Polish museums that have been established in recent years, are interesting and inventive venues that attract attention thanks to modern facade and interior solutions and the introduction of the latest technologies in the form of interactive stands, thematic workshops and multimedia content presentations.
In addition to visiting the exhibition, many museums provide a rich cultural offer in the form of concerts, theater performances and meetings with experts.
It is safe to say that learning about history and "making friends" with science in Poland is not boring.
Some of the presented facilities offer space rental for the organization of a conference or event.
Below is a list of the most interesting museums that are worth including in your travel program around Poland.
Warsaw Uprising Museum – opened on the 60th anniversary of the Uprising. It is located in a former tram power plant, a monument of industrial architecture from the beginning of the 20th century. A unique place that helps to understand contemporary Warsaw. This interactive museum commemorates the largest underground military action in German-occupied Europe during World War II. The uprising of 1944 changed the face of the Polish capital forever. The uniquely designed museum exhibition affects images, light and sound. The interior arrangement and the use of multimedia effects bring the insurgent reality closer. The main elements of the exhibition are large-format photos, monitors and computers. The marked out route presents the chronology of events and leads through individual themed rooms. For several years, the museum has received a number of prestigious awards, including international ones.
The Fryderyk Chopin Museum – situated in the historic Ostrogski Castle, is one of the most modern biographical museums in Europe. The museum operates at the Fryderyk Chopin Institute – the largest Chopin center in the world – its mission is to cultivate the memory of the great Composer and to make knowledge about his life and work available to a wide audience. Through the multimedia exhibition, as well as numerous exhibits, visitors can learn interesting facts about the composer's life and work.
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews – a museum located in the center of Warsaw, in Muranow, documenting the centuries-old history of Jews in Poland. It is housed in a modern edifice erected in 2009–2013 according to the design of a team of Finnish architects led by Rainer Mahlamäki. The museum performs two functions: a traditional museum and a cultural and educational center. The exhibition presents the contribution of Jews to the development of Polish culture, science and economy. It presents their history from the arrival of the first Jewish merchants in Poland and the beginnings of Jewish settlement in the territory of the former First Republic (i.e. also in the present-day territory of Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and the western part of Russia) to the recent history of the Jewish community in the Third Republic. In 2014, the Museum added the word "Polin" ("Poland" in Hebrew) to its name. The Museum received many awards in Poland and abroad. In 2008, the awarded Lahdelma & Mahlamäki project received the Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award. In 2016, the museum as an institution received the European Museum of the Year (EMYA) award.
Copernicus Science Center – a science center which aim is to educate, inspire to observe, experience, ask questions and seek answers. Visitors can learn about the laws of science by conducting experiments on their own at interactive exhibitions, as well as by participating in workshops and scientific demonstrations.
MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art – The museum is located on the premises of the now defunct Schindler's Factory. MOCAK's exhibition activity focuses mainly on the art of the last two decades in the context of post-war avant-garde and conceptualism, as well as explaining the sense of creating art by pointing to its cognitive and ethical values ​​and connections with everyday life. The museum conducts educational and exhibition activities. An important task of the institution is an attempt to reduce prejudices against modern art.
Market Square Underground in Krakow – The fantastic museum, which is located under the Krakow Market Square, presents the medieval history of the city. The exhibition combines objects discovered during archaeological works, artifacts, fragments of cobblestones and buildings with a multimedia exhibition, which thanks to the latest technological solutions takes us into the scenery and atmosphere of past centuries.
Museum in the former Schindler's Factory – presents the history of the factory at Lipowa Street, in a broader historical context. In 45 exhibition rooms, Krakow and its inhabitants during the Second World War were shown. The exhibition has been divided into several segments devoted to particular thematic issues: the war of 1939, the role of Krakow as the center of power of the General Government, the everyday life of its inhabitants, the fate of Krakow's Jews, the secret state, as well as the history of people working in the factory and the history of Oskar Schindler himself. The museum exhibits have been supplemented with rich photographic and archival documentation and all of it is presented in an extremely interesting way using the latest technologies.
Hydropolis – Water education center
Hydropolis is a revitalized post-industrial facility with a unique atmosphere, which is part of the activities of the Municipal Water and Sewage Company. It is a unique center of knowledge about water combines educational values ​​with a modern exhibition form. Hydropolis is also a unique example of the revitalization of a post-industrial facility. The exhibition dedicated to water is located in a 19th-century underground clean water tank, in which multimedia, interactive installations and technologies show the potential of water hidden in cities, depths, atmosphere, and also in the human body! It consists of 7 permanent thematic zones, periodic temporary exhibitions, a special zone for children and a relaxation area.
Cognitive Center at the Centennial Hall
One of the most multimedia places on the map of Poland, aimed at older audiences. Centennial Hall by Max Berg, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, offers to discover the history of the building through a film and interactive presentations in the form of books. Special educational games have been prepared for the youngest guests, including architectural puzzles in the Living Wall technology, which allow the children to empathize with the role of an architect. Visitors can also play with augmented reality technology. At the end, the visual spectacle O (Omicron) – displayed under the dome of the Hall – awaits the visitors. It is the world's largest permanent 3D mapping, enhanced with sound.
Interactive Center for the History of Ostrow Tumski
Poznan Gate or the Interactive Center for the History of Ostrow Tumski, is an institution that, referring to the over thousand-year history of the Cathedral Island in Poznan, reveals to visitors the birthplace of Polish statehood. It is an example of innovative thinking about museology, architecture, public space and the life of the local community, not only in the city but also in the country. Poznan Gate is not a traditional museum, but a dynamic cultural institution that fits perfectly into the historical fabric of the city. It has created a space around itself that naturally attracts people, becoming a place for creative activities, meetings and relaxation.
Silesian Museum
The new building complex of the Silesian Museum, located on the site of the former Katowice Coal Mine, together with other institutions being established here, forms the Culture Zone – the new center of the city's cultural life. A modern structure designed by the Austrian studio Riegler Riewe Architekten from Graz, assumes the maximum use of the space below the ground, and thus little interference in the post-industrial landscape. The main part of the architectural complex of the Silesian Museum is a seven-storey building with as many as 3 levels underground.
The European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk
The European Solidarity Centre is not only a museum promoting knowledge about Solidarity and the anti-communist opposition in Poland and Europe, but also a centre for dialogue about the contemporary world. The characteristic building in the shape of a ship section, located next to the Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers and the historic Gate No.2 of the Gdansk Shipyard, has become one of the most important points on the cultural and tourist map of Poland.
Museum of the Second World War.
A modern museum located in a building of a characteristic shape, devoted to the fate of Poles during World War II and the history of the greatest war in history.
Central Museum of Textiles
The first in Central Europe Interactive Museum of Textiles is part of the Central Museum of Textiles in Lodz. In total, almost 100 engaging applications have been prepared, including several films and animations. A visit to the unique museum space will be an opportunity to embroider a pattern in multimedia on an interactive material. You will be able to measure with tapestry puzzles presented on modern multi-touch media. There will also be applications related to the past of Lodz.
A cultural institution co-run by the city of Lodz and the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, operating in the areas of the revitalized and expanded complex of the first power plant in Lodz. It is located in the New Centre of Lodz, in the immediate vicinity of the Lodz Fabryczna train station. The former EC1 complex houses the Science and Technology Center, the EC1 Planetarium, the Center for Comics and Interactive Narration, the National Center for Film Culture and the Lodz Film Commission.
Dzialdow
Border Museum
Interactive Museum of the State of Teutonic Order
Interactive exhibition of the State of the Teutonic Order The History of the Order of Our Lady of the German House in Jerusalem, based on interactive solutions. The visitor interacts with the presented exhibits in a visually attractive way, thanks to which the exhibition provides a completely new quality in learning about history.
Trzesacz
The Multimedia Museum on the Cliff
In cooperation with the best European specialists a modern exhibition has been prepared in the renovated interiors, which will delight even the most demanding guests. Instead of classic exhibits behind glass pane, an extraordinary journey through time is proposed, made possible by presentations with sound, light and images. Multimedia stimuli perfectly harmonize, affecting all the senses of visitors, transporting them to a fascinating world where fairy tales intertwine with living science. Using modern technologies, the history of the Ruins of the Church in Trzesacz is told, the meaning of the 15th meridian on which Trzesacz lies, the mysterious legend of Zielenica, and we also show how the struggle between man and the element took place over the centuries.
Museum of Jewish Culture.
The former synagogue from the 18th century has been transformed into a modern, unique, one off building called Educational and Museum Center "Świętokrzyski Shtetl" Majer Mały. Its aim is to recall and recreate the specificity of the shtetl – former Polish-Jewish towns, and to remind us of the coexistence of two cultures: Polish and Jewish. The facility has two exhibition levels. On the ground floor there are: the main exhibition room with a centrally located glass bimah, a conference room, and a multimedia library. The first floor is occupied by the stage with the audience on the mezzanine (in the former women's gallery). Multimedia attractions of the exhibition in the synagogue, the world's only glass bimah – a place where the Torah was read in the past (now intended for exclusive presentations and mini-concerts), as well as a series of events in the field of Jewish culture and history in the former Kielce Province – this is an offer for tourists coming to Chmielnik.