iMAK – Museum of Applied ArtsInnere Stadt
ARCHITECTURAL CONSTRUCTION KITS 1890–1990: Plenty to Play With!
About 150 building kits from a century of toy-making, from wood and metal to Galalith and Lego, with eight hands-on stations where visitors can play and build.
More in Vienna
Eight stations in this show hand you the blocks. At some, the pieces are enlarged copies of original Ingenius, Bâtiss and Skyline sets, scaled up for easier play.
The displays draw on graphic designer Claus Krieger's collection of some 150 kits from 1890 to 1990, with about 70 shown as assembled models. Guest curator Oliver Elser says around 900 companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland made these toys, and quality varied. Your last construction project was a Billy shelf from IKEA Westbahnhof, with one screw left over.
The kits are spread over the Columned Main Hall, the Works on Paper Room and DIREKTION FÜR ALLE!, and a VR model experience is included. It is pitched at children from four and at adults. Entry is €19, or €9.50 on Tuesdays from 6 to 9pm, and the show runs to 14 March 2027.
Editor's pick
A cathedral of 4,000 blocks, about 3.2 metres tall, fills the Columned Main Hall, and eight stations let you build. Around 150 kits, from wood and Galalith to Lego. Bring the friend who kept theirs.
Look for
The 4,000-block cathedral
A cathedral built from 4,000 building blocks, about 3.2 metres high, stands in the MAK Columned Main Hall.
Enlarged Ingenius, Bâtiss and Skyline sets
Oversized copies of originals, including Vienna's patented Ingenius, that you can build with at the play stations.
Rubber bricks and other replica systems
Stations let you handle replicas of kits in rubber, wood, metal and Galalith, an early bio-plastic.
The VR architectural model
A headset experience of an architectural model, designed at Stuttgart Technical University.
Good for
- Rainy Days
- Small Kids
- Teenagers
Skip if
You want objects behind glass only: the show is built around hands-on play stations.
With kids
Aimed at children aged four and up, with family tours scheduled. Under-19s enter the MAK free.
Also at MAK – Museum of Applied Arts
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Image credits
9
- ARCHITECTURAL CONSTRUCTION KITS 1890–1990: Plenty to Play With!Courtesy of MAK – Museum of Applied Arts
- tierisch menschlichGraciela Iturbide, Nuestra Señora de las Iguanas (Our Lady of the Iguanas), Juchitán, Oaxaca, 1979. Dom Museum Wien, Otto Mauer Contemporary, Courtesy of the artist, Foto: L. Deinhardstein.
- A Muslim, a Christian, and a Jew - Eran ShakineCourtesy of Jewish Museum Vienna (Jüdisches Museum Wien)
- The Special Case of Steffy Goldner: The New York Philharmonic's First WomanCourtesy of Jewish Museum Vienna (Jüdisches Museum Wien)
- MAK – Museum of Applied ArtsGugerell / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
- Dom Museum WienBauer Alfons / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Haus der MusikClemens Pfeiffer, Wikimedia Commons
- Jewish Museum Vienna (Jüdisches Museum Wien)Sonja Bachmayer / Jewish Museum Vienna, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Kunst Haus Wien – Museum HundertwasserC.Stadler/Bwag, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0