Kalevan Navetta for children
The organizations and businesses at Kalevan Navetta organize versatile art and cultural activities for children and families. On this page, we provide information about events for children and families.
Muu-Mau is Kalevan Navetta’s very own barn cat and mascot for children. Muu-Mau – or “Meow-Moo” has lived in the building long before it became an art and culture center.
Muu-Mau Autumn and Spring Day are organised twice a year at Kalevan Navetta. The events are aimed at families with children offering art and handicraft workshops. The organisers of the event include Children’s Cultural Centre Louhimo, Näppi School of Crafts and Design, and Seinäjoki Art Hall. In addition to a selection of workshops, the event offers families with children the chance to explore the exhibitions on display at the Seinäjoki Kunsthalle free of charge. The goal of the events is to encourage children and adults to be creative together and express themselves through high-quality multidisciplinary art content.
Toddler Thursday is an event just for little ones! Kalevan Navetta’s organizations and Muu-Mau cat welcome all toddlers to come and play, explore, and marvel. Here, they’re free to make noise and be seen. This free event is for children ages 1–3 and their families. The program includes puppet theater, a music play session, free admission to the exhibitions, and guided tours of the exhibits.
PROGRAM:
10:00–13:00 Special offers and product demonstrations
Taito Shop, 1st floor
The Taito Shop offers a variety of products and gifts suitable for children. Adorable knitwear and yarns will also be on display.
10:00–13:00 Free admission to the Seinäjoki Kunsthalle
Exhibition Space Halli, 2nd floor
Exhibition Space Vintti, 3rd floor
During Toddler Thursday, you can explore the exhibitions on display at the Seinäjoki Kunsthalle for free. The exhibition spaces will be brighter than usual, and the sound levels will be kept lower.
During the visit, you can view works that interest your child. Children are often fascinated by contrasts, lights, shadows, shapes, and people. Exhibition spaces can be dimly lit, and contemporary art exhibitions often feature various sounds, which may feel exciting to a child. An adult can describe aloud to the child what they are seeing and experiencing. Children’s voices are welcome in the exhibition space—they’re part of life. So there’s no need to be as quiet as a mouse at an art exhibition! Remember, though, that you must not touch the artworks.
10:15 & 10:45 Music Play Sessions
Kammio, 1st floor
Music playgroup, or “muskari,” is a music activity for young children that they participate in together with an adult. In the music playgroup, children explore musical instruments, sing, and play together. Each session lasts about 20 minutes and can accommodate up to 10 families at a time.
Slots will be filled on the day of the event in the order of arrival using your registration number. You can pick up your registration number at the Kalevan Navetta information desk on the day of the event starting at 10 a.m. The music sessions are organized by EPMO, the South Ostrobothnia Music School.
10:30, 11:30 and 12:30 Guided tour of the exhibition for toddlers
Exhibition space Vintti, 3rd floor
IIK! Toddlers at the Art Exhibition! What on earth can you do with a toddler at an art exhibition? Bring your toddler to a guided tour designed specifically for them. With the help of a tour guide, we’ll explore J.P. Köykkä’s “Forms of Heritage” art exhibition from a toddler’s perspective. We’ll learn the rules of art exhibitions through play, explore colors and shapes, and play and run around together.
The tour lasts about 20 minutes.
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More events will be announced in the coming days!
Every baby and every family with a baby is unique! We’re joining in the celebration of National Baby Day, which highlights families with babies as important members of our society. This year’s Baby Day theme is “Babies and Art”! Babies bring joy to those around them, and on Baby Day, we let babies be creative.
PROGRAM:
10:00–13:00 Special offers and product demonstrations
Taito Shop, 1st floor
The Taito Shop will feature a variety of baby-themed products and gifts. Adorable baby knits and yarns will also be on display.
10:00–13:00 Free admission to the Seinäjoki Kunsthalle
Exhibition Space Halli, 2nd floor
Exhibition Space Vintti, 3rd floor
During Baby Day, you can explore the exhibitions on display at the Seinäjoki Art Hall for free. The exhibition spaces will be brighter than usual, and the volume will be kept lower.
During your visit, you can view works that interest your baby or child. Babies and children are often drawn to contrasts, lights, shadows, shapes, and people. Exhibition spaces may be dimly lit, and contemporary art exhibitions often feature various sounds, which can feel exciting to a child. An adult can describe aloud to the child what they see and experience. Children’s voices are welcome in the exhibition space—they’re a natural part of life. So there’s no need to be as quiet as a mouse at an art exhibition! Remember, though, that you must not touch the artworks.
10:15 & 12:30 Baby Circus Sessions
Pedatila Itikka, 2nd floor
Louhimo Children’s Cultural Center’s baby circus sessions are interactive moments for babies and parents to move together and explore various props in a circus setting. The activities, exercises, and tricks are tailored to the baby’s pace and are guided in such a way that participants do not need any prior experience with similar activities. The baby circus sessions and the movements performed together are designed to support the development of the baby’s motor skills, sense of touch, and sense of balance, as well as to provide stimulation for shared activities between the child and parent.
Baby circus sessions are intended for babies aged 4 to 12 months who can hold up their own heads. The activities are designed so that each participant pair consists of one adult and one baby. Most of the activity takes place on the floor, either sitting or lying down, and includes lifting the baby. Adults should wear flexible clothing suitable for light movement. The Baby Circus sessions are led by circus instructor Tanja Holm, and each session lasts approximately 20 minutes.
Each baby circus session can accommodate a maximum of 8 baby-adult pairs. Sessions are filled on a first-come, first-served basis using a registration number. You can pick up your registration number at the Kalevan Navetta information desk on the day of the event.
10:30, 11:30 and 12:30 Guided tour of the exhibition for Babies
Exhibition Space Vintti, 3rd Floor
A baby-friendly exhibition tour at Kunsthalle led by a guide. Designed for babies and their families, this guided tour explores J.P. Köykkä’s exhibition “Forms of Heritage” through the eyes of babies. We’ll focus on marveling at shapes and colors. Babies can explore the exhibition at their own pace and according to their own interests, accompanied by a guide. In the exhibition space, you can also lounge on the floor with your baby or follow the guide as you marvel at the various works.
You can bring strollers into the space or leave them in the stroller parking area on the 1st floor. The guided tour lasts about 20 minutes.
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More program details will be announced in the coming days!
Kalevan Navetta barn cat Muu-Mau invites children and families to spend an Autumn day filled with art, culture, and handicrafts on Saturday 17th of October from 11 am to 3 pm. The day is free of charge.
The event includes art and craft workshops organized by the companies and organizations of the building. Workshops are organized on a non-stop basis and at certain times of the day. If you get hungry, the restaurant Äärellä offers delicious food for the whole family.
The event program will be found on this page closer to the event.
Children’s Cultural Center Louhimo is bringing the traveling exhibition to the Kalevan Navetta multipurpose space in Itikka for the first time, from October 17 to November 15, 2026. The exhibition is part of Louhimo’s 20th-anniversary program.
The Pää pilvissä exhibition takes us on a journey to the world of clouds. The exhibition offers information about clouds and features surrealistic three-dimensional clouds, photographs, paintings, puppets and silhouettes. There is also a cloud that you can crawl into and clouds that you can hold and hug.
If clouds made a sound, what would it be like? The music in the exhibition consists of the low growls of a foghorn, summery tunes of cumulus clouds, the melancholy of a grey altostratus cloud, the slowly retreating rumble of a thundercloud and the peaceful sounds of a light-reflecting cirrocumulus cloud. Can you match the music with the clouds?
The world of clouds is the atmosphere. There is a lot to be learned about clouds. How are clouds formed? What can clouds tell us? Can you predict tomorrow’s weather from the clouds? What sayings are there about the colours and shapes of the sky? Do the changes in the atmosphere affect clouds? What would life be like without cloud-shaped pollution? Do we have our heads in the clouds?
Each cloud on display has an interesting name, such as untuvapilvi (cirrus cloud), palleropilvi (cirrocumulus), harsopilvi (cirrostratus), hahtuvapilvi (altocumulus), utarepilvi (mammatus) and jalaspilvi (cirrus uncinus).
The exhibition also includes fairy tales and stories related to clouds, and you can learn about two artists famous for their cloud paintings: Fanny Churberg and René Magritte.
We hope that after the exhibition you will see clouds in an entirely new light. You may even take up cloudspotting!
Admission to the exhibition is free, and it is open to everyone.
The exhibition is open Mon–Fri from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sat from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Excluding any private events).
The Pikkuprovinssi Club stage comes to life through creativity and talent as local children’s and youth performing arts groups take the stage at the Hugo Hall on November 18, 2026.
This free event offers a wonderful array of artistic experiences presented by children and youth. Program details will follow.