APRIL FOOL'S JOKE: Designmuseum Danmark opens ice rink in the museum garden

In winter 2026, Copenhageners and museum visitors will be able to experience Designmuseum Danmark in a new way. As part of the museum’s ambition to attract more visitors during the quieter season, the museum garden will be transformed into a large ice rink, allowing guests to glide directly from the entrance hall out into the garden.

What began as a playful idea will become reality at the end of 2026: Copenhagen will gain a new ice rink in the historic garden of Designmuseum Danmark. The garden will be sealed, filled with demineralised water, and frozen into one continuous surface of ice. The result is an ice rink where visitors can lace up their skates in the entrance hall and glide straight outside, with the museum’s architecture and the winter sky reflected in the ice.

GLIDE THROUGH DESIGN HISTORY

The frozen museum garden is only the first step in the museum’s strategy to open up more during the winter months. In 2027, Designmuseum Danmark will present another (ice-cold) initiative, extending the ice rink from the garden directly into the museum’s special exhibition wing.

Here, visitors will be able to glide effortlessly through the exhibition galleries, where a thin layer of ice will cover the historic marble floors. At the end of the museum’s iconic chair tunnel, a camera will capture guests’ best skating poses, and the images can later be purchased in the museum shop.

The official opening date will be announced at the end of April.