Most exhibitions ask you to stand quietly and look. Design Ah! at M+ asks you to walk, play, press, listen and laugh. Opening this summer, it is the most playful new show on Hong Kong's cultural calendar — a family-friendly design exhibition that takes the most ordinary parts of daily life and turns them into a series of small revelations. The premise is simple and rather lovely: design is everywhere, hidden inside the everyday actions we never think about, and once you start noticing it, you cannot stop.
In This Guide
What is Design Ah! and why does it matter?
Design Ah! began life on television. It is based on Design Ah! neo, a much-loved Japanese children's educational programme produced by NHK (Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai), the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, which has picked up international honours including the Prix Jeunesse and a Peabody Award.
The M+ show is an adaptation of the acclaimed exhibition first staged at TOKYO NODE, produced with NHK Educational and NHK Promotion. Here is the headline for Hong Kong: this is the first Design Ah! exhibition organised outside Japan, which makes M+ the show's international debut and gives the city a genuine cultural first.
Why does it matter? Because the exhibition does something most design shows do not — it makes design feel personal. Instead of cordoned-off chairs and reverent captions, it asks how design quietly shapes the way you walk, eat and sit, then hands you the tools to feel that for yourself. The result is the kind of show that converts sceptical ten-year-olds and tired parents alike.
What you'll actually see
M+ describes Design Ah! as a mix of three things: hands-on games, interactive installations and immersive audiovisual rooms. The whole exhibition is built around that little exclamation in its name — the "Ah!" of a sudden, delighted realisation.
Hands-on games
This is design you do, not design you watch. Expect playful challenges that turn familiar objects and actions into something you physically take part in, the sort of thing children sprint towards and adults quietly queue for once no one is looking.
Interactive installations
The Tokyo edition that this show adapts featured large, surprising pieces with names like Holding Challenge, Ssot and Eat-en-ing — works by Japanese design studios that reimagined everyday motions at room scale. They are a good signal of the register here: ambitious, tactile and a little bit silly in the best way.
Immersive audiovisual rooms
Sound and motion do a lot of the heavy lifting, with rooms that wrap visitors in projection and music. That is no accident: the show has a dedicated music director and video director alongside its lead designer, so the audiovisual moments are treated as artworks in their own right rather than wallpaper.
If you want to see how this fits into the museum's wider year, our guide to what's on at M+ right now maps the current programme, and our round-up of the best art exhibitions in Hong Kong this summer places Design Ah! alongside the season's other big openings.
Who's behind it?
Design Ah! is steered by three Japanese creative directors, each handling a different sense of the show. Taku Satoh (born 1955) is the general director, Yugo Nakamura (born 1970) is the video director, and Shuta Hasunuma (born 1983) is the music director.
Rather than design every object themselves, the trio invited a range of designers and artists to respond to the exhibition's ideas. That open brief is why the show feels so varied — it is less a single authored statement than a collection of clever answers to one playful question: what does design actually do to us all day long?
It also sits comfortably in a city that takes design seriously. For more on that scene, see our guide to Hong Kong Design Week 2026, which covers the wider calendar of design talks, fairs and pop-ups across town.
Is Design Ah! at M+ good for kids?
In a word, yes — this might be the most child-friendly serious exhibition M+ has staged. It grew out of a children's television programme, after all, and its whole method is learning through play.
Younger visitors get hands-on games and big, surprising installations they are actively encouraged to use; parents get a show with enough ideas and craft to hold their own attention too. M+ runs drop-in Family Days on selected Sundays through the run, with extra activities for children, so it is worth checking the dates if you are bringing little ones.
Planning a wider day out with the family? Our guide to the best kid-friendly activities in Hong Kong pairs neatly with a museum morning, and the harbourfront Art Park right outside M+ is made for letting off steam afterwards.
Dates, tickets & opening hours
This is a ticketed special exhibition with a long but finite run — it opens on 27 June 2026 and closes on 10 January 2027. The full details live on the official M+ exhibition page, but here are the verified essentials.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Exhibition dates | 27 June 2026 – 10 January 2027 |
| Location | Main Hall Gallery, Ground Floor, M+ |
| Standard ticket | HK$190 |
| Concession ticket | HK$100 |
| Family combo | From HK$250 (1 adult + 1 child) |
M+ — Visitor Essentials
Note: M+ occasionally adjusts hours for special events and public holidays, and ticket prices can change. Confirm opening times and book via M+ Plan Your Visit before you travel.
Alongside the standard and concession prices, M+ has announced family combo tickets — including a one-adult-and-one-child combo at around HK$250 and a two-adult-and-one-child set at around HK$400 — which work out cheaper than buying separately. As prices and combos can shift, treat these as a guide rather than gospel and confirm the latest on the official M+ ticketing page.
How do you get to M+ for Design Ah!?
M+ sits on the harbourfront in the West Kowloon Cultural District, and the train is by far the easiest way in. Take the MTR to Kowloon Station and leave via Exit C1 or D1, or use Austin Station, Exit B4/B5; from either it is a walk of roughly 10 to 15 minutes through the district to the waterfront. The Airport Express also calls at Kowloon Station, so the museum makes an easy first or last stop on a trip.
Once you arrive, build in time to linger. The Art Park, the harbour promenade and the neighbouring Hong Kong Palace Museum are all within a short stroll, which makes a Design Ah! ticket the anchor for a proper half-day in West Kowloon rather than a quick in-and-out.
How to do it well
An interactive show rewards a bit of planning. A few practical notes to get the most out of your visit.
Visiting Tips
- Go on a weekday morning. M+ opens at 10am; the first hour is the calmest, and hands-on exhibits are far more fun without a crowd.
- Book online. Reserving a timed slot on the official M+ site saves queueing and guarantees entry on busy weekends and school holidays.
- Come ready to play. This is a touch-and-try show — wear comfortable shoes and let kids lead the way around the games.
- Budget 60–90 minutes. The immersive rooms in particular reward slowing down rather than racing through.
- Check for Family Days. Drop-in family sessions run on selected Sundays — ideal if you are visiting with children.
- Make a half-day of it. The harbourfront, Art Park and wider West Kowloon district are right outside the door.
Before You Book
Design Ah! is a ticketed special exhibition with a fixed closing date of 10 January 2027, and interactive shows draw families in large numbers at weekends and over the holidays. Buy through the official M+ website rather than third-party resellers, double-check the date, opening hours and current ticket prices on the day you plan to go, and remember that the museum is closed on Mondays.
If you are making a cultural weekend of it, line Design Ah! up with the rest of the city's calendar: our look at the biggest events in Hong Kong this summer has the wider picture, and the blockbuster Lee Bul exhibition at M+ gives you a second, very different show under the same roof.
Frequently Asked Questions
Plan Your Visit
Design Ah! runs at M+ from 27 June 2026 to 10 January 2027. Book a slot, then let YumChaNow keep you ahead of the next big show, opening and event in town.