Amsterdam with Kids

For each racy adult attraction Amsterdam offers, a dozen deserve a PG—Pure Goodness the entire family can enjoy. It's not for nothing that UNICEF identified Dutch children as the most fortunate in the world. Alongside exceptional infant care and happy dairy cows, the peaceful, open-minded society produces chill parents who tend to raise remarkably well-adjusted little ones. Here are tips on what to do with your own. For monthly events, consult Time Out Amsterdam's Family listings.

Um, Museums? Yes!

Many of Amsterdam's museums have children's programs—the Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum offer special audio tours, and the Tassenmuseum will host a kids' bag-decorating party. However, if high culture leaves them cold, go find NEMO. The Netherlands' biggest science center is sure to entertain and educate the entire family with five floors' worth of interactive exhibits, clever multimedia programs, and live demos. After you've learned all there is to know about soap bubbles, extraterrestrial life, and your brain, savor the panoramic view and an ice cream on the spectacular roof deck, where vitamin D-deprived locals sun in the summer.

Where the Wild Things Are

Compared to other metropolitan zoos, Artis is small. But you can forgive its Noah-like modesty—it's a 150-plus-year-old institution built on a sinking city in the first country to elect an animal-rights party to parliament. From apes to zebras, all the major species are present, plus there are regular sea lion shows, butterfly expos, and spectacular (read: slightly gruesome) feeding sessions. Your ticket will also grant you entrance next door to the planetarium and the not-to-be-missed aquarium. For those with shorter attention spans, various neighborhoods have free public petting zoos. At the local kinderboerderij, kids not only rub elbows with farm animals, but are often allowed to bottle-feed them. If your fellow travelers wish to find their own bottle, Kinderboerderij de Pijp (www.kinderboerderijdepijp.nl), open weekdays 11-5 and weekends 1-5, is a stone's throw from the champagne bar atop the Okura Hotel.

To Tucker Them Out

If little ones want to swim, public pools are open year-round and don't require a membership. The Zuiderbad (www.oudzuid.amsterdam.nl) on Museumplein is a local favorite, while the Brediusbad (www.westerpark.nl) in Westerpark has an outdoor pool in summer, and the Sportsplaza Mercator (www.sportfondsen.nl) in West has—for better or worse—an on-premise KFC. Rather stay dry? Tun Fun (www.tunfun.nl) is a giant indoor playground with megaslides, ball pools, inflatable bouncers, laser games, and a disco for anyone 12 and under. Meanwhile, the restaurant quiets adults with espresso and Wi-Fi. No mountains to speak of, but the Netherlands has some avid climbing clubs. Klimmuur Amsterdam (www.deklimmuur.nl, which caters to first-timers and boasts its own kids' climbing club, has a 21-meter-high indoor wall. Prefer to stay grounded? Monday trough Saturday before 5, kids are welcome to strike out at Knijn Bowling (www.knijnbowling.nl). Last but not least, soccer lovers won't want to miss a World of Ajax tour (www.amsterdamarena.nl) through the city's famous futbol stadium.