Hiding for the storm Ciara in Nemo in Amsterdam

The fall vacation early November was the storm vacation and on Thursday western Europe was warned for storm Ciara that was approaching.  Not the type of weather to stroll at ease through Amsterdam with the boys.  

I had booked some tickets for the children's science museum Nemo before lunch and crossed my fingers that we'd keep occupied for most of the day as I had not booked anything else (and lately last minute decisions to enter museums are not always an option). 

We deliberately took a long and lazy morning in our hotel and then headed downtown through the starting rain and wind towards the landmark building of NEMO near the IJ (well above the IJ tunnel to be precise). 

When we entered the boys started to rush from this attraction on the first floor to that one on the second floor and I sincerely feared they'd have made their tour in an hour or so, so I rassured them to take their time, try every experiment, slow down, read texts etc as this was where we'd spend almost our full day. 

It took a while for they actually slowed down and truly started working on tests, also because it was awefully crowded in the museum by lunchtime. We were clearly not the only tourists/locals that were seeking a warm hide-out during the storm.  

The museum has 3 floors with a cause-effect show running a few times a day that passes 3 floors; We've seen it twice from 2 different angles.  There are mechanical zones, optical zones, chemistry, space exploration, etc... We've spent most time in the upper floor which was psychology and the human body and more interesting for me too (but less prone for cool pictures).   

The first point where they really started playing was a geometric construction area

Build a predetermined pattern using the effect in the mirrors

After our late lunch in the toprestaurant of the museum we had good view on the raging storm outside with the wind battering the little trees on the rooftop terrace and the water around the museum showing clear waves.   The museum little by little got more quiet and we got more room and then in fact we started doing tests over again and it was much more fun.  

Making a whirlpool

Goofing with some optical illusions

The labo was the most fun part of the museum.  We got in in the afternoon and got assigned to a space rocket test that we could execute with step by step instructions on our assigned table.  We mixed carefully some vinigar and soda in a test tube and saw our rubber nob flying with force up in the air (under our protective tube).  Pretty cool even if you know what to expect.  We redid our little test a few times too much before clearing our spaces to other people in line to enter the lab. 

When we had literally done everything, we ended up again at our starting point in the museum where we killed time. Now that there were few children left, we had just space to build our own water dams and hydro power stations and they just continued doing that for the last hour. Ha splashing with water is always fun...in the end I had to hush the children that the museum was going to close and we had another appointment. 

What was it like as an adult to spend over 6 hours here? Well it's a fun museum and it's fun to watch your children play and test but it was so crowded and noisy. And truly...goofing in front of an optical mirror is fun but after a few minutes there is no more surprise.   So I sat around and waited and checked the news on the storm outside lots, played Pokémon etc etc.  I was a little bored to be here this long but enjoyed the warmth inside.  

The children themselves had a lot of fun but had to set their mind first to take their time...to be in line of some experiments that were overcrowded to give it a go themselves nevertheless etc.  
It's not a cheap museum since small children immediately pay full price, which is unusual for museums, but this one is of course a children's museum so logic.  I did notice that entrance control stopped half an hour before the museums closure :p...so if anyone is ever in for 1 quick science test or so, you can probably walk in by the end of the day.

Too bad we could not enjoy the roof terrace with view on the city for obvious reasons.