps from Piazzale Flaminio – dedicated to explorers both big and small. Structured like a small city designed for children, it consists of a 2,000 sqm pavilion with 15 themed areas to discover science and society through play and imagination. No mandatory routes or imposed activities, every child is free to experiment, observe, and above all, touch!The Museum of Zoology
At the entrance of Villa Borghese, one of the largest green lungs of the capital, you will find the which over the years has become increasingly family-friendly, thanks to that involve adults and children.
At the entrance of Villa Borghese, one of the largest green lungs of the capital, you will find the Civic Museum of Zoology of Rome which over the years has become increasingly family-friendly, thanks to interactive routes and guided tours that involve adults and children. Please note that the Museum currently also manages the educational activities of the Planetarium and Astronomical Museum, which are closed for renovations).Technoscientists at Technotown
Technotown is a technological and scientific play center in the heart of Villa Torlonia dedicated to children and teenagers aged 6 and up. Nine rooms to experiment with everything you can create with the latest technologies in a fun way.
Other Museums in Rome to Visit with Children
The Capitoline Museums can be considered the oldest public museums in the world and are truly rich in works of art. Themed workshops for children are periodically organized, and there is also a special audio guide for children in which the great emperor Marcus Aurelius, together with his friendly steed Lampo, will welcome young visitors and guide them through the rooms with jokes, explanations, laughter, and moments of inspiration. The Palazzo delle Esposizioni – Via Nazionale 194 – is a space created to host events and art exhibitions often accompanied by activities for children (to find out about themes and dates you can also visit our page events in Rome with children). The National Gallery of Modern Art – Viale delle Belle Arti 131 – offers workshops for families with children (from 7 to 12 years old) for the permanent collections, while for the temporary ones educational material is provided to better get to know the artists. The Maxxi, National Museum of 21st Century Arts – Via Guido Reni 4A – is dedicated to contemporary creativity. The aim is to make the museum a familiar and dynamic space: for this reason, both for the permanent collections and temporary exhibitions, the Foundation offers ad hoc activities for children and workshops for the whole family. The Leonardo Exhibition is a permanent space dedicated to the Genius of Leonardo Da Vinci, and is located at Campo de’ Fiori – Palazzo della Cancelleria. All the machines present – reproduced from Leonardo’s codes – are functional and some of them can be touched and tried out, to allow for an interactive experience, and in addition guided tours for families with children from 5 to 12 years old are organized. In September 2016, the Museum of Civilizations was established in Rome, bringing together four important national museums: the National Prehistoric Ethnographic Museum “Luigi Pigorini”, the National Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions, the National Museum of Oriental Art “Giuseppe Tucci”, and the National Museum of the Early Middle Ages, a truly unique concentration of history and legends.Journey through time in the history of Rome
Would you like to step into the history of Rome? With Welcome To Rome it's possible. Through an amazing immersive show you will travel through 2,700 years of history, all in 30 minutes! Thanks to spectacular video projections on the walls, ceiling, and floor, you will feel like you are flying over the city through the centuries, moving inside monuments, palaces, churches, and squares. Meanwhile, on the ground, a large model lights up to show the city's evolution over the centuries: from ancient Rome of the seven Kings, through the republican and imperial eras, up to the Rome of the Popes. And to complete your visit, you can activate 4 interactive models that will tell you about the Imperial Forums, the Forum of Augustus, the Mausoleum of Hadrian, and St. Peter's Basilica. The multimedia space, designed by physicist and science communicator Paco Lanciano, is located at the former Cinema Augustus, at Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 203.Strolling through the parks of Rome
What to do in the days we have left on our holiday in Rome with children? First of all, we can enjoy the many green lungs. For example, the already mentioned Villa Borghese, a small green city within the city, with woods, small lakes, fountains and gardens, but also historic buildings and museums to visit (the Borghese Gallery), stone characters and fairytale corners to discover. In this wonder park you will also find rides, a real riding school and ponies to ride, and a children's cinema (Cinema dei Piccoli). There is even a play center, the Casina di Raffaello), which offers a rich program of activities for children and teenagers from 3 to 14 years old – workshops, animated readings, exhibitions – and has free spaces for children under 3, rooms to rent for parties, and a bookshop specializing in children's literature and games. Inside Villa Borghese park you will also find the Bioparco (we've been there, read our review of the Bioparco in Rome), which hosts over 200 animal species and organizes many activities and workshops related to biodiversity. Continuing with parks, we can go to Villa Doria Pamphili with its 180 hectares of meadows, woods, fountains, water features, natural lakes and hills, or to Villa Ada Savoia or Villa Torlonia, or again to Villa Celimontana or the smaller Parco degli Scipioni. The Gianicolo is worth a visit, a green hill in the center of Rome between St. Peter's and Trastevere where you can look out from the largest and most panoramic terrace in the city, and also famous for its cannon (down below, under the steep cliff) which fires every day at exactly noon, giving the loudest time signal there is (a bit like Mary Poppins!).