Activities

Do you have a Rotterdampas Vakantiepaspoort? Visit the Nederlands Fotomuseum this summer and pick up a free activity booklet to explore the Gallery of Honour of Dutch Photography.

Children aged 4 to 12 will search for shapes, faces, shadows and details. Along the way, they’ll discover how a negative works, spot silhouettes throughout the exhibition and explore emotions in photographs.

Answer the final question and hand in your completed booklet at the front desk. Got the right answer? You can pick a surprise.

Practical information
Age: 4–12 years
Price: Free
Location: Gallery of Honour of Dutch Photography (first floor)
Available at: the front desk

Good to know: admission is free for everyone up to and including the age of 17.

Join us for a walk through Rotterdam with your analogue camera.

During this edition of the Nederlands Fotomuseum Photowalks, you will head out with an analogue camera. Guided by @eyeeyegreg, you will walk from Cameralisatie to the Nederlands Fotomuseum. Along the way, you will shoot a specially produced roll of film with 12 exposures. This photowalk is a collaboration between the Nederlands Fotomuseum and Cameralisatie.

During the walk, you will look at the city around you in a different way. You will notice people, places, details and moments you might normally pass by. The walk ends at the Nederlands Fotomuseum, where you can leave your film in the dropbox for development. Afterwards, you can visit the museum and see the exhibitions Good Food and Quickscan 3. You are also welcome to stay for lunch at ZES, at your own expense.

Bring your empty 35mm analogue camera. The walk is approximately 3 to 4 kilometres, so wear comfortable shoes and keep an eye on the weather.

Practical information

Dates: Sunday 9 August and Sunday 30 August
Start time: 11:00
Starting point: Cameralisatie, Oostzeedijk Beneden 203D, Rotterdam
End point: Nederlands Fotomuseum
Duration: approximately 2 hours
Number of participants: maximum 10
What to bring: an empty analogue 35mm camera
Guided by: @eyeeyegreg

This activity is a collaboration between the Nederlands Fotomuseum and Cameralisatie.

Registration and payment are handled by Cameralisatie.

This workshop is fully booked.

Open Monumentendag: Tour of the Santos warehouse with WDJArchitecten

Discover how a coffee warehouse dating from 1902 was transformed into the current home of the Nederlands Fotomuseum.

During Open Monumentendag, architect Sander Nelissen of WDJArchitecten guides you through the Santos warehouse. He shares the history of the monument and explains the choices behind its transformation from warehouse to museum.

The tour connects to the 2026 Open Monumentendag theme, Resilient Heritage. What restoration and adaptations were needed to give the building a new purpose? And how can the history of a monument remain visible while preparing it for the future?

Practical information

Date: Saturday 12 September 2026

Times: 12:30 AM – 13:30 PM and 2 – 3 PM

Location: Santos warehouse, Nederlands Fotomuseum

Guide: Sander Nelissen, WDJArchitecten

Capacity: maximum 15 participants per tour

Price: free

Registration: advance registration is required, subject to availability

Open Monumentendag: Cyanotype workshop with Carolin Lange and Dico Kruijsse

Look at the architecture of the Santos warehouse through the lens of photography and capture the sunlight moving through the building in deep-blue prints.

What happens when you approach a building as a camera? During this experimental workshop, artists Carolin Lange and Dico Kruijsse explore how light can be captured across space and time. The workshop is part of their project Under the Same Sun.

Together, you will create blueprints of the sunlight moving through the Nederlands Fotomuseum. You will explore every stage of cyanotype, a photographic technique dating from 1842 and known for its deep-blue prints. From preparing the chemicals and coating the paper to exposing contact prints without negatives or a camera and fixing the final image.

No previous experience is needed. The workshop is open to everyone aged 18 and over, whether you are trying cyanotype for the first time or want to explore the technique further.

Practical information

Date: Saturday 12 September 2026

Time: 12 – 3 PM, possibly running until 3:30 PM

Location: education space, Nederlands Fotomuseum

Age: 18+

Workshop leaders: Carolin Lange and Dico Kruijsse

Capacity: maximum 12 participants

Price: €30 including museum admission and materials. Museumkaart and Rotterdampas holders pay €12.50.

Two new exhibitions are now on view at the Nederlands Fotomuseum. Good Food: A Journey Through the World of Food and Resilience explores how photography tells stories about food, agriculture and resilience. In Quickscan 3: Photography Now, twenty photographers and visual artists working in the Netherlands explore what photography can be today.