The Culture Kids service has become very popular among families in Helsinki, as more than 11,000 children have already been registered as Culture Kids. This year, the sponsors have organised 479 events, where babies and toddlers have been able to enjoy concerts, theatre, circus, songs and nursery rhymes, among other things. Children born in 2020 or after and living in Helsinki receive an invitation to at least two events organised by their own cultural sponsors every year until they start school.
“We’re happy that families with children have been able to enjoy cultural events organised for the youngest family members since the Covid-19 restrictions have finally been lifted. The number of children who have joined the service and the positive feedback we have received from the events show that there is a need for this kind of service,” says Laura Aalto, Culture and Leisure Deputy Executive Director.
Children born in 2023 will first be sponsored by the Museum of Finnish Architecture, the Design Museum, the Helsinki City Museum, the Finnish National Museum, the Society for Cultural Heritage Education of Finland and the University Museum of Helsinki. Sea-themed sensory workshops, bright baby yoga and other fascinating events will be organised for the Culture Kids in museums, the design lab and the observatory garden.
The sponsors of children born in 2022 are Dance House Helsinki, Cirko – Center for New Circus, Dance Theatre Hurjaruuth, the Theatre Museum, the Finnish Museum of Photography, and the Hotel and Restaurant Museum. The following theatres act as the Culture Kids sponsors of children born in 2021: Helsinki City Theatre, Puppet Theatre Sampo, Theatre ILMI Ö., Svenska Teatern and Q-teatteri. The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra is the Cultural Kids sponsor of children born in 2020.
More than 600 events will be organised for babies and toddlers free-of-charge in 2023, all tailored to the child’s stage of development. Children born in or after 2020 who live in Helsinki can be registered as Culture Kids for cultural events at Culture Kids website(Link leads to external service)
The Culture Kids service is administered by the City of Helsinki Culture and Leisure Division and supported by the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation.