Madurodam to close for five months

As of 1 November 2011 Madurodam will close for five months while the park undergoes a huge metamorphosis. The park will reopen on 7 April 2012.

The miniature city will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2012 by giving the park a facelift. The goal is to make the miniature city more interactive and informative. 'The park will become more amazing, more active and more informative so that we can continue to be a major attraction for young and old alike,' explained Madurodam's general manager Joris van Dijk.

Van Dijk said that visitors appreciate the unique, creative and nostalgic character of Madurodam. However, they are also say that the park could be made more modern by offering more action and more information. The new Madurodam will be responding to that need. There will be numerous hands-on activities and the enthralling stories behind the objects will be told using modern communications media.

The familiar, characteristic miniatures will continue to form the heart of the new Madurodam. They will be divided into three areas: ‘water as friend and foe’, ‘old town centres’ and ‘The Netherlands as a source of inspiration for the world’ (architecture, innovation, entertainment and design).

More interactive

Once Madurodam reopens on 7 April 2012 visitors both young and old will be able to roll up their sleeves and get to work, for example by actually operating a scale model of the Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier, pumping out a polder and loading and unloading ships in the Port of Rotterdam.

Digital information screens and a personal smartphone will give visitors a multimedia experience of the stories behind the objects. A playground themed around the Wadden Sea and new catering facilities will complete the new Madurodam.

Madurodam will close to the public from 1 November 2011 up to and including 31 March 2012 for the modernisation programme. In October visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy and say farewell to the current Madurodam one more time. The park’s conference and events facilities will remain open.

About Madurodam

Madurodam, established as a monument to resistance hero George Maduro, is one of the most well-known day attractions in the Netherlands. Since it was opened on 2 July 1952, Madurodam has welcomed more than 50 million visitors from the Netherlands and from abroad. The miniature city now receives approximately 600,000 visitors per year. The revenue from Madurodam is used for charitable causes for children via the Madurodam Support Fund Society (Stichting Madurodam Steunfonds).

More information at: www.madurodam.nl.