A day at STRAAT Museum Amsterdam — Happily Curated Chaos

I love Amsterdam so much. It was so sad that when we lived in the Netherlands we hardly got to peek at what is now one of my top-three favorite cities. Amsterdam is like my favorite parts of New York. Downtown, where the buildings are short and the shops are usually mom-and-pop and things still feel authentic.

Now when we visit the Netherlands, we make sure to take our time discovering Amsterdam as much as possible. I had the STRAAT on my “back-up” list of things to do, and quickly brought it to the forefront when I realized I couldn’t stop thinking about how good it looks. I am so happy I changed some plans around to make this visit, because it’s such a fun place. I think it’s my new favorite modern installation to be honest.

We are museum goes. Our son’s education is based on museums, so we have been to a lot of them! I even write about museums for work, whenever I am given the opportunity. So, when I say this place is special, I like to believe that statement holds some sort of weight.

It’s A Family Activity

I was so thrilled when we bought our tickets at the window to the STRAAT that they asked us if we wanted to “do the treasure hunt”. We said “sure” and didn’t really know what to expect. The whole visit for our 11 year old was focused around solving riddles and fining pieces of art while learning about artists and solving the ultimate riddle at the end to win a prize in the gift shop.

You are handed a large piece of paper with questions on it and you have to explore the art to find the answers to the questions. In addition to the treasure hunt they had an AR experience and a decorate-your-own paint can area for kids.

Straat Amsterdam | Happily Curated Chaos | happilycuratedchaos.com

You Could Make a Whole Day of It

It’s easy to spend an entire day here! There is a great cafe inside, and also a well curated gift shop. The exterior of the building is also covered in graffiti and one can take a long while to really catch it all. Sadly it was raining the day we went, so we didn’t spend much time outside.

While I am heart broken that the very delicious vegan spot, Peach, that was located close to the museum, recently closed down, there are still great spots to explore in the area.

Roller Dreams, by WNDR is a cute, small, and colorful rollerskating rink we enjoyed.
Lowlander Botanical Bar & Restaurant is a great spot on the water.
A great indoor skate park, Skatepark NOORD is on that side of the canal as well.
For coffee and casual food, Café de Ceuvel is perfect
For a pancake cruise, with vegan options, this place is something we look forward to doing next time we are in town: The Amsterdam Pancake Boat

Street Amsterdam | Happily Curated Chaos | happilycuratedchaos.com

What Artists are at the STRAAT Museum?

Besides the surreal size of the pieces, one of the best things about this museum is how thoughtful the curation of diversity is. There are really incredible pieces by Rafael Sliks, Zësar Bahamonte, Snik, Guitar y Banjo, Gleo, Kayla Mahaffey and so many more. The STRAAT Museum offers a full list of artists on their site.