Autumn Holiday: Science and Other Stellar Experiences

Autumn Break is filled with curiosity at Christian IV’s Historic Observatory Tower. Dive into creative planet workshops for kids, experience the magic of the Observatory at the top of the tower, and explore the science exhibition “From Science to Society.”

Planet Workshops for Kids

October 14th–18th, 10-16

Color the planets and create your own Solar System when the Round Tower invites you to join creative drop-in workshops for children and adults. Try your hand at scissors, glue, cotton balls, and beautiful wax crayons that can be blended with water to create colorful planets.

The Round Tower provides tools and drawing kits but you get to decide the look and design of the celestial bodies.

The workshop is open to everyone with a regular entrance ticket, but there are limited spots available.

Astro Evenings for Families

October 14th & 17th, 18-21

Join us when we open the Observatory exclusively for children and their adults and adjust the telescope to see Saturn or the Moon if the weather permits. During the evening you can also make planets in our open planet workshop in the Reading Room next to the Library Hall or solve fun challenges in the Spiral Ramp. You’ll also have the option to purchase a cup of cocoa or other refreshments for children.

Remember to dress warmly for the Observatory!

Registration is required for Astro Evenings.

Exhibition: From Science to Society

Every day until October 20th

Learn more about both famous and unknown scientists together in the Round Tower’s Library Hall, where you can currently explore the exhibition “From Science to Society,” presented in collaboration with the Society for the Dissemination of Natural Science (SNU).

From Monday to Thursday in week during Autumn Break, there will be “Mirror Image Days” in the exhibition, where you can delve into the chemistry behind life’s twists and turns! The building blocks of nature exist as mirror images – something called ‘chirality’. You may have never heard of it before, but once you become aware of chirality, you’ll see it everywhere: your hands, your shoes, you name it – even the Round Tower is chiral!

At the experiment tables in the exhibition, you will be able to smell and taste mirror image molecules and learn more about chirality. Build the organic molecules you taste and discover why they are called ‘mirror image forms’.

Culture Night at the Round Tower

This year’s Cultural Night is dedicated to science at Christian IV’s old observation tower! Discover the science exhibition “From Science to Society”, visit our manned Observatory and look through the telescope or join the science show in the Library Hall.

Evening Program

6:00 PM – 10:30 PM
Exhibition: “From Science to Society” in the Library Hall

6:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Guides from the Society for the Dissemination of Natural Science (SNU) will talk about the exhibition and showcase it for both children and adults in the Library Hall

6:00 PM – 12:00 AM
The Round Tower’s astronomers will open and staff the Observatory at the top

10:30 PM – 11:30 PM
Science-astro show with Jonathan Gammeltoft in the Library Hall – pre-book your spot here!

Science Exhibition: From Science to Society

For 200 years, the Society for the Dissemination of Natural Science (SNU) has been dedicated to communicating science and technology to a broad audience in Denmark.

“From Science to Society” celebrates SNU’s 200th anniversary and showcases how scientific research has transformed our daily lives – from H.C. Ørsted’s discovery of electromagnetism, which brought electricity into every corner of society, to Niels Bohr’s atomic model, which led to new diagnostic methods in medicine, nuclear power, and the modern electronics that surround us.

During Cultural Night, visitors to the tower can experience the exhibition brought to life, as knowledgeable guides from SNU share more about both well-known and lesser-known scientists featured in the exhibition. They will demonstrate how you can engage with everything from the effects of electric currents to tasting seawater with varying salt content.

Look through the telescope in the Observatory

If you want to get a closer look at the celestial bodies of the Universe, you can, as tradition has it, visit the Observatory at the top of the Round Tower and try spotting planets through the telescope, if weather permits. The Round Tower’s skilled astronomers staff the old refractor telescope, while Cultural Night visitors can explore the Observatory or enjoy Copenhagen’s most charming view, 34.8 meters above Købmagergade.

Science Show

Cultural Night concludes in style when the Library Hall is transformed into an entertaining science show late in the evening, featuring experiments and tests with physicist Jonathan Gammeltoft.

Jonathan Gammeltoft is a medical physicist at Odense University Hospital and has given numerous lectures and shows. Alongside his studies and work, he has also been a science consultant for both DR1 and TV2, and has lectured at high schools, festivals, folk high schools, at Science Expo, and much more.

Please note that you need to book (free) tickets for the show in advance, as there are limited spots available! Book your ticket for the science show here – and remember, on the night, access to the Round Tower – including the science show – is only possible with a Culture Pass.

Astro Bar x Future Female Sounds

Bring your best people and enjoy the Round Tower after hours! With drinks, DJ and a charming 360 degree view of Copenhagen, the tower’s Topkiosk transforms into a cozy Thursday night rooftop hangout on selected evenings.

True to tradition our Top Kiosk located under the Observatory opens during the summer season, providing a selection of ice cream, coffee, postcards and souvenirs for daytime visitors.

Now, we’re transforming it into the casual Astro Bar on special days. We’re extending our opening hours, turning up the music and atmosphere, selling canned drinks from To Øl and Mikropolis as well as wine and beer while the sun sets over Copenhagen. 

The musical backdrop is curated by DJ collective Future Female Sounds, with a new DJ spinning tunes each time to accompany the city sunset.

Dates and Line-up:

• May 30th at 20–22
  DJ: Sofie Jacobi
  
• June 13th at 20-22
  DJ: Tia Turn Tables
  
• July 18th at 20-22
  DJ: Skye
  
• August 22nd at 20-22
  DJ: Carla Schack
  
• September 12th at 20-22 
  DJ: Luna Balslev

Tickets are 40 DKK and with the same ticket, you can also explore the Spiral Ramp or visit the Observatory dome all of which stay exclusively open for Astro Bar guests until 22:00.

Read more about Future Female Sounds here.

Please Note: 
You cannot bring your own beverages or smoke on the platform.
If the weather does not permit hosting the event open-air, Astro Bar will be held inside the tower.

Thursdays at the top

Bring your best people and savor the sunset from the top of the Round Tower every other Thursday this summer. We’re transforming our Top Kiosk into a cosy, casual bar with drinks, good vibes and a 360-degree view of Copenhagen.

True to tradition our Top Kiosk located under the Observatory opens between 11:00 and 16:00 during the summer season, providing a selection of ice cream, coffee, postcards and souvenirs for our daytime visitors.

Now, we’re transforming it into an informal, cosy evening bar every other Thursday during the summer holiday. We’re extending our opening hours, turning up the music and selling cool drinks from Mikropolis, wine and beer from the Top Kiosk while the sun sets over Copenhagen.

Dates:

June 15th from 19 to 22

June 29th from 19 to 22

July 13th from 19 to 22

July 27th from 19 to 22

August 10th from 19 to 22

August 24th from 19 to 22

“Thursdays at the top” is included in your entry fee and will be taking place on the dates above, unless the weather does not allow for it.

Please note, that smoking or bringing your own food and drink is not allowed.

Share your best tower moments with us on our Instagram profile @theroundtower!

A Royal Birthday Celebration

King Christian IV of Denmark was born on April 12th, 1577. On Saturday the 15th of April we’re celebrating his birthday with a festive day for children and adults – and a final chance to explore our current family exhibition “The Rose Cannon – The King’s Enchanted Garden”.

Join us for a birthday celebration for the old king who built the Round Tower. Listen to renaissance music composed by his royal court musician John Dowland, wish the king a happy birthday as he walks about his majestic tower and get lost in his enchanted flower garden in our current exhibition.

“The Rose Cannon – the KIng’s Enchanted Garden”

Christian IV was a king who valued growth. Before letting the Round Tower sprout up in the heart of Copenhagen, he created the King’s Gardens where he placed his loveliest rose: Rosenborg Castle. He even made a cannon adorned with rosebuds! 

With a spark of inspiration from the rose cannon and floral objects from Rosenborg Castle, Signe Kejlbo creates an enchanted garden where children and adults can immerse themselves in the secretive world of flowers. Here, paper flowers and poetic stories will unfold among breezy garden tents and secret pathways. 

Come, walk among the king’s flowers and help build the Rose Cannon’s flower explosion by adding your own paper flower creations at the craft tables.

Please note! The exhibition closes at 2PM on April 15th

Valentine’s Day with Star Gazing and Sweet Music

Bring your date on a unique Copenhagen date this Valentine’s. Gaze at the stars from the telescope in our Observatory and enjoy some sweet music in the Spiral Ramp when Danish DJ Mads Axelsen sets the vibe for a lovely evening.

Invite your date, spouse, lover or best friend for a different Valentine’s date experience this February. Stroll up the Round Tower’s Spiral Ramp where Copenhagen-based DJ and radio host Mads Axelsen turns up the volume with a warm, eclectic DJ-set of love songs perfect for enjoying the evening with that special someone.

Enjoy the music, get a little drink from our pop-up bar or rest for a while on the Kissing Bench near the tower’s top before heading for the stars in the Observatory, where the our astronomers will adjust the telescope and guide you through the night sky.

End your night on the Viewing Platform at the top for a stunning panoramic vista of Copenhagen or go down to the Library Hall and take a peek into the floral fantasy that is our current exhibition.

Access to music, stargazing and the exhibition are all included in your entry ticket.

Please note! The Round Tower cannot control the weather or the sky’s visibility. In case it is overcast this night and the stars are out of sight, our Observatory will remain open for a visit and you can still enjoy the tower’s ambience and the beautiful view of Copenhagen by night.

UngKlang: Christmas Concert

Join us for a magical Christmas concert when four choir singers from the vocal ensemble UngKlang performs in The Spiral Ramp on December 13th. Afterwards, our Observatory is open for stargazing.

Experience the heavenly acoustics of our iconic tower as the choir wanders up through The Spiral Ramp and let their voices fill the space with classical Danish Christmas carols and psalms.

Afterwards, our Observatory is open for stargazing from 6PM – 9PM. Climb the final steps to the very top of The Round Tower where our astronomers will be ready to guide you and you can look into our telescope yourself.

Entrance to the concert and the Observatory is included in your entry fee. Come early and bring warm clothes for the Observatory.

Debate: Organizing Architecture

Works+Words and Magasin for Bygningskunst og Kultur presents the debate Organizing Architecture in relation to the current architecture biennale in The Round Tower. The talk will be held in English

This evening, architecture is viewed as a professional field with an organizational infrastructure, theories, discourses, interests and power structures. A field in continuous transformation through the influence of multifarious actions, events, and initiatives. Two such initiatives, respectively Works+Words 2022 Biennale in Artistic Research in Architecture (W+W 22) and Magasin for Bygningskunst og Kultur Nr. 4: Faglig organisering (MBK 4), join forces for a discussion on incentives and strategies to impact architecture. 

The event plays out as an open discussion between contributors from Works+Words 2022 and Magasin for Bygningskunst og Kultur 4 and welcome participation from other attendees. The focal point is how architecture transforms through the organization of events and production of works. The discussion will be opened by editor for MBK Morten Birk Jørgensen and curator of W+W 22 Peter Bertram. 

Attending contributors include among others: 

Peter Bertram, Kgl. Akademi 
Initiator and curator of W+W 22 

Christine Bjerke, Building Diversity 
Contributor to MBK 04, ROOM TO BE, ROOM TO ACT

Yuxiang Li, Kgl. Akademi 
Contributor to MBK 04, FREJA – SOCRATIC YET HEDONISTIC

Anne Romme, Kgl. Akademi 
Exhibitor at W+W 22, METAPHORICAL HOUSES: IMAGINING FEMALE RESIDENCIES 

Morten Birk Jørgensen, Kgl. Akademi 
Editor of MBK 04: FAGLIG ORGANISERING 

Culture Night 2022

Experience the Round Tower at Culture Night in Copenhagen, where we offer a special programme.

The night of culture since 1993
More than 250 museums, theatres, libraries, churches, ministries, parks and squares all over the city welcome the public during Copenhagen’s biggest annual one-day event – and the many exciting events show that the city embraces a wide range when it shows its many sides of cultural life.
For over 27 years, Culture Night has been one of Copenhagen’s most organized and well-attended cultural events. When the schools go on autumn break, the Kulturnatten association creates a festive evening where the entire city’s cultural life merges and opens up to joy and inspiration for all of us.
Program in Rundetaarn:
18.00 Admission with Kulturpass. The observatory is staffed and the exhibition “when the world becomes our body” can be seen in the Library Hall. In the exhibition, the artists Benjamin Skop and Amund Bentsen will be present and there is a special programme.

SPACE Science Festival

Rundetaarn marks Science Year22 with three weeks in space, where cosmos, light and sound occupy the tower’s Library Hall. RUM Science Festival first offers a journey of discovery to our cosmic neighbor planet Mars and then the space in the Library Hall is transformed by the work of art Contra. Through a series of talks, exhibition and music, the space between art and science is explored.

Rundetaarn was built as an astronomical observatory and has been the center of science for centuries. Art has since taken the place of books in the Library Hall, while stars and planets are still viewed from the top of the tower.

Our cosmic neighbor

The planet Mars is the center of the first part of the science festival. In collaboration with astrophysicist Tina Ibsen, a mini exhibition is shown about our cosmic neighbor, which in these years is the subject of major research projects and hides secrets that science is trying to uncover.

Pure photon energy in art

A scene change takes the audience from the journey to Mars back to the space in the Library Hall, where art meets science in the light installation Contra. The work was created by the artist collective Vertigo and consists of pure photon energy, i.e., the small energy packets of electromagnetic radiation that light consists of. Created out of light and smoke, a changing, architectural object emerges in the room, which the audience can both view from the outside and step into. The physical form in Contra is two triangles that stop the light so that the figure’s shapes and colors stand out clearly. Along the way, Vertigo talks about the technique behind and how they created Contra.

Walk the planet path

Finally, a special challenge awaits the tower’s smallest guests. Children are welcome to run, jump or how about walking backwards on the curvy planet path up along Rundetaarn’s spiral ramp, which is divided at points into distances, exactly corresponding to the solar system on a very small scale. The seven planets are illustrated and explained along the way to the top.