Het Scheepvaartmuseum: stories of sea and society
Ship models and nautical charts, an exhibition on colonial history and photographs of the sea meet at the Oosterdok. An additional family programme runs during the autumn holiday.
Het Scheepvaartmuseum at Amsterdam’s Oosterdok tells the story of how the sea shaped life on land. The building at Kattenburgerplein 1 holds ship models, paintings, maps, installations and accounts of people affected by shipping. Its permanent displays connect maritime history with questions of today.
The main gallery, Republiek aan Zee, uses more than fifty objects to tell how the Netherlands became a maritime nation in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. A presentation on nautical charts and navigation instruments includes a cross-staff and sextant beneath a starry sky.
Schaduwen op de Atlantische Oceaan addresses the effects of colonial history on lives past and present, at sea and ashore. The replica of the Dutch East India Company ship Amsterdam is another permanent feature visitors can explore.
For 16 October 2026, Stephan Vanfleteren – Transcripts of a Sea is a current temporary exhibition. According to the museum, it runs from 10 October 2026 through 4 April 2027. Vanfleteren photographed the sea in different states, from still water and mist to a threatening storm. The current exhibition list also includes Vincent Ruijters’s Crimson Gilt, an art installation based on the replica of the Dutch East India Company ship Amsterdam.
For families there are Duiker Doris, designed for children aged two and over, and Het verhaal van de walvis, which covers whaling and protection. During the autumn holiday from 10 through 25 October, the museum also offers a drop-in workshop, readings, a self-guided looking trail and a family whisper tour. These activities carry no extra charge with a valid museum ticket. Registration at the information desk is needed for readings and the tour.
A temporary offer runs from Monday 12 through Sunday 25 October: children and young people up to and including 17 enter free, but only with a ticket booked online. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Outside this offer, the visitor page lists free entry for children up to and including four and €8.50 for ages five to seventeen. Adults pay €20, while students and CJP Cultuurkaart holders pay €8.50. Admission is free with a Museumkaart or Stadspas, among other cards.
The museum is open Monday to Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm. Its address is Kattenburgerplein 1, 1018 KK Amsterdam. Cash is not accepted at admission, the restaurant or the shop; payment is by debit or credit card, excluding American Express. Anyone wanting time for both the permanent galleries and the temporary photography can pick one main theme in advance and explore the other rooms afterwards.