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Under the auspices of the Pauls Stradiņš Medicine History Museum, a project of significance to Latvia's future and the country's public health is currently underway: a new Children's Museum dedicated to promoting health literacy. The Museum invites designers, architects, scenographers and crossdisciplinary creative teams to submit entries to this design contest, proposing their design visions for the permanent exhibition and classroom.

The mission of the upcoming Children's Centre for Health Literacy is to foster awareness of life processes, health, and bodily understanding among children aged 6 to 12, while cultivating healthy habits and empathy-based social skills. The Centre's approach integrates perspectives from various scientific disciplines, presenting both statistically common and individually diverse health experiences with equal attention. The permanent exhibition and educational programming will position young visitors as active agents of health at individual, community, and global levels.

The project – aimed at the youngest audience (ages 6-12) – is set to feature a permanent exhibition for children, school groups and families; a classroom that accommodates diverse learning activities; and visitor service infrastructure – all adhering to principles of accessibility. In terms of developing and road-testing the permanent display, the museum team considers it essential to involve the defined target audience in the process. It is expected that, during the development of the exhibition design concept and technical project, the solutions will also be prototyped and tested with children from the specific age group.

The objective of the design contest is to develop an innovative, artistically sound, and accessibility- and sustainability-focused design solution for the permanent exhibition and classroom that aligns optimally with the curatorial concept, the envisaged learning programmes and the Museum's core values.

The contest winner will be awarded a contract for: developing and prototyping the design concept; preparing detailed technical documentation and specifications, including integrated audiovisual solutions; authorial supervision during the production and installation phases. The projected contract value is up to EUR 117,500 (VAT exclusive).

The prize fund for the contest includes EUR 3,000 for the first prize winner and EUR 2,500 each for second and third prize winners. Design proposals must be submitted by 12:00 a.m. on 21 October 2025.

The design contest regulations and their annexes in Latvian and English can be found here.

Additional information

The Paula Stradiņš Medicine History Museum has welcomed visitors since 1961. Much of its permanent exhibition remains unchanged from opening day, creating a shared childhood memory that spans generations of Latvians. To position the museum as relevant to 21st-century health challenges, a comprehensive institutional redefinition is underway. This transformation is evident in the museum's bold exhibition programming and innovative educational offerings. Major infrastructure improvements are simultaneously enhancing both building operations and visitor experience, including reconstruction of the garden annex to accommodate the planned Children's Museum. These changes reflect the museum's commitment to participatory practice, with community input integral to every stage of development. This approach earned the museum the Latvian Museum Association's highest honor—the Annual Award – in 2025. The Children's Museum, set to open in 2027, will preserve the intergenerational connections vital to cultural institutions while advancing the museum's strategic mission: fostering understanding of care as the cornerstone of sustainable society.

The Children’s Centre for Health Literacy: Children’s Museum project is co-financed by the European Union (ESF Plus Project No. 4.1.2.1/1/24/I/002).