Istanbul to entertain children during holiday

ISTANBUL

Istanbul has a lot up its sleeves for students who will soon enjoy the semester holiday set to begin on Jan. 18.

Turkey’s largest metropolis offers plenty of entertainment and educational activities with museums, theme parks, public aquariums and zoos for families who prefer to stay in Istanbul during the two-week break.

Here is a selection of the most popular spots in Istanbul for kids and parents alike to have fun.

Viasea:

One of the new venues in Istanbul, Viasea Aquarium, Theme Park and Aslan Park in Tuzla offer a wide array of entertainment to its visitors.

The world’s first climatic-themed island of fun featuring five different attractions, Viasea educates and entertains at the same time it opens the doors of a completely different sea world with more than 12,000 species in 47 different thematic displays. The visitors will take a journey into a fascinating underwater tunnel and bottle-feed the koi and ray fishes.

Viasea Theme Park also has the “Red Fire,” the 5th biggest rollercoaster in Europe, and appeals to all ages. It combines a modern and traditional theme park experience. Last but not least, the Aslan Park allows visitors to know more about these big felines.

Miniaturk:

A miniature park on the Golden Horn, Miniaturk, is one of the largest of its kind in the world where visitors marvel at more than 100 models completed in 1/25th scale.

Sixty-one of the structures represent famous landmarks around Istanbul, while nine others represent buildings in Anatolia and 12 from the Ottoman territories that lie outside of Turkey today.

Also featured are historic structures from the antique era to the Byzantine and the Seljuks.

Rahmi Koç Museum:

The Rahmi Koç Museum, located in Hasköy is the first museum in Turkey dedicated to the history of transport, industry, and communications that hosts the Mustafa Koç Building, Historic Haskoy Shipyard, and an open-air exhibition area.

The museum itself is a living memory of Turkey with its numerous sections, including one for modern Turkey founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, featuring items on roads, machines, communication, scientific tools, models and toys. The museum also features exhibits, workshops, and activities for children to try out their information on astronomy, math’s and printing press.

Istanbul Toy Museum:

Founded by the Turkish poet and author Sunay Akın, the Istanbul Toy Museum exhibits some of the most exquisite samples of toys dating back to the 18th century.

Akın has collected these toys in 20 years from auctions, more than 40 collectors and antique shops in order to revive history in a more entertaining way.

The gallery of space toys exhibits shining stars overhead, whereas miniature train sets are exhibited in a genuine train compartment whereby the progress of industry is depicted over the years by the language of the toys.

Barış Manço Museum:

The house where Barış Manço, one of the most popular and influential singers in modern Turkish music history, once had lived in Istanbul is now waiting for visitors in the semester.

A real-size wax figure of Manço greets visitors as they step into his house standing next to his own grand piano.

Kite Museum:

Founded by Mehmet Naci Aköz, an avid kite collector since 1986, this museum boasts a collection of more than 2,500 toys, related publications, material and kites from six continents and 33 countries. It is the first of its kind in Turkey and one of the 18 kite museums in Europe. In the museum, students can make their own kites in the Kite School and enjoy the first-ever kite library of the world, the Gülen Okumuş Kite Library.

Chocolate Museum:

Chocolate Museum in Esenyurt comes first in the to-do list of chocolate-craving kids for this semester. The art-inspired museum exhibits Turkish-Islamic artworks, world art masterpieces, legendary characters, and chocolate waterfalls.

In the main hall, you will see a real-size chocolate house, Noah’s Ark, and paintings that tell about the history of chocolate.

Madame Tussauds:

Millions of people have flocked to Madame Tussauds wax museums around the world, and the Istanbul branch remains just as popular with more than 60 wax statues of contemporary and historical celebrities. The museum exhibits a vast range of wax statues of well-known people and celebrities.

Journey into the world of toys:

Vialand, a fun-filled and action-packed theme park that covers the area of 100 football stadiums, entertains the visitors with rides and activities in its Game World, Legends World, and Adventure World sections.

There are more than 50 stations such as the Justice Tower, Wild River, Viking splash rollercoaster, Jetski, King Kong, 360, BreathTaker rollercoaster and Dream Curtain.
Strolling through the nostalgic “Once Upon a Time in Istanbul” street with its wooden, balconied houses, will enliven memories.

Children will enjoy their time at the outdoor game park’s carousel, Little Explorers, Dream Machine, Little Miners, Fun Farm, Flying Kids, Little Tower, bumper cars, Hero Firefighters, Little Racers stations.

Legoland to develop creativity of kids:

Legoland is an indoor recreational center in Istanbul, where parents can provide their three- to 10-year-old children with a lot of creativity-boosting activities. Filled with entertainment and colorful Lego toys, Legoland will take your kids on a mission of exploration at Space Missions and on a tour of culture and history at the Miniland where several world-famous landmarks such as Galata Tower, Blue Mosque and July 15 Martyrs Bridge are constructed. Lego experts will tell your kids how they build buildings, animals, and heroes out of Lego blocks.