HAM Helsinki

My Museum Buddy and I: HAM Helsinki

HAM Helsinki on the second floor of the Tennis Palace is actually quite an easy and convenient museum destination for children: since there's plenty of other things to marvel at in the Tennis Palace and HAM offers interesting exhibitions in an accessible environment.

The Graffiti exhibition has ended.

You can find other parts of the My Museum Buddy and I series here.

HAM Helsinki, or the City of Helsinki Art Museum at the Tennis Palace in Kamppi, is easy to find. You can start your museum adventure by spotting a giant seagull sculpture on top of the Southern Railway Station kiosk and enter the Tennis Palace and HAM Helsinki on the second floor. The Tennis Palace building is interesting and you can’t help but notice the smell of popcorn, since there’s also a large cinema, several cafes and restaurants, not to mention the glass floor on the second floor of the Tennis Palace and other interesting shops.

Villu Jaanisoolin's Seagull sculpture, part of HAM Helsinki's collection, can be seen at the northern end of the Tennis Palace.

The museum’s first floor is currently dedicated to more classical art and the Moomins, while the second floor features changing exhibitions: until early September, you can experience street art from here and elsewhere in the Graffiti exhibition. Additionally, HAM Corner can be found on the ground floor of the Tennis Palace, which features changing exhibitions and workshops. Admission to HAM Corner is free.

HAM Corner on the first floor of the Tennis Palace is a space open to everyone where lots of programs are organized.

On the first floor of the museum, you can admire Tove Jansson’s works and the Moomins in a permanent exhibition as well as more classical art from HAM Helsinki’s collections. In the Tove Jansson exhibition, there’s also an opportunity to draw and browse Moomin books while lying on soft cushions. Jansson’s exhibition is not large, but when visiting with a child, it’s just the right stopping point. Jansson’s impressive frescoes capture attention, and it’s worth looking for Moomins with your young museum visitor as well.

Tove Jansson's Moomins and other Jansson art can be admired on the first floor of HAM Helsinki.

The first floor also features changing exhibitions from HAM’s collections: right now an art exhibition takes you to 1930s Paris in the footsteps of Leonard Bäcksbacka (1892-1963) in the Air de Paris exhibition. Air de Paris is on display until 12.8.2018. At least on this visit, my museum buddy wasn’t yet interested in this exhibition - the stairs to the second floor were more inviting.

Leonard Bäcksbacka's (1892-1963) Air de Paris exhibition at HAM Helsinki.

The Graffiti exhibition on the second floor of the museum is open until 9.9.2018. The spacious areas make it easy to move around with children and marvel at street art. Note, however, that the exhibition is quite dimly lit, which may be too scary for some young museum visitors. The exhibition features street art from both Helsinki and around the world, and also includes, for example, video art and a pedal-powered exercise bike that takes you to a metro tunnel. In the middle of the Graffiti exhibition is a large table where every museum visitor gets to design their own tag or just draw. My museum buddy and I spent a long time here exploring, among other things, the contents of the museum backpack.

At HAM Helsinki's Graffiti exhibition, museum visitors also get to draw.

Art from HAM Helsinki's Graffiti exhibition.

Workshops are also organized in connection with the exhibition, and during the Graffiti exhibition, HAM Corner offers Graffiti Corner programs. HAM Corner’s program is free of charge.

At HAM Helsinki's Graffiti exhibition, you also get to design your own tag.

HAM has developed its own activities for children visiting the museum and a new perspective on museum visits: young visitors can borrow a backpack from the ticket office (in exchange for an adult’s ID) containing activities for the museum visit. During the Graffiti exhibition, the backpack contains at least a train and drawing supplies, and the museum visit gets a new dimension just from carrying the backpack on your back. A fun idea that you should definitely try! The backpack is suitable for museum visitors aged 3-9.

The museum backpack can be borrowed for a young museum visitor at the HAM Helsinki ticket office.

Children and HAM work well together when you remember to tell young museum visitors that they generally cannot touch the works. Museum curators will point out if someone gets too enthusiastic examining a work too closely, but fortunately this is mostly done in good spirits. A calm atmosphere, activities for children, Moomins and an interesting building as well as easy location are reasons to stop by HAM Helsinki. Also try the museum tips! You can move around the museum easily with strollers; however, larger bags should be left in free cloakroom storage. In the museum’s foyer, at the end of the hallway, there’s a nice space with sofas for snack breaks or bottle feeding a baby, and next to it is a functional childcare room, for which you can get the door code from the museum cashier. More tips for HAM Helsinki visits with children can be found here.

At the Graffiti exhibition, you can also make art on the side of a train, with the task available in the museum backpack.

You can also encounter HAM’s art collection around the city: public sculptures and, for example, many fountains belong to HAM’s collections. You can browse them here and go out to spot artworks around the city - it doesn’t cost anything and will certainly lead you to interesting places!