Museums in the Canary Islands for kids: science, stars and the first islanders

A museum can be the best plan of a family trip, as long as it is the right museum. The Canary Islands have places designed for touching, experimenting and asking questions, and others that tell the story of the islands’ first inhabitants in a way children understand. They are also a perfect answer to very hot or rainy days.

Hands-on science

In Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Museo Elder of Science and Technology, in Santa Catalina park, is the place where “not touching is forbidden”. It has a planetarium, a fighter jet, a steam locomotive and workshops. In La Laguna, Tenerife, the Science and Cosmos Museum, next to the Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute, combines science and a planetarium with Microcosmos, a room for younger children; under-eights go free.

Looking at the stars

The Canary Islands have some of the clearest skies in the world. In La Palma, daytime guided visits to the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, booked in advance, bring families close to one of the most important astronomical observatories on the planet.

Nature and archaeology

In Santa Cruz de Tenerife, MUNA, the Museum of Nature and Archaeology, holds the Canary Islands’ natural science and archaeology collections, with workshops and family activities and free entry for under-eights. In Gáldar, the Cueva Pintada Museum and Archaeological Park lets you see pre-Hispanic paintings from a glass bubble and walk through a village of more than fifty houses, with workshops for children. And in La Gomera, the Archaeological Museum in San Sebastián tells the story of the ancient Gomerans, including a life-size reconstruction of an aboriginal altar.

Open-air museums

Some of the best museums for children have no roof. In Tenerife, the Pyramids of Güímar Ethnographic Park has six stepped pyramids, a botanical garden, a bird trail and an adventure workshop. In Fuerteventura, the La Alcogida Ecomuseum, in Tefía, is a restored rural village with seven traditional houses, craftspeople at work and farm animals, with free entry for children.

Ships and national parks

In the middle of Santa Cruz de La Palma there is a caravel on dry land: the Barco de la Virgen Naval Museum, with models, instruments and interactive displays. And before setting foot in a national park, it is worth stopping at its visitor centre: the Caldera de Taburiente centre, in El Paso, and Juego de Bolas, the gateway to Garajonay National Park, in Agulo.

For more ideas, see our guide to the Canary Islands with kids.