A Favorite Place for Five Years and Going Strong
ANOHA, the Children’s World of the Jewish Museum Berlin
Press Release, Thu 28 May 2026
In its first five years, ANOHA has become a firm fixture with children and families as a lively location for encounter, learning, and play. Since 27 June 2021, around 490,000 visitors have discovered the Children’s World of the Jewish Museum Berlin (JMB), where they have played, questioned, constructed, climbed, and shared reflections on how we want to live together. Admission is free – just like admission to the JMB’s core exhibition. In June or July, ANOHA will welcome its 500,000th visitor. That person will receive a little gift.
- Contact
-
Dr. Margret Karsch
Head of Press
T +49 (0)30 259 93 419
presse@jmberlin.deMelanie Franke
Press Officer
T +49 (0)30 25 993 340
presse@jmberlin.de
- Address
Jewish Museum Berlin Foundation
Lindenstraße 9–14
10969 Berlin
Starting from the Torah story of Noah’s Ark, ANOHA embarks on a journey into the future. At its heart are the huge walk-in ark made of wood, 150 imaginative animal sculptures, and – most important of all – the children themselves. They play an active part in telling the story, and develop their own ideas on how to achieve respectful coexistence between humans, animals, and nature.
The extraordinary architecture and the “hands on, minds on” principle are key to ANOHA. Children can crawl through the anaconda, clamber onto animals, build ships, or try out the Great Flood simulator. Instead of glass cases and barriers, there are workbenches, spaces to play, and open stations featuring water and other materials. The round wooden ark, 7 meters tall, was designed by the US practice Olson Kundig Architecture and Design, and continues to form the centerpiece of the Children’s World.
“In the past five years, ANOHA has become a very special place – for children, families, school classes, and preschool groups from Berlin, Germany, and abroad,” says Hetty Berg, Director of the JMB. “The Children’s World shows how cultural education, play, and social issues can be brought together. We are particularly happy that so many families have become regular visitors – they can always experience something new at ANOHA.”
ANOHA continues to invite children to discover the world through curiosity and ask their own questions. How do we want to live together? What do humans, animals, and nature need for a good future? Inspired by the Jewish concept of tikkun olam – working together to make the world better – ANOHA combines creative play with societal themes such as diversity, sustainability, and community.
From the start, children took an active part in the development of ANOHA. An advisory board of children has continued to support the Children’s World with their ideas, feedback, and perspectives. ANOHA is a museum that keeps evolving in partnership with its young visitors.
“Here, children experience their thoughts and ideas being taken seriously,” explains Dr. Ane Kleine-Engel, the head of ANOHA. “Every day since ANOHA opened, we have seen just how much vision, openness, and empathy children bring to the table. ANOHA is a place where they can take part, experiment, and imagine the future.”
To celebrate its fifth anniversary, ANOHA is planning a special program of workshops, hands-on activities, and events for families. On 14 June 2026, from 10 am to 7 pm, everyone is invited to a summer festival featuring art workshops, circus to join in with, music, dance, and stories. Please note: The family festival program lasts for two hours. Each ticket is valid for one cycle of the program, that is, for a two-hour visit.
For more information, visit 5 years of ANOHA | Jewish Museum Berlin.
The Jewish Museum Berlin thanks the FRIENDS OF THE JMB for their generous support of the family festival. ANOHA itself was made possible through the support of the FRIENDS OF THE JMB, their counterpart, the FRIENDS OF THE JEWISH MUSEUM IN THE U.S., and numerous additional partners.
