Nothing but small blocks ... and yet they can easily be used to create fantastic worlds. Building reflects an age-old human practice - across cultures, generations and social boundaries. So it's no wonder that building blocks are among the oldest toys. Blocks are still stacked all over the world today, worlds are recreated or people create their own. It is a universal game that connects people and makes the world tangible.
In the 19th century, children first began to build with blocks according to instructions - developed, for example, by the "father" of the kindergarten, Friedrich Fröbel. Historical building sets reflect the trends, educational concepts and values of their era, but also the challenges of the time: In peacetime, for example, the cover pictures of the construction sets show everyday objects such as railroads, bridges or carts. In wartime, the motifs and materials changed: instead of wood, for example, metal waste was now used. Plastic building blocks came onto the market at the end of the 1940s. They offered new possibilities: When building with wooden and stone blocks, you had to rely on friction or gravity. The easy stretchability of the new material made it possible to fit the blocks precisely into each other and join them more firmly. This provided a much more stable basis for complex and durable buildings.
Insight into the exhibition © SWMB, Matthias Willi
Building blocks can be used again and again and combined almost endlessly. Children train cognitive and motor skills in a playful way. Precise assembly promotes visual and spatial thinking as well as fine motor skills. By mastering challenges and working on complex projects, patience, perseverance and problem-solving skills are practiced. Building blocks not only stimulate the imagination, but also strengthen confidence in one's own creative power. The play stations in the exhibition invite you to build, tear down, change and reinvent. In doing so, they allow you to playfully forget the world around you in order to create your own.
February 22 to October 26, 2025
Accompanying program
Immerse yourself in stories, read aloud by storytellers
June 21 and 22, 2025, 10 am - 6 pm Fantasy hut building
June 28 and 29, 2025, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Building the Giga Tower
July 5 and 6, 2025, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Summer festival
It's time again for our legendary summer break
with arts and crafts fun, various games and culinary delights. Come along and bring your friends!
August 31, 2025, 10 am - 4 pm
Insight into the exhibition © SWMB, Matthias Willi
Building with giant bricks
September 6 and 7, 2025, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Star Wars Workshop
September 14, 2025, 2-6 p.m.
October 15, 2025, 2-6 p.m.
October 18, 2025, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Fantasy hut building
October 11 and 12, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Building with 10,000 wooden blocks
October 25 and 26, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Workshop every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, 1.30-5.30 p.m.
Insight into the exhibition © SWMB, Matthias Willi
