UN Children's Tour
We launched our new Children's Tours for elementary school children in February 2013. The tour is tailored to children aged 5 and 12 years. During the one hour tour the Security Council, disarmament, peacekeeping and Millennium Development Goals are explained in a "kid-friendly" way.
We have scheduled a weekly UN Children's Tour at 4:00 p.m. every Thursday.
For May 2013, tour tickets for the Children's Tour are sold on a first-come, first-served basis on site at the Visitor Centre, starting at 9:00 am. You may also call (+1) 212-963-7539 starting at 10:00 am on the day of your tour to make a reservation. Tickets can only be reserved and purchased on the day of the tour. Please note that children must be accompanied by an adult and, therefore, at least one adult ticket will also need to be purchased.
Starting in June 2013, Children's Tour tickets will only be available through online purchases. Please note that tour tickets will NOT be sold on premises and a guided tour ticket for visitors is required to enter the UN Headquarters.
With new public access regulations and limitations, group bookings (15 persons per block) for guided tours must also be purchased online. Queries can be addressed to unitg@un.org.
More about our Children's Tour:
With the help of a "UN Compass" and accompanied by the "UN Kids" - Peeka, Ibrahim, Lei Lei, MP3, Elena and Luis - children aged 5 - 12 years will have the opportunity to explore the United Nations with fun and ease. Interactive games, quizzes, puzzles and more will help young visitors understand the work of the Organization and how it relates to their daily lives.
Together with their parents or teachers they will hear about children from all around the world who face challenges such as hunger, natural disasters or diseases, and learn what the United Nations is doing to help them overcome these difficulties.
The United Nations Children's Tour will provide a fun and memorable experience!
We want to hear your review of our Children's Tour!
Please link to our online feedback form: Children's Tour online feedback form
Children's Tour Related ACTIVITIES and SOLUTIONS
To download the UN Kids MDG Maze, click here. For the answers, click here.
Meet the "UN Kids"!
Children's Tour Reviews
First Impressions
By Juliana Rosa, United Nations Tour Guide
The recent launch of the United Nations Children’s Tour on 11 February was a very significant accomplishment of our Guided Tours team at Visitors’ Services. It was quite thrilling to finally see the fruitful realization of a project which has been in the works for over a year - especially with the tireless hard work and dedication of my colleagues Karin Orantes and Maki Takazawa.
Launch day was a big day for all of us, and true enough, we were all a bit nervous because even though we had been testing the children’s tour for several months, we now had all the new printed materials and hands-on activities to use on tour. As I guided my first group of 8 to 10 year-olds, my anxiety gradually disappeared and the day turned out to be just fun, really! I sat on the floor with the children, teachers and parents and guided them through the puzzles; we drew in the activity booklet and played different educational games - all while talking and learning about the work of the United Nations. Children are generally extremely eager to learn and super excited to be at the United Nations. Whether I was talking about the Escopetarra, doing the peacekeeping role-play, or telling real stories about children and the Millennium Development Goals, everyone seemed to be having a good time. The children in my group were especially intrigued by our "UN Kids" characters - Peeka, Ibrahim, Lei Lei, MP3, Elena and Luis - and each of them had stickers, postcards and a washable peacekeeper's helmet tattoo to take home as a souvenir!
Having to tailor and adapt our language to explain the work and the challenges of the Organization to children can be quite challenging. I believe the newly created materials and props are extremely helpful in conveying the main ideas. In my view, they allow the children to relate to and better understand complex issues such as child soldiers, peacekeeping, human rights and extreme poverty. Indeed, it was truly a rewarding experience and a very memorable day for me; and I feel that it is the tour guides who will be learning and profiting the most from this enriching experience!
Juliana is from Brazil
First Impressions
By Ankelit Woldemicael, United Nations Tour Guide
The 11th of February, when the Visitors’ Service officially launched the United Nations Children’s Tour, was not the first time that I had the opportunity to give tours to children. What is different now, however, are the materials which have been created for the new children's tour that are used to facilitate the learning process of the children while taking a tour of the United Nations.
Children’s tours are the hardest but the most rewarding for me. It takes much energy to explain, for example, what the General Assembly is all about or the complex concept of International Territory. However, thanks to the materials we use such as the UN compass activity booklet or the “UN Kids” characters, I am excited and feel a sense of self accomplishment because the children get it.
As challenging as it is to get my message across to children about the work of the United Nations, they are my preferred audience, because they normally come up with simple and creative solutions to world problems, whereas adults tend to have an already formulated opinion of the Organization’s work and impact in the world.
Ankelit is from Eritrea
First Impressions
By Maki Takazawa, United Nations Tour Guide
A 10 year old saying “This was the best day ever!” after a tour of the United Nations just makes my day. I have been having a lot of fun giving Children's Tours. However, it can be very challenging, especially when it comes to language and crowd control. Their observation skills and curiosity have surprised me many times. Seeing their imagination and creativity emerge through the activities on our tours is very inspiring and simply amazing.
The making of our Children’s Tour started in June 2011 with a basic idea of accommodating children with child-friendly games and activities and has developed into today's Children’s Tour with its own activity booklet and specially designed characters the “UN Kids”. It took a lot of dedication and passion of many people involved to launch the Children's Tour. I am very proud and honoured that Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, officially launched the Children’s Tour on 11 February 2013 with special guest, Ms. Monique Coleman, UN Foundation’s Girl Up Champion.
I hope as many children as possible will have a chance to learn about the work of the United Nations through this tour and be inspired by it.
Maki is from Japan