FROM 17 OCT 2025 – How prepared is Rotterdam for a crisis? That’s the question Museum Rotterdam explores in its new temporary pop-up presentation Het Rotterdamse Noodpakket (The Rotterdam Emergency Kit), opening 17 October at the museum’s Coolhaven location.
Preparing for the unexpected
From pandemics and flooding to cyberattacks and even war, emergencies feel closer than ever. The Municipality of Rotterdam is encouraging residents to prepare an emergency kit — but what should go in it? Where do you store it? And how can solutions work for everyone in the city?
The Rotterdam Emergency Kit examines these questions through conversations with both experts and local residents, combining personal perspectives with professional insight.
Experts and residents share their views
For this presentation, the museum collaborated with experts including Arjen Littooij (Director of Safety Region Rotterdam-Rijnmond), Ruud van Os (Editor-in-Chief, Rijnmond), Guusje Enneking (Erasmus University / Pandemic & Disaster Preparedness Center), and Sergeant-Major Emil and Captain Ritchie from the Marine Corps at the Van Ghent Barracks.
Alongside expert advice, the museum also gathered input from Rotterdammers themselves — asking whether they already have emergency kits and what they consider essential. The result is a collection of model kits, ranging from a luxury ready-made option to a family-sized version and a basic starter kit that visitors can adapt to their own needs.
Documentary and historic self-protection game
The exhibition includes a short documentary featuring these discussions, as well as real emergency kits on display for visitors to explore.
For children and adults alike, there’s also a rare object from the museum’s collection: a self-protection board game from 1940, created during the Second World War as part of a national awareness campaign. Designed by advertising agency Arend Meijer for the Head Inspectorate for Air Protection, the game was used to teach civilians how to prepare for emergencies — through play.
Third pop-up towards the new city museum
The Rotterdam Emergency Kit is the third pop-up in Museum Rotterdam’s ongoing series of experimental displays, following The Bishop’s Dollhouse and The Laughing Gas Man of Rotterdam. These projects allow the museum to test new ways of presenting urban heritage while engaging directly with the city and its people.
The exhibition is free to visit, with the option to explore Museum Rotterdam ’40–’45 NOW afterwards at regular admission rates.
Getting there
Museum Rotterdam is located at the Coolhaven, easily accessible by metro (Coolhaven station) and tram lines 8 and 18.
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