aMStERdaM - In Your Pocket

NEMO Science Centre H-4, Oosterdok 2, tel. (+31)
205 31 32 33, info@e-nemo.nl, www.e-nemo.nl. Look
for the big green building jutting out into the water to find
this fun science centre that will make you wish you were a
kid again. The sounds of children's laughter and unreserved
awe will accompany you on a variety of levels where visitors
can learn about science without the boring textbooks and
teachers. Make giant soap bubbles, generate electricity or
lots of other hands on activities on the first floor and watch
Rupe Goldeberg machines on the second or learn how objects
can be moved with light. You can also see how fuel engines
work or touch a real, 4.65 billion-year-old meteorite; discover
why teenagers look, feel and act the way they do; see how
our daily lives will change in the future with new and advanced
technologies; and lots of other interesting stuff. You can also
bring your own lunch and eat it in the cafeteria or buy some
food on the top floor terrace café that offers a great view of
the city. A good museum shop is also available where you can
buy science experiments and other fun souvenirs for kids.
QOpen 10:00 - 17:00. Closed Mon. Admission: €13.50,
children 3 and under free. AK
Oosterkerk J-5, Kleine Wittenburgerstraat 1, tel. (+31)
206 27 22 80, www.oosterkerk-amsterdam.nl. Although
Amsterdam is littered with churches old and new representing
a wide variety of Christian denominations, some no longer
function as houses of worship and the Oosterkerk or Eastern
Church is one such building. Built in the 17th century as a protestant
church by architects Daniël Stalpaert and later Adriaan
Dortsman this unusual edifice on the canal was based on the
shape of the Greek cross. Today, it's a cultural centre for the
local community and often hosts concerts and art exhibitions.
QOpen 09:00 - 17:00. Closed Sat, Sun.
www.amsterdam.inyourpocket.com
centrum: plantage
Portuguese Synagogue (Portugese Synagoge)
H-5, Meester Visserplein 3, tel. (+31) 206 24 53 51,
service@jhm.nl, www.portugesesynagoge.nl. Most
European capitals were hardly an ideal place for Jews to call
home in medieval times, but no city was more tolerant of
this ethnic group than Amsterdam in the 17th-century. As
the city prospered, its population grew by leaps and bounds
and among its many new arrivals were Jews from around the
continent looking for a better life. They completed work on this
synagogue in 1675 and since then it has served as a centre
for Jewish life in Amsterdam housing also offices, archives,
ritual baths and a rabbinate. Although the synagogue is
currently being restored, it's still open to the public and an
audio guide will acquaint you with the building's long history.
QOpen 10:00 - 16:00. Closed Sat. Admission: adults €12,
children 13 - 17 €6, children 6 - 12 €3, under 6 free.
Stopera Amsterdam Music Theatre (Het Muziektheater)
H-7, Waterlooplein 22, tel. (+31) 205 51 81
17, www.het-muziektheater.nl. No matter how you get to
Waterlooplein from Rembrandtplein, either on foot or by tram,
you can't help but notice the curved modern structure on the
left as you cross the bridge. Although opened in the late 1980s,
the building, or at least the idea of an opera house, had been on
the city's drawing board since 1915. Eventually, it was decided
that a new edifice could house both the new opera and the
new city hall, but bickering about the project continued for
decades and became somewhat of a joke among locals until
its construction began in 1981 amid protests from squatters,
Provos, leftists and other layabouts. Opened in 1986, the
Amsterdam Music Theatre is home to both the opera and the
ballet, while the adjoining city hall opened its doors in 1988.
Q Guided tour admission Saturdays at 12:00: €6.
Summer 2012
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