Roof of the NEMO Science Center: An (Almost) Perfect Afternoon

By: Andrew Martin

            One boring afternoon, Brandon Ly and I were sitting on the boat trying to decide on where to eat lunch, when we looked up and realized that the NEMO Science Center probably had some food.  After making the long trek up the large (disabled unfriendly) stairs to the roof, we were greeted with a sunny, warm, and breezy afternoon.  We made our way up to the very top where there was a small café to buy food, as well as a reentrance point for those with NEMO tickets.  After buying some food, we found ourselves one of the many seats available and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon while eating lunch.  Overall, I believe that the goals of the NEMO Science Center’s roof is to provide a high quality space for families, both tourist and local, to bring their children for a lazy afternoon, as well as to sell food to tourists who are visiting NEMO.  NEMO’s roof accomplishes this goal through activities and spaces for adults as well as children, helping keep both parties happy and satisfied.

            For adults, NEMO provides an enjoyable space to sit, relax, and enjoy the panoramic views of the city.  Once you manage to make the trek up to the roof, you are greeted by tiered levels of seating all the way up to the café.  There are about 100 seats located throughout the rooftop, a more than ample amount to ensure that everyone can find somewhere to sit.  The tiered system, while necessary due to the architecture of the building, also allows families to have a certain amount of privacy when sitting, giving each family their own little space to relax.  After finding your seat, you’ll notice that there are hundreds of potted plants throughout the entire rooftop, helping add to the relaxing nature of the space.  However, the biggest draw for families are of course the spectacular panoramic views of the city of Amsterdam.  On a sunny day, you can see miles in any direction.  NEMO’s rooftop is certainly one of the best places to see the city of Amsterdam from above.  Due to that aspect alone, I would recommend that any visitor to Amsterdam make the trek up to NEMO.

            While the rooftop is a great place to relax for adults and parents, NEMO has also provided a wide range of activities to keep children of all ages interested and happy.  After you reach the top of the stairs to the rooftop, immediately to your right begin informational boards with massive pictures and text explaining interesting visual phenomena such as depth and perspective.  Brandon and I noticed many parents reading these boards with their children.  As you make your way further up the roof, you’ll start to run into one of several water features built into the rooftop.  These range from regular fountains to interesting canals being fed water through pipes hanging from the ceiling.  I noticed lots of smaller children playing around in the water of the fountains while I was there.  For the older generations of children, there are several oversized versions of classic games throughout the roof including chess and Connect 4.  These games were so popular that there were actually long lines of teenage children waiting to play with the three-foot large chess pieces.  The games also served as another interesting visual to look at, as I noticed at least 20 people of all ages observing the chess game being played. 

            Although many aspects of the NEMO rooftop experience are thoroughly enjoyable, they could certainly use some improvement on their café.  In general, the food sold at the NEMO rooftop was overpriced and bland.  I ordered myself a Caesar salad and what I thought would be an Icee smoothie.  The Caesar salad’s croutons were miniature and hard as rocks, while the Icee smoothie had far too much sugar, yet still tasted like cough syrup.  For 12 euros, this forgettable meal was definitely overpriced.  You could buy the same meal at Albert Heijn for 5 euros.

            Although the food was subpar, I would still highly recommend any tourist to make the trek up to the top of the NEMO Science Center, especially if you have a family and kids.  The panoramic views alone are worth the trip, but NEMO has also done a great job of creating a relaxing and fun place to spend an afternoon.  However, if you do decide to go, I recommend bringing your own food and having a picnic at the top.  There were not any employees walking around the rooftop, so you do not need to worry about being told off for bringing your own food.