Entrepreneurship, free thinking, citizenship and creativity are the four cornerstones of the multimedia DNA exhibit at this riveting museum, which splits Amsterdam's history into seven key periods, comprehensively described by audioguides (included in admission). Unlike at many of the city's museums, crowds are rare. It's reached via the arcade containing the free Civic Guard Gallery off Kalverstraat 92.
The museum occupies Amsterdam's former civic orphanage, and a special exhibition aimed at kids covers 17th-century orphanage life, with displays of dormitories, classrooms, bathrooms and kitchens.