New exhibition at the Zaans Museum: Polders. The land in your hands
16 October 2025 to 3 May 2026 – Zaans Museum, Zaanse Schans
The Zaan Museum presents the exhibition Polders. The land in your hands. A multifaceted and inspiring journey through a thousand years of battling against the water. For centuries, people have been living in an area where you cannot really live: the polder. A landscape that was once a swamp and was later constantly threatened by the wild Zuiderzee. Yet the inhabitants remained, living on land that is just about land.
At the exhibition Polders. The land in your hands, you will discover how farmers, dike reeves, artists and nature lovers together shaped the Dutch polder landscape. Paintings, historical objects, topographical maps and contemporary art show the ongoing search for balance between man and nature – then, now and in the future.
The Zaan region plays a leading role in this quest: a landscape where water, craftsmanship and industry have influenced each other for centuries. Polders. The land in your hands shows how this pioneering spirit is still visible in today’s Zaan heritage.
Activity programme
Around Polders. The land in your hands, the Zaans Museum is organising a varied programme for young and old.
Visitors can participate in interactive activities in the museum, where you can puzzle, measure and design to discover the diversity of the polder. There are lectures, creative workshops and activities in the Kalverpolder landscape
Programme highlights
Polder workshop – autumn holiday activity for children (aged 8–12)
20 to 24 October 2025, 2:00–4:00 p.m.
Create your own polder artwork, inspired by the landscape.
We and the Water – lecture by Prof. Dr. Lotte Jensen (language Dutch)
26 October 2025, 2.30–3.30 p.m.
About disasters, resilience and solidarity in Dutch culture.
Night-time boat trip through the Kalverpolder
25 October 2025, from 8 p.m.
Sail through the centuries-old Kalverpolder in the dark during the Night of the Night.
Practical information
When: 16 October 2025 to 3 May 2026
Location: Zaans Museum, Zaanse Schans
Admission: with Ticket Zaanse Schans or ticket Zaans Museum
More information & tickets: www.zaansmuseum.nl/polderen