The idea for this article came about by itself – right after I had a daughter. Here she is – meet her.
This is Alice and in this photo she is almost 3 years old.
During the New Year holidays, we went around plus or minus all the popular children’s centers in Minsk. And we decided to make a big rating of our most favorite places. There will be prices, ratings, addresses and simple tips on how to save on visits. The concept is simple, like the songs of Olga Buzova. But I have not seen anything so thorough and detailed in the bynet yet. I think you’ll be interested.
Christmas House
“Magic space” in the center of Minsk. There you can write a letter to Santa Claus, jump on a snow disco, find out what Christmas smells like, and run after cute elves. New Year’s movies are being played here for adults. For people with dependence on social networks, they create various photo zones.
In fact, the “House of Christmas” is something in between a children’s room and a festive theater, where the actors interact as actively as possible with each child. “Elf aunts” play hide-and-seek with children; “Gregory Budapest” arranges an exchange of gifts. And the local Santa Claus bravely takes down all the beatings during the battle with inflatable balloons. That’s why my daughter really liked it here.
The same Gregory Budapest and my Alice
Address: Kozlov str., 3; opening hours – from December 3 to January 15.
Ticket prices: 35 BYN (free for children under 5 years old).
Our rating: 5 out of 5. It is a great option for preschool children. But I would recommend something else to the older guys. For example…
Hero Park trampoline Center
The former factory premises, now converted into a sports and gaming center. I trampled through all the snowdrifts in December until I found him. But it was worth it. There are trampolines, a climbing wall, and “pools” with foam cubes, and even a smiling dinosaur under the ceiling.
I’ll be honest… My daughter is 3 years old, so she didn’t appreciate the trampolines and most of the time just lay around somewhere among the soft cubes. But I jumped there like a young Bilan at the Eurovision Song Contest.
Our rating: 4 out of 5. In general, the Hero Park trampoline center is a very cool place. Although it also has several important disadvantages.
First, you need to make an appointment before visiting. Groups are launched into certain slots (one jumps from 12 to 13, the other from 13 to 14, and so on). Therefore, you will not be able to come when you have to.
Secondly, there are often school groups in this center. And if you cross paths with them, they will trample you like a herd of little antelopes.
And thirdly, this trampoline center is just hard to find. It is a 10-minute walk from the metro station “Academy of Sciences” in the courtyards behind this building.
You need to go around it, walk past the parking lot, and then turn into one of the courtyards. In the photo below, I’ll mark it with an arrow.
When you know what to look for, it’s much easier to get there.
Address: Surganova, 26; there are also trampoline centers on Nemiga and at Petrovshchyna metro station.
The cost of the visit: 14 BYN per hour. But you can also buy tickets cheaper – for example, through the discount aggregator Slivki.by . See the details on the website: heropark.by.
Gorky Park and Minsk Planetarium
I must say right away: I don’t like this park itself. He’s old and sad, like Eeyore the donkey. You can come here in winter just to run after squirrels.
Things are better in the summer. There are carousels and a Ferris wheel in the park, and the air is full of captivating aromas of barbecue and cotton candy. But I wouldn’t expect anything special from him anyway. The park and the park.
Our assessment: 1 of 5. It really struck me only in 1995, when I was 6 years old, and Minsk was completely different from today.
But there is one place in Gorky Park that I would like to mention in particular. I’m talking about Minsk planetarium.
I’ve been there twice. Once on a date with his wife, and the second time with his daughter. By itself, it is also quite old. But he still has some special charm.
They play movies about space for adults there. And special cartoon screenings on the dome screen are organized for children. There are planets, stars and all sorts of mice that go on a rocket to watch the moon.
The session lasts 45 minutes: a half–hour cartoon – and another 15 stories about constellations and space. Alice and I didn’t sit through the last part. But my daughter was completely delighted with the cartoon. The stars were showing on the big dome, and she was asking me, “Dad! Are we going somewhere?”
Our rating: 3 out of 5. A good option for your money. Website: planetarium.by (here is the poster and more detailed information).
Address: 2 Frunze Street, Gorky Park, metro station “Victory Square”. Price: 6 BYN. For children under 4 years old – free of charge.
Cinemarium
If you are not impressed by the old planetarium in Gorky Park, go to the Palazzo shopping center, to the immersive cinema center called Cinemarium. In fact, it’s the same thing, only more expensive and newer.
Science films about the mysteries of the universe and the most picturesque corners of the Earth are shown on a large domed screen hanging low over your head. In addition to them, the poster has light and visual shows, as well as various attractions that create the effect of flying or racing on spaceships.
Photos from the site — cinemarium.by .
It all looks very cool. But I would not recommend this to very young children (so that the fragile brain does not explode from the number of impressions). And such a “cinemarium” is 2-3 times more expensive than the Soviet planetarium.
Price: 10-20 BYN. Address: Palazzo shopping center (74A Timiryazev Street). Website: cinemarium.by .
Experimentus and Quantum
There is a Copernicus Science Center in Warsaw, a kind of modern museum of physics, biology and other sciences. Once upon a time, I was completely delighted with him. If you have never been there, you can read about it in the article at the link below.
Why am I telling you all this? The thing is, a few years ago, something similar appeared in our country too. There are two such museums at once – Quantum (in the shopping center “Titan”) and Experimentus (in the shopping center Palazzo). I liked the first one better. But this is only my subjective opinion. According to the general concept, they are extremely similar.
In both centers, the essence of various physical processes is explained to children in a playful way. Magnetism, the law of energy transfer, and the like… The idea is just great. But its implementation could have been better.
Our rating: 3 out of 5.
Prices: 14-18 BYN (depending on age and day of the week). See the details on the websiteskvantumminsk.by and expirimentus.by .
Lebyazhy and Freestyle Water parks
As far as I remember, there are only 2 large water parks in Minsk. “Lebyazhy”It’s bigger, but it’s located on the outskirts of the city, not far from the Minsk Arena, so it’s not so easy to get there. But “Freestyle” is located almost in the very center – a 5-minute walk from the metro station “Academy of Sciences”.
Both there and there – there are slides, pools, spa centers, sauna complexes and other entertainment. And both water parks often host some special show programs for children. I can’t promise you Santa Claus in swimming trunks, but it’s quite possible to get to the aqua disco with a Puppy patrol.
For details, see the websites of water parks:
- waterpark.by
- and free-style.by .
Prices. But here, be very careful. Both water parks have a conditional price of X, and it is quite impressive. BUT (!) each of them almost constantly has some kind of action. Therefore, this very price of X can easily be reduced by 10, 20, 50, or even 90 percent.
You can find discount coupons on the websiteSlivki.by . And both water parks have some kind of partner companies. For example, the Freestyle Water Park has been cooperating with Green stores for a long time, so promo coupons were often distributed directly at the ticket offices. And Lebyazhy still provides a 10 percent discount for all BSB Bank cardholders. I repeat once again: there are a lot of such actions. Just before the trip, take a look at the website of the water park you need and see which action you can really adjust to.
Hotels of the Aqua Minsk group
My articles are mostly read by tourists. Therefore, I will write in a separate line about the hotels of the Aqua group. There are only three of them:
- Aqua Minsk
- Aqua Minsk Plus
- and park hotel “On the other shore”.
What are they interesting for? It’s just that each of them comes with free access to the Lebyazhy water park. If you have not yet decided where you will live in Minsk, you can pay attention to them. You can view the details at the links above.
“Sandbox” and Leadbear yard
Sandbox. Photos from the project’s website.
These are two different places, but the essence is the same. Old factory spaces are overgrown with street food vans; graffiti appears on the walls, and the proletarian spirit is replaced by hipster vibes. There are quite a lot of such sites in modern Minsk. Therefore, each of them comes up with their own show program and tries to stand out somehow. In the evening – live music and open-air film screenings. And in the afternoon – various activities for children.
This is how, for example, the Sandbox program looked on the eve of the winter holidays.
There’s a Puppy patrol, neon shows, and elves with Santa Claus. And most importantly, everything is free.
Addresses: Kuibysheva 45 (Sandbox)/ Kulman, 1 (Lidbir yard). Where can I see the program of events for a particular day? On the websitesbox.by , as well as on social networks @lidbeerdvor.
Free children’s play “The Witch and Casper” in Lidbir Yard, May 2023.
Who is suitable for ? Basically… To everyone. The main thing is to carefully scroll through the program and choose what you are most interested in.
Our rating: 4 out of 5.
“Concourse” (the same, but under the roof)
This is a new gastronomic space that recently opened in the Galileo shopping center (next to the Minsk bus station). There are mismatched food stalls all around. In the middle there is a stage, photo zones and other entertainment for visitors. From Thursday to Sunday, there are free concerts, master classes and various show programs for children. This is how, for example, the play “In search of a Dinosaur” looked like…
And that’s how the meeting with the New Year’s elves and the party with Santa Claus took place.
Admission is free. But before the trip, you should definitely check the event poster. You can do this on the social networks of the project – @konkors.minsk.
The most unusual museum in Belarus
It is called the EMERCOM Safety Center and is actually a large interactive area where various emergency situations are recreated. Here you can experience for yourself what it’s like to be in the epicenter of a hurricane or earthquake, “escape” from an airplane that made an emergency landing, or crawl across the ice of a frozen lake.
Printscreen from the website center.ucp.by .
At the same time, I emphasize that the exhibition is as contact and interactive as possible, so you will be shaken and whirled to the fullest. There is only one disadvantage in all this – you need to sign up for excursions in advance. The phone number for inquiries is + 375 (29) 804-00-54. Tickets cost 10 BYN. Children under the age of 7 are not allowed here. But for younger students, the option is simply gorgeous.
Several options for those who are ready to take a little ride
Photo from the website— husky.white.
This article is about Minsk. But there are also a lot of interesting places near them where you can go (or go) with your child. For example:
- Husky Park “Snowy Veil”;
- Historical complex “Sula”;
- Or the BelAZ plant in Zhodino. He has become very popular lately. If your child loves cars, imagine how excited he will be at the sight of the largest cars in the world! You can view details about excursions to the enterprise here.
Separately, I want to tell you about an ethnographic village called Dudutki, not far from Minsk. If you come to Belarus in the warm season, I highly recommend visiting it. It’s just a cannon, a bomb, a pitard. Drive goats, eat freshly baked bread, ride a cart and see how dolls are made from straw.
I liked that, unlike ordinary museums, Dudutki is a very contact place. You go to the cheese factory and taste the fresh cheese. I wandered into the forge – here’s a hammer for you – “Go forge yourself a coin.” There are free tincture tastings for adults. But most of the entertainment here is still aimed at children.
Look for excursions to Dudutki on this page.
Well, if you are ready for big trips, also think about a trip to Belovezhskaya Pushcha. There are bison and Belarusian Santa Claus. In early December, a long string of winter festivals starts there. Children are taken along the “Alley of Fairy Tales”, fed pancakes, circled in round dances and introduced to magical characters (like Twelve Months and Baba Yaga).
You can view current tours to Belovezhskaya Pushcha from Minsk here.
Las Legas
In addition to the Belaz plant, there will be another representative of the Guinness Book of Records in this article. I didn’t know myself, but it turned out that the world’s largest private Lego collection is located in Minsk. And she even has her own museum, measuring almost 500 square meters. But it’s more for adults. And there are special Las Legas play centers for children in several parts of the city at once. We were at the Dana Mall shopping center. Therefore, everything I write here primarily concerns him.
For the youngest children, there is a Lego Duplo area (this is the same constructor, but with larger cubes). For older kids, there is a small cinema, console consoles, a human–sized castle and, of course, a lot of classic Lego.
Our rating: 3 out of 5 or even a little more. Connoisseurs of the Danish designer will be absolutely delighted. But my Alice treated him quite calmly. Legos and legos. It’s probably for older kids after all.
Addresses:
- Lego Museum – 133a Pobediteley Avenue.
- Game centers – Dana Mall shopping center (Vostok metro station), Palazzo shopping center and Diamond City shopping center.
Museum of ice cream and Sweets
Honestly, My daughter and I have not been to this place yet. But I actively follow the Ice Cream Museum on social networks – and I think the project itself is quite interesting. Children are told about the history of gelatto and arrange pleasant tastings, organize master classes and let them put their hands in the chocolate fountain. And there is also a small photo zone, a pastry shop where you can decorate a donut yourself and a cool museum with a collection of unique cakes (there is a boot cake, a guitar cake, a Bumblebee cake and a lot more).
Tickets cost from 12 to 28 BYN. For details, see the social networks @icecreammuseum.by . The idea is cool, but unfortunately I don’t know how well it has been implemented.
About different game centers (paid and free)
Photo from the website yetideti.by .
There are a lot of similar places in Minsk. And if I start listing them all, this article will be overblown, like my conceit. Therefore, here I will briefly tell you only about the places that Alice and I visit most often. These are:
- Bigfoot and children in the shopping center “Green City”;
- “Vasilisa’s Tale” in the shopping center “Galilio”;
- «Mousse kids» in Novaya Borovaya;
- And “Caramel” in the shopping center “Dana Mall”.
I like “Yeti” the most, but it’s pure taste. Ideologically, they are all very similar. You throw a child into a huge space with lots of toys and watch him having fun there.
Similar game zones (but with a smaller scope) can be found for free. Children’s labyrinths and dry pools are available in almost all restaurants “Burger King“. And also in the cinema space Voka Cinema (in the shopping center Dana Mall). It looks like this.
By the way, I also really like the shopping center “Dana Mall”. Every year, before the New Year and other holidays, huge installations with mechanical animals, birds and glowing houses are created here. In honor of February 14th, flying islands hovered in the air here.
Last New Year, a fabulous train station with a Santa Claus steam locomotive was built in the lobby…
And right now there is a huge ice castle of Zyuzi Poozersky (Belarusian Santa Claus) with deer and an animatronic bison that tells fairy tales to children.
In general, the place is very cool. I think you’ll like it here. Well, that’s all for me. Let’s say goodbye a little bit. Thank you for reading the article to the end. If you can also tell me where to go in Minsk with a child, welcome to the comments.
