Design museums for children across Italy

Design is not a world reserved for adults. More and more Italian museums are proving that parents and children can explore it together, turning a visit into a moment of shared discovery and learning. In these places, design is learned by doing: shaping materials, building forms, experimenting with colors, and observing how an object comes to life. These museums have opened their doors to children through artworks, permanent ateliers, guided workshops, interactive experiences, and spaces designed specifically for them, where every activity becomes a blend of play, learning, and imagination. As Gianni Rodari famously said, “Imagination is a right.” This spirit inspires all the museums featured below: places where children’s creativity finds space, tools, and freedom.
 

Milan

GIOCO TRIENNALE


GIOCO is Triennale Milano’s new permanent space dedicated to childhood: a soft, bright, and sensory-rich environment that invites children to explore design through movement, materials, and imagination. The next workshop, Playing with Art, is scheduled for June 27, 2026, at 10:30 a.m.
The furnishings were designed by Smarin and consist of modular cork blocks—soft and sustainable—combined with fir wood shelving to create a warm, tactile landscape. Everything has been designed without nails or screws: desks, seating, partitions, beds, storage units, and play structures fit together seamlessly. Built to be durable, repairable, and easily manipulated by children, the space reflects a thoughtful approach to sustainability and creativity. The design of GIOCO, as well as the entire Triennale Park Floor, was entrusted to AR.CH.IT Luca Cipelletti.

Triennale Milano

ADI DESIGN MUSEUM
The museum’s Junior Design Lab workshops introduce children to design through hands-on activities inspired by design thinking. Participants experiment with materials, build small objects, observe models and prototypes, and learn about the design decisions behind products awarded the prestigious Compasso d’Oro.
Weekends are dedicated to families through the Junior Lab program, designed for children aged 3–5 and 6–13. Through workshop activities, children learn about the relationship between form and function, use drawing as a design tool to develop and communicate ideas, create small prototypes, and collaborate as a team. Workshop duration varies depending on the activity, with tickets available for morning or afternoon sessions. The museum also hosts birthday parties.

ADI Design Museum

FONDAZIONE ARNALDO POMODORO 


The Foundation offers family workshops tailored to different age groups (3–5, 6–11, and 12+ years old). Activities include The Plaster Casting Workshop, where children create a small sculpture through a real casting process; sensory workshops for younger children involving colors, textures, and soft materials; and activities inspired by Arnaldo Pomodoro’s sculptural techniques, allowing children to touch, experiment, and build.
Thanks to the support of Faber-Castell, the Foundation’s workshops have expanded with new tools and opportunities to nurture imagination and artistic sensitivity, including a new section dedicated to design.

Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro
 

Bergamo

GAMEC


Founded in 1991, GAMeC is a successful example of public-private partnership management. It is housed in the restored former Monastery of the Dimesse and Servite Sisters, renovated by Studio Gregotti Associati between the late 1980s and early 1990s.
GAMeC’s Educational Department transforms the museum into a space for citizenship and growth, where art breaks down barriers and encourages critical thinking from an early age. Rather than telling visitors what to see, museum education here provides tools for questioning, dialogue, and shared learning.
Regular family programs include:
Sunday at the Museum – Family Edition (ages 6–11): Shared observation and dialogue experiences where adults and children create collective stories inspired by artworks.
Kids Lab (ages 3+): Hands-on workshops exploring unusual exhibition works while encouraging problem-solving and divergent thinking.
Baby Art Tour (6 months–3 years): A reimagined museum experience where very young children engage with contemporary art through movement, sensory exploration, and physical interaction.
DI-SEGNI (ages 4–11): Illustrated-book readings in Italian and Italian Sign Language (LIS), introducing exhibitions while promoting linguistic diversity and inclusion.
Tactile Visits (ages 6+): Challenging the traditional “do not touch” museum rule, these visits allow participants to explore sculptures and materials through touch, guided by visually impaired museum mediators.

Particularly noteworthy is BUSILLIS – Tactile Workshop, scheduled for Saturday, July 18 at 10:30 a.m., open to everyone aged 5 and above.

GAMeC
 

Turin

MACA - MUSEO A COME AMBIENTE
The first museum in Europe entirely dedicated to environmental issues, MAcA places experiential learning at the heart of its mission. Interactive exhibits, participatory installations, and workshops allow children and teenagers to explore topics such as materials, energy, food, mobility, and sustainability through play and direct experimentation.
Visitors are encouraged to observe, build, test, and imagine solutions to contemporary challenges. While rooted in science and environmental education, the museum shares many core principles with design: curiosity, observation, creativity, and the ability to shape change.

MAcA
 

Trento

MUSE – MUSEO DELLE SCIENZE


MUSE is entirely interactive, encouraging both adults and children to discover science through play, touch, and experimentation. Children up to five years old can enjoy Maxi Ooh!, a dedicated floor featuring heated floors, sensory rooms, video projections, and virtual interactions designed to stimulate the senses. On the first floor, the MUSE FabLab offers creative workshops that explore STEAM disciplines. Children and teenagers can develop key skills through prototyping, 3D printing, robot programming, and many other hands-on activities.

MUSE

Ortisei 

BIENNALE GHERDËINA
Located in Val Gardena, in the heart of the Dolomites, Biennale Gherdëina welcomes young visitors and their families through a series of morning workshops and creative activities developed in close collaboration with the participating artists. Among the highlights is “Making, Unmaking, and Remaking Us,” a creative workshop for children created with artists Pedro Abu Wirz and Michael Marder. Sessions are scheduled for July 19, August 9, and September 6 and are open to children aged 4–12 accompanied by their families.

Biennale Gherdëina

 

Siena

SANTA MARIA DELLA SCALA
Founded in Siena in 1998 and relocated to the Santa Maria della Scala complex in 2007, the Children’s Art Museum brings together works by international artists who have chosen to dedicate their practice to childhood. The collection includes painting, sculpture, photography, video, and participatory installations, organized around three themes: Fairy Tale, Portrait, and Family. Works are displayed at children’s eye level and accompanied by concise texts designed to leave room for imagination.

Santa Maria della Scala

 

Grosseto

MAAM
MAAM offers educational programs that connect children and families with the region’s material history through hands-on activities. Through archaeology, art, and experimentation, children discover historical techniques, objects, and forms of expression in an engaging and participatory way. A particularly interesting initiative is the summer camp “Ceramics Between Ancient and Contemporary,” inspired by the exhibition Design Function Art, which creates a dialogue between Etruscan artifacts and contemporary works through activities designed for children aged 6–12.

MAAM

 

Rome

MAXXI


MAXXI offers the programs MAXXI for Families and From Space to Space, designed respectively for families with children aged 5–11 and for younger children aged 0–5 accompanied by their parents. Participants explore the museum’s architecture, permanent collection, and temporary exhibitions before engaging in practical activities such as manipulating materials, building, drawing, and reimagining space.

MAXXI Roma

GIOCARTELAB - LABORATORI CREATIVI ECOLOGICI
GiocArteLAB is dedicated to sustainable creativity for children and families. Natural and recycled materials are transformed into artworks, games, and objects, combining design, craftsmanship, and environmental education. Activities change regularly and actively involve parents, encouraging collaboration, creative freedom, and environmental awareness. It is one of Rome’s most interesting initiatives for introducing children to design through making, experimentation, and creative reuse.

FONDAZIONE MEMMO


Since 2012, Fondazione Memmo has hosted an exhibition program entirely dedicated to contemporary art. Its goals include strengthening the local cultural landscape, fostering international connections, encouraging dialogue among institutions, and promoting interaction between artists and the city of Rome.Creative workshops for children aged 4–11 introduce young participants to contemporary art. Children are invited to create their own artworks inspired by those on display.

Participation requires advance booking via email. The cost is €10 per child, and all proceeds are donated to Fondazione Theodora Onlus, which has provided play and entertainment activities in pediatric hospital wards since 1995.

Fondazione Memmo

 

Fabriano (Ancona)

MUSEO DELLA CARTA E DELLA FILIGRANA DI FABRIANO 
This is one of Italy’s most fascinating places for introducing children to the process that transforms raw materials into finished objects. Within the medieval complex, visitors can watch master papermakers produce sheets of paper using traditional frames, vats, and techniques that made Fabriano famous worldwide. The museum offers popular family workshops such as We Are All Master Papermakers, where children create their own watermarked sheet of paper, learning each stage of the process and taking home their finished work. Additional activities focus on drawing, handmade books, and visual languages connected to paper.

Museo della Carta

 

Deruta (Perugia)

MUSEO REGIONALE DELLA CERAMICA DI DERUTA
Housed in the former convent of San Francesco, this museum is the heart of Umbria’s ceramic tradition and one of Europe’s most significant ceramic museums. Its educational programs are designed with children in mind. Workshops allow participants to work with clay, colors, and traditional tools while learning about the decorative and design processes behind Deruta ceramics. Programs such as Becoming a Ceramic Artist! invite children and families to experiment with preliminary drawing, pouncing techniques, ceramic painting, and object creation. Seasonal initiatives such as Colorful Sundays transform a museum visit into an immersive exploration of patterns, forms, and compositions.

Museo della Ceramica di Deruta

 

Naples

MUSEO MADRE 
Although not specifically a design museum, MADRE is one of Italy’s most active contemporary art institutions in the field of education. Its new artist-led workshop program offers free activities for children, teenagers, and adults, developed directly by invited artists such as Derek MF Di Fabio, Allison Grimaldi Donahue, Marco Pio Mucci, and Alice Visentin.
Here, artists become central to the learning process—not merely mediators, but creative partners guiding participants through collaborative experiences involving diverse materials, practices, and artistic languages. The museum becomes a vibrant place of encounter and discovery, where children and families learn through direct engagement with contemporary art and the people who create it.

Madre Napoli