Coding, gaming and makerspaces for kids in Oslo

Østerdalsgata, Gamle Oslo

An open workshop for children and young people with weekly sessions and courses in design, ceramics, art, glass, production and other makerspace projects. The name stands for Space Left Over After Planning, and the idea is that something emerges when young people are given time, space and the trust to pursue their own interests. Participants get access to equipment and guidance. Approved for the Oslo leisure card.

ages 6-18

Voldsløkka kulturstasjon, Sagene

Advanced e-sport for young people from thirteen, Saturdays from 9am to 1pm. Teaching takes place in modern facilities with good equipment, and participants play tournaments both online and locally. Aimed at those who already have experience and want to go further.

ages 13-18

Klubbhuset, Klemetsrud idrettspark, Søndre Nordstrand

Organised e-sports (FIFA) in the clubhouse at Klemetsrud IL - gaming in a club setting, with a coach present, fixed training times and a team feeling, instead of alone in a bedroom. For young people who already play a lot, this is a way to make it social and structured, in a club that otherwise covers everything from football to disc golf.

ages 10-18

Voldsløkka kulturstasjon, Sagene

A regular role-playing group on Thursdays for children from ten, playing Dungeons & Dragons with an experienced game master. The children build their own character with a backstory, and practise worldbuilding, tactics and storytelling together. The year runs 35 weeks and follows school holidays.

ages 10-18

Petersborg, Ensjø, Gamle Oslo

A local coding club at Ensjø for all school-age children in the neighbourhood, run by volunteers from Lær Kidsa Koding. The club takes children from years 1 to 7 - broader than most coding clubs, which start in year 4 - and they make games and animations and program small computers. No prior experience needed.

ages 6-13

Deichman-filialer i hele Oslo, Sentrum

Free coding clubs at the Deichman libraries, run by volunteers in the nationwide Lær Kidsa Koding movement. Children code in Scratch, program micro:bit boards and try 3D printing, with instructors on hand. Some clubs take children from six, others from fourth grade, and they run at several branches around the city - among them Oppsal, Nordtvet and Lambertseter. Check the library's event listing for where and when.

ages 6-18

Østre Aker vei 90, Bjerke

Free makerspace and workshops in music and technology for girls, trans and non-binary youth aged 12 to 24, every Wednesday near Økern. The drop-in workshop is open from 15:00 to 20:00 with instruments, electronics and equipment to borrow for your own projects, and from age 15 there are weekly workshops from 17:00 to 19:00 with free pizza. Guidance from the WoNoMute team throughout.

ages 12-18

C.J. Hambros plass 2C, Sentrum

Free course in programming with LEGO Education SPIKE robot kits, for ages 10 to 14, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 16:00 to 18:00 at C.J. Hambros plass. Participants work in pairs building and programming robots, solving challenges and competing. Both creativity and logic get a workout, and no experience is needed.

ages 10-14

Munkerud gård, Munkerudtunet 29, Nordstrand

A free coding club and makerspace for children and young people aged 10 to 16 at Munkerud farm in the south of the city, affiliated with Lær Kidsa Koding. Kodegenet develops its own course programmes and also publishes free Norwegian-language course material that other clubs use. The combination of coding club and makerspace is unusual - there is both programming and physical building in the same space. The club holds an open evening at the start of the autumn term in September, where you can come and look around without signing up first.

ages 10-16

Norsk Teknisk Museum, Kjelsåsveien 143, Nordre Aker

An open maker workshop for children and youth at the Oslo Science Centre in the Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology. Here you can build, program, 3D-print and experiment with technology in a workshop where the equipment is available and there are adults to ask. The maker workshop is a rare place where children get to use real tools and machines under guidance.

ages 8-18

Deichman-filialer i hele Oslo, Sentrum

Deichman has gaming rooms and stations with consoles and tablets at several branches, and runs dedicated gaming clubs for children and young people - completely free and with no entry requirements. The equipment ranges from Xbox, PlayStation and Switch to VR headsets, and tournaments are held during school holidays. The selection varies between libraries, so check your local branch.

ages 9-18

Spireaveien, Hasle, Bjerke

Free family workshop on the last Saturday of each month, where parents and children build and create together, play board games, try retro gaming and share time without screen stress. Run by DUGER, a volunteer organisation for digital youth, in Spireaveien at Hasle. Free entry.

ages 5-16

Herregårdsveien 34, Nordstrand

E-sports with regular sessions in Herregårdsveien at Ljan: Multiplay for ages 9 to 12 on Thursdays from 17:30 to 19:30, an introduction course on Tuesdays, Multiplay 12+ on Mondays and dedicated Overwatch and Valorant groups on Tuesday evenings. Sessions focus on game skills, communication, teamwork and good conduct, with a coach present. The fee is 1000 kroner plus 800 per half year.

ages 9-16

Skoler og fritidsklubber i Oslo, Sentrum

An international robotics competition for children and youth, with two levels: Explore for ages 6-9 and Challenge for ages 10-16. Teams build and program a LEGO robot and solve missions tied to an annual theme, and school classes, school teams and leisure-time teams can all sign up. This is the most common way into robotics for Norwegian children.

ages 6-16

Linderud, Bjerke

A coding club at Linderud, running since spring 2023, with micro:bit courses for children between eight and eleven. The micro:bit is a small circuit board programmed in Makecode, a block-based language made for children and easy to get started with - the result is something physical that blinks, beeps and reacts, not just code on a screen. The club is run by volunteers from Lær Kidsa Koding. Bjerke has few regular technology offerings for children.

ages 8-11

Voldsløkka kulturstasjon, Sagene

An after-school programme for years five to seven who like gaming, Mondays and Thursdays from 2 to 4.30pm. The children meet for food at Sagene IF's clubhouse before moving on to gaming at Voldsløkka kulturstasjon. Adults are present throughout.

ages 10-13

Deichman Oppsal, Østensjø

A regular, free coding club at Deichman Oppsal for children in grades 4 to 7, on Mondays and Thursdays. Children learn programming with Scratch, micro:bit and 3D printing, and no prior experience is needed. The most established of Deichman's coding clubs, run by volunteers from Lær Kidsa Koding.

ages 9-13

Hagegata 22, Tøyen, Gamle Oslo

The workshop at Biblo Tøyen, the library exclusively for children and young people aged 10 to 15. In the afternoons you can create, draw, cut, glue and test out ideas in workshop format - good for children who like to use their hands. Everything is free, and Biblo is a space where young people do not have to compete with adults for room.

ages 10-15

Nabolagshuset i Landbrukskvartalet, Gamle Oslo

A free coding club at the Neighbourhood House in Landbrukskvartalet at Tøyen, on Wednesdays. The club takes children from years 1 to 7 and is run by volunteers from Lær Kidsa Koding, using Scratch, micro:bit and the children's own game projects. Landbrukskvartalet is a neighbourhood project with workshops and shared spaces, so the coding club sits inside a bigger community of activities in the building.

ages 6-13

Deichman-filialer i hele Oslo, Sentrum

Board game clubs at the Deichman libraries, where children and young people can borrow and play board games together - free and with no registration. The libraries have their own board game collections for use on site, and run regular game evenings and open play days. A social, low-threshold offering that does not require owning the games yourself.

ages 7-18

Biblo Holmlia, Søndre Nordstrand

Technology-minded children aged 10 to 13 (grades 5-8) can come to Biblo Holmlia for 3D printing in the afternoon. Participants get access to a 3D printer, a computer with the slicing software Cura and PLA filament in different colours. Free, like everything at the library - and a rare chance to learn 3D modelling without owning the equipment.

ages 10-13

Nordtvet bibliotek, Nordtvetveien 28, Grorud

A free coding club at Nordtvet library for pupils in years 4 to 6, on Wednesdays 5-7pm. Here micro:bit boards are programmed into robots that do things, and no prior experience is needed. The club is run by volunteers from Lær Kidsa Koding. Bring your own laptop or iPad if you have one, and parents are welcome to join in and help. Grorud has few regular technology offerings for children, so this is one of the most important in the district.

ages 9-12

Ole-Johan Dahls hus, Gaustadalléen 23B, Nordre Aker

A free coding club for children and young people in Ole-Johan Dahls hus at the University of Oslo, Blindern. Courses run in the evenings in both autumn and spring, led by volunteers from Lær Kidsa Koding, and the children program in Scratch and similar tools. Being based in the computer science building adds something: the children code where the students do. Note that the 8-12 age range is an estimate based on what such coding clubs usually target - the club does not state it, so check with them before signing up.

ages 8-12