Cosmocaixa, indoor activities for families in Barcelona

Barcelona is a city that's worth to walk, specially in a sunny spring day: Plaça Catalunya, la Rambla, Port Vell, Barceloneta beach...

But if you are not so lucky and you have a bad weather day, the Cosmocaixa Science Museum is a good option for children over five years old.

In this video (available in English version) you can see what offers this museum so unique.

An overview of Cosmocaixa

Cosmocaixa is located at the foot of Collserola mountain, in the wealthy neighborohood called Sant Gervasi – la Bonanova.

Museum admission is by the Modernist building (1904 - 1909), but most of the activity is on the new glass building. The exhibition area covers 30.000 m2, to which must be added an outdoor plaza and a picnic area. Don't miss the views of the city from the plaza!


The circuit takes visitors down to the sixth basement floor, where a Foucault pendulum demonstrates the earth rotation.

Just behind the pendulum begins the area of science. Lots of interactive experiments and learnings are waiting for you to touch, pull or press. Older kids will be able to understand why different things happen, but the younger ones will also have fun pressing the buttons and being surprised by the events.

One of the walls is called the Geological Wall, seven giant blocks of real stone to show the developing of rock formations and the phenomena involved.

Walking through the permanent exhibition about the History of Matter,  from Big Bang to actuality, the Museum shows the fundamental laws of nature,
life and how intelligence emerges from neurons and develops until our civilisation.

At the end of the enormous room, in an especially heated area, there is the Flooded Forest, a reproduction of a Brazilian Amazonian forest (1.000 m2) with more than 100 living species that are possible to watch both from underwater vision and from earth paths. Find the little door that leads to the inside.

























Next to the flooded forest there are some aquariums and terrariums that will captivate kids with their colours.

Through a large ramp that explains the timing of evolution of life on Earth, you get to the upper floors, which house specific workshops, a planetarium and conference rooms. Almost at the end, there is a small hallway with the indication "meteorological station" that leads you to the outside plaza and lets you play and understand the performance of an Arquímedes screw.

Besides, just at the entrance next to the Foucault Pendulum, there use to be temporary exhibitions, you can find updated information at the web of Cosmocaixa.

Schedules and prices

Cosmocaixa opens from Tuesday to Sunday 10-20h. On summer and school holidays it also opens on Mondays. 

The entry ticket that includes the museum and the temporary exhibition costs 4 € and it's free for children under 16 years old. 

Special activities like workshops and Planetarium costs 4 € each one.

How to get there

Address: Isaac Newton, 26, Barcelona
Phone number:  93 212 60 50

Bus: 17, 22, 58, 73, 75, 60 y 196

Train: FGC - Station: Avinguda del Tibidabo

Best route with public transportation here.