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The Build a Boat workshop is located at the boatyard site, so you can be inspired by the real boat builders, while you design and build your own boat.

There is also a water basin - a 'test tank' - so you can test your boat design and perhaps return to the construction process to refine the design. The workshop invites you to play and experiment at the same time as you learn about ship construction and boat building.

There is room for as many as 15 families in the workshop, where there are planing benches and enough tools for everyone.

The boats are built from wood scraps, cardboard paper, string, etc., and in the workshop there are tips, tricks, ideas and inspiration how to build a boat, so that everyone - from approx. 8 years and up - can easily get started designing and building a seaworthy vessel.     

Where: The Viking Ship Museum's boatyard on the Museum Island

When: 1 May - 18 October

Building a boat is free of charge when a ticket for the Viking Ship Museum has been purchased.

Admission:
Family ticket: 300 DKK - 2 adults and children under 18 of age
Adults: 160 DKK
Season pass: 180 DKK
Children 0-17 years: Free admission

The five impressive Viking ships, excavated at Skuldelev in Roskilde Fjord, bear witness to the story of how important ships were for the Viking society. Learn more about how ships were built for warfare, expeditions and trade in the Viking Age - and the museum's years of work to recreate these amazing ships.

The guided tours are conducted by history and archeology students.
Their stories bring the original ships to life and put the discovery of the five Skuldelev ships in perspective in relation to the maritime culture of the Viking Age.

Guided tour in English
The guided tour is included in the admission for the Viking Ship Museum.

When: Every day at 11:00 in English
Meeting point: Next to the ticket sales in the Viking Ship Hall

Groups are advised to book a private tour.

The recreated Viking ships are reconstructions of the original Viking ships that are exhibited in the Viking Ship Hall. During the tour you will learn about the role the ships played in the Viking Age and how we use the recreated ships today.

When we build and sail the recreated Viking ships, the museum gains new knowledge about the importance the ships had in the development of the society during the period we call the Viking Age and the dramatic events that characterize this period.

It was the ships that enabled the Scandinavian people to leave a lasting mark on European history and forever changed the world.

Outdoor guided tour 

When: Every day at 12:00 and at 14.30
Duration: Approx. 50 minutes
Language: English
Target group: Adults who understand English
Registration: Not required
Meetingplace: In front of the Viking Ship Museum's Boat Yard (see map, pdf).

It is free to participate in the tour when you have purchased a ticket for the Viking Ship Museum.

Admission:
Family ticket: 300 DKK - 2 adults and children under 18 years
Adults: 160 DKK
Season pass: 180 DKK
Children 0-17 years: Free admission

The five impressive Viking ships, excavated at Skuldelev in Roskilde Fjord, bear witness to the story of how important ships were for the Viking society. Learn more about how ships were built for warfare, expeditions and trade in the Viking Age - and the museum's years of work to recreate these amazing ships.

The guided tours are conducted by history and archeology students.
Their stories bring the original ships to life and put the discovery of the five Skuldelev ships in perspective in relation to the maritime culture of the Viking Age.

Guided tour in English
The guided tour is included in the admission for the Viking Ship Museum.

When: Every day
Time: At 11:00 and 13:00
Meeting point: Next to the ticket sales in the Viking Ship Hall

Groups are advised to book a private tour.

The recreated Viking ships are reconstructions of the original Viking ships that are exhibited in the Viking Ship Hall. During the tour you will learn about the role the ships played in the Viking Age and how we use the recreated ships today.

When we build and sail the recreated Viking ships, the museum gains new knowledge about the importance the ships had in the development of the society during the period we call the Viking Age and the dramatic events that characterize this period.

It was the ships that enabled the Scandinavian people to leave a lasting mark on European history and forever changed the world.

Outdoor guided tour 

When: Every day at 12:00 and at 14.30
Duration: Approx. 50 minutes
Language: English
Target group: Adults who understand English
Registration: Not required
Meetingplace: In front of the Viking Ship Museum's Boat Yard (see map, pdf).

It is free to participate in the tour when you have purchased a ticket for the Viking Ship Museum.

Admission:
Family ticket: 300 DKK - 2 adults and children under 18 years
Adults: 160 DKK
Season pass: 180 DKK
Children 0-17 years: Free admission

The Hamlet is a children's universe where the story of the people who stayed behind when the ships sailed to distant shores in the Viking Age is unfolded.

Here, you can get close to everyday life at a Viking Age home and explore the questions: What did the families do? What did they look like? Who came to the Village?

In the room, there are windows where children can see the Viking world unfold in the area around the Village, by the water's edge, and out on the fjord.

Here they see adults engaged in daily chores while the children play. A boatbuilder is splitting wood, and a travelling merchant arrives with a fully packed donkey.

The Children's Village - A Window to the World of the Vikings

Open every day during the museum's opening hours.
The Education Service of the Viking Ship Museum has first priority for use of the room.

The special exhibition In the Wake of the Vikings is the story about how the five Skuldelev ships have shaped the museum to what it is today: how the remarkable find has been of crucial importance for maritime archaeology in Denmark and been the driving force behind far-reaching archaeological experiments within reconstruction and sailing.

» Read more about the special exhibition 'In the Wake of the Vikings' here...

The stories are engagingly told and the audio guide is designed so that there is something for everyone in the family.

The starting point is a captivating story inspired by the Viking Age.

The Museum’s audio guide gives you access to exciting stories about the famous Viking ships, which stand beautifully – but silently – on display, keeping their secrets about a distant past with terrifying Viking raids and trading voyages to far-away shores, about the seafarers on board and their life by the sea almost 1,000 years ago.

A soundscape for the whole family

The stories are engagingly told and the audio guide is designed so that there is something for everyone in the family. The starting point is a captivating story inspired by the Viking Age.

The stories can be heard in three different ‘sections’, aimed at different age groups and depending on how much time you have for your visit to the Museum

Altogether, there are 8 ‘listening-stations’ and you don’t have to listen to all of the stories in one go. Each of the stories can also stand alone, so you can go back and hear the rest of the content another day if needs be.

You can hear the audio guide via the Museum app ‘Useeum’, and it’s both easy and safe as guests use their own smartphones. The App can be downloaded for free. The Museum also has tablets available for loan, if you don’t have your own smartphone.

Info about the audio guide:

• The audio guide is intended for use in the Viking Ship Hall
• The audio guide can be played through the app Useeum
• The app can be downloaded for free in the App Store or on Google Play.
• Bring a smartphone, ipad or tablet
• Don't forget your headphones/earpods so you can get the most optimal experience
• You control the tempo of your journey through the Viking Ship Hall and decide yourself the order in which you want to visit the listening stations

The audio guide has been supported by the Friends of the Viking Ship Museum Association.

Help Astrid saving the Viking Ship Museum from a cunning theft!

The master thief Heidenreich has sinister plans to steal something quite invaluable from the Viking Ship Museum, and the theft can only be prevented with the help of clever and cunning children.

Fortunately, you also get help from Astrid, who is a very cool and special girl. She is brave, energetic and loves to be with other children - and she is also an expert on Vikings!
You can only stop the thief if you get help to solve the thief's mischievous riddles.

Bring an iPhone or Android phone, download the game for free - and then go chasing the thief!

The game is recommended for children aged 6 - 13 years (accompanied by adults)

Where: The Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, Vindeboder 12, 4000 Roskilde

When: Every day during opening hours

Visit the Children's Village and trace the footsteps of Master Thief Heidenreich in the Viking Ship Hall or fight as a Viking, spin your own Norse thread or bake Birkakiks over the fire at Strandengen. There are plenty of things to do during the autumn holidays here at the Viking Ship Museum. 
Read more about the autumn holiday activities here.

Autumn holiday 2024

Guided tours and storytelling:

11:00: Stories for children

11:00: Guided tour in the Viking Ship Hall (English)

11:30: Meet the Vikinge warrior at Strandengen

12:00, 13:00, 15:00: Maritime Archaeologists' DocuLab 

12:00 - 14:00: workshop carding wool and spinning noren threads  

13:00: Guided tour in the Viking Ship Hall (Danish)

14:00: Meet the Viking Warrior 

14:30: Family tour: 'Tyr's lost courage' 

Activities:
• Bake Birka-biscuits over an open fire
• Card wool and spinning the gods destiny treads (nornetråde)
• Fight with sword and shield
• Build a boat in the workshop
• Board Viking ships
• Dress like a Viking
• Compete in Viking games
• Meet the boat builders
• Meet the Maritime Archeologist at the Maritime Archeologist Doculab
• Solve the MuseumMystery - a digital game on your own phone
• Audio guide on your own phone