Pienten Helsinki
Activity Ideas and Baby Celebrations
Updated Sept 25, 2017What child-friendly activities can you find in Helsinki? Where to go with small children on weekends? What can you do on a rainy day? Little Helsinki’s weekly series finds activity ideas and recommends child-friendly places in Helsinki and the surrounding area. The website targets children under school age.
This week babies are in the spotlight. Baby’s Day is celebrated for the first time on Friday, Sept 29, and for this reason Little Helsinki will from now on highlight events especially suitable for babies and their parents with the text FOR BABIES in the event listings when the event is baby-friendly. The idea is to encourage activities and hobbies with babies and to celebrate Baby’s Day. During the week, the first articles of the Baby Helsinki series will also be published on the PH website. Read more about Baby’s Day programs from Friday’s activity tips. Little Helsinki also challenges everyone to help make Helsinki a more baby and child-friendly city. Small actions often have great significance! #babyhelsinki #littlehelsinki
This week’s activity tips include some of Helsinki’s major fall events: Herring Market, Foundation Day and Lähiöfest, whose events spread throughout Helsinki. You can also participate in Sports Hulinat again at Sports Mill and the library program offerings are as abundant as always.
Weekly programs at playgrounds and family centers continue, and the parks offer activities for babies, toddlers and other parents in home care during the mornings. Playgrounds’ indoor spaces are available to families, even without organized activities. Come in boldly and ask staff for more information!
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Programs for babies and their families are organized at playgrounds.[/caption]
MONDAY SEPT 25, 2017
Events:Story Hour at Puistola Library at 10 a.m.
At Annantalo Art Clinic this week’s theme is Role-Play Clothes. The art clinic is aimed at 3-6-year-olds in home care. Free admission. There are two Monday clinic groups, at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Read more about Annantalo art clinics here.
Tip: Have you already visited and experienced Annantalo’s new Dream Tapestries exhibition? The exhibition will be on display at Annantalo until mid-December and you can explore it free of charge during the building’s opening hours. Read more from Annantalo’s website and check out photos here.
Tip: Go on nature walks with children in Helsinki! Little Helsinki explored Talosaari on an autumn day and it turned out to be a real nature experience. Read the article about Talosaari here.
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Talosaari is an outdoor recreation area owned by the City of Helsinki.[/caption]
TUESDAY SEPT 26, 2017
Events:Story Hour at Herttoniemi Library at 9:45 a.m. Story Hour at Malmi Library at 9:30 a.m. Story Hour at Pohjois-Haaga Library at 10 a.m. Story Hour at Töölö Library’s activity room at 10:15 a.m. Story Session at Viiki Library at 9:30 a.m.
The Lost Heart - story performance at Herttoniemi Library at 9:45 a.m. An interactive and poetic performance suitable for ages 3-6. Read more here.
Finland 100 music story session at Kannelmäki Library on Tuesday at 10 a.m. Tomi Pulkkinen’s imaginative music story session is aimed at 2-6-year-old children. Read more here.
FOR BABIES: Baby Family Club at Vartiokylä Church on Tuesdays from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Free socializing and company for babies and parents. Read more here.
Family Ball Games take over the Ball Mill’s indoor hall at Myllypuro Sports Park and invites all children under 9 to move with an adult on a soft artificial grass. Family ball games offer free play, tricks, running or even learning to walk. Family ball games on Tuesdays from 9:30-11:30 a.m. and 4-6 p.m. Free admission for children, adults pay Pallomylly’s entrance fee of 3.50€. Bring your own lock (for locker) and indoor sports clothing. Read Little Helsinki’s article about Helsinki’s city sports events here for more information about family ball games and how to get to Pallomylly.
Tip: Little Helsinki’s website now also has a list of upcoming children’s secondhand market events.
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The list of children’s clothing market events is now available on Little Helsinki’s website.[/caption]
WEDNESDAY SEPT 27, 2017
Events:Story Hour at Arabianranta Library at 9:30 a.m. Story Hour at Kontula Library at 9:30 a.m. Story Hour at Käpylä Library at 10 a.m. Story Hour at Lauttasaari Library at 10 a.m. Story Hour at Oulukylä Library at 5 p.m. Story Hour for ages 3-6 at Rikhardinkatu Library at 9:30 a.m. Story Hour for ages 1-3 at Rikhardinkatu Library at 10:30 a.m. Story Hour in Swedish at 10:15 a.m. at Bocksbacka Library.
Reading Dog Doris visits the children’s section of Tapulikaupunki Library at 5:30 p.m.
Puppet Theater Sampo’s Rainbow Fish performance at Malmitalo on Wednesday at 10 a.m. The performance is suitable for all ages. Tickets 10€. Read more here.
Puppet Theater Sampo’s lobby gallery and café at Erottaja celebrates book Wednesday at 10 a.m. This week’s guest is author Sinikka Nopola. You can come to the author meeting with children, and there’s also a play area here. Read more from puppet theater’s website.
Tip for Vantaa: Library Park opening celebrations are held on Wednesday from 2-7 p.m. at Library Park and Tikkurila Library. All opening events have free admission. The program includes, for example, music story time, skateboarding instruction and demonstration, music, theater and children’s sing-alongs. Read more about the celebrations here.
THURSDAY SEPT 28, 2017
Events:Story Session at Jakomäki Library at 10 a.m. Story Hour at Laajasalo Library at 9:45 a.m. Story Session at Suutarila Library at 9:30 a.m.
FOR BABIES: Baby Rhymes at Puistola Library at 10 a.m. FOR BABIES: Baby Rhyme Session at Roihuvuori Library at 10 a.m. Note. Registration required for Roihuvuori!
Miamaia and Mom’s Adventures - story performance at Laajasalo Library at 9:45 a.m. The performance is aimed at ages 3-6. Read more about the adventure here.
Muksukino at Asukastalo Myllär’s hall at 10 a.m., organized by Myllypuro Media Library. This week’s film is Grassroots Level.
Reading dog visits Töölö Library on Thursday at 2 p.m. Read more about the reading dog meeting here.
The Concert Hall at Music Center Helsinki features RSO’s Hidden Forest Instrument Tale at 10 a.m. More information about the event can be found on Music Center’s website.
Tip for Vantaa: At Tikkurila Library in Vantaa, Singing Together with Children event on Thursday at 10 a.m. You can bring your own instrument or borrow one from the library. Read more about this fun group singing time here.
FRIDAY SEPT 29, 2017
BABY'S DAY is being celebrated for the first time. Programs are organized throughout the city for babies and parents, and the main Baby's Day event is at Music Center Helsinki on Friday. Read more about Baby's Day here.Baby’s Day events are organized, in addition to the main event, by, for example, Helsinki’s playgrounds, libraries and health centers. Little Helsinki’s Baby’s Day activity tips will appear on the website early in the week.
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Image rights belong to Baby Finland Association (Vauva Suomi ry).[/caption]
Other events:
Story Hour at Roihuvuori Library at 9:45 a.m.
Toddler Session at Viiki Library at 9:30 a.m.
Plush Toy Night at Malmi Library. You can bring your own plush toy for a sleepover at the library and pick it up Saturday morning. The plushes will have adventures, stories, treats and giggles in the glow of night lights. More information about plush toy sleepovers here. Plush Toy Night is also held at Puistola Library.
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Plush toys can have sleepovers at Malmi and Puistola Libraries.[/caption]
Theatre Rollo’s Read, Sing, Write! performance at Annantalo on Friday at 10 a.m. seeks words and combines letters. The performance is suitable for children over 5. Tickets 10€. Read more here.
Annantalo’s Naperokino continues and offers its own movie theater for the little ones (ages 0-3). Short films are shown on Fridays throughout the fall from 10 a.m.-noon. This week’s theme is friends and family. Read more about Naperokino here.
Children’s Art Clinic is also available this week at Kulttuurikeskus Stoa from 10 a.m.-noon. This week’s theme is salt paintings. The art clinic is aimed at 3-6-year-olds in home care. No registration required, free admission. Read more about Stoa’s Art Clinic here.
SATURDAY SEPT 30, 2017
Events:Story Hour at Munkkiniemi Library at 11 a.m.
Children’s Saturday is celebrated at Pasila Library from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Read more about the day’s program here.
Bike Cross Park in Kivikko hosts the Baltic Sea Cup final from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and the public can watch the daredevils’ competition day. In addition to competitions, there is a variety of programs and, for example, scooter riders can try their skills in open scooter races, where every participant is rewarded. Free admission. Read more details about the day’s program here.
Market Vuosaari event at Vuotalo and Vuosaari High School from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. offers workshops, story sessions and music time for children. Plus much more program. The event is part of Lähiöfest 2017. More information here.
FOR BABIES: Babies can join the color bath at the Lähiöfest event at Vuotalo, where babies and parents get their own program. There are three color bath groups (at 10:30 a.m., noon and 1:30 p.m.) and advance registration is recommended. More information at Vuotalo’s website.
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Babies get to enjoy the color bath at Lähiöfest in Vuotalo.[/caption]
Market Malmi event at Malmitalo from 2-6 p.m. is part of the Lähiöfest 2017 event. The children’s program includes Pellekaija Pum’s concert, ventriloquist Sari and a juice session with plush toys. Read more at Lähiöfest’s website.
Theatre Rollo’s Read, Sing, Write! performance at Annantalo on Saturday at 2 p.m. seeks words and combines letters. The performance is suitable for children over 5. Tickets 10€. Read more here.
People’s Festival is celebrated on Saturday from 3-6 p.m. at Kalliola Settlement House. Multicultural festivities offer programs for the whole family. Read more here.
Oil Tank 468 on Kruunuvuorenranta is open to the public again and this unique site and Helsinki from a new perspective can be explored on two more fall weekends. On Saturday, Oil Tank is open from 6-9 p.m. The event has been popular with children in previous years and children can freely explore, for example, the tank's exciting sound world. You can get to the place and into the tank well with strollers too. Free admission. Read more about Oil Tank here.
Espoo: Experiences from Elfvik for families on Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Animals, music classes and nature walks plus treats from Elfvik's café. Read more about the nature center's fall season finale here.
Espoo: Little Aurora Children’s Culture Center’s PikkuBöö Saturday workshop from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Read more here.
SUNDAY OCT 1, 2017
Events:An awesome family sports event Sports Hulinat takes over Sunday mornings again at Sports Mill in Myllypuro from 9-10:45 a.m. Free, fun sports and varied activity trial sessions. Free admission for children, 3.50€ for adults (Sports Mill entrance fee). Bring your own lock (for locker) and indoor sports clothing. You can leave strollers in the Sports Mill lobby. More information about the event here. Also read Little Helsinki’s article about sports events.
Haaga MLL organizes Autumn Adventure at Isonniemi Playground on Sunday from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., with programs for families. Read more here.
Family Autumn Storm Nature Event at Paulig Villa on Saturday from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. invites you to experience nature. The event is organized by the Finnish Nature League’s Uusimaa district. Read more about Autumn Storm here.
Helsinki’s Herring Market at Market Square is a sure sign of fall and on Sunday it’s time to go enjoy archipelago atmosphere and treats again. The event runs for the week. The Herring Market also has programs for the whole family, read more about the week’s program here. Read more about the Herring Market.
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Herring Market at Market Square and surroundings Oct 1-7, 2017.[/caption]
Market Pohjois-Haaga event takes over Pohjois-Haaga School from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., where old and new meet in the market. The program includes, for example, group singing for the whole family, magic sandbox and sports hulinat. The event is part of Lähiöfest 2017. Read more here.
Foundation Day Festival at Narinkkatori from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. The program includes at least a carousel, science workshops, ball pit and music. Read more about Foundation Day’s program here.
Market Herttoniemenranta event is held at Herttoniemenranta Elementary School from 2-6 p.m. The program includes, for example, flea market, Farmers’ Market, Moomin music class and sports hulinat. The event is part of Lähiöfest 2017. Read more about the Herttoniemenranta program here.
Oil Tank 468 on Kruunuvuorenranta is open to the public again and this unique site and Helsinki from a new perspective can be explored on two more fall weekends. On Sunday, Oil Tank is open from 6-9 p.m. The event has been popular with children in previous years and children can freely explore, for example, the tank’s exciting sound world. You can get to the place and into the tank well with strollers too. Free admission. Read more about Oil Tank here.
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Kruunuvuorenranta’s Oil Tank and light art installations open to the public on fall weekends.[/caption]
