Feed you inner culture vulture with this months’ offerings.

Discover the hidden war
A collection of iconic photographs made by an Amsterdam group of photographers called the Ondergedoken camera (the underground camera) during World War II has just been given Unesco status. A number of these photographs are on show at the FOAM photography museum in Amsterdam, including a series of harrrowing images from the Hunger Winter of 1944-1945. From May 2. Website

Take your little tykes to the Teylers
It’s the spring school break and the Teylers museum in Haarlem is taking children and their parents into the Cosmos, which explores the universe in art and science and contemplates what light pollution is doing to mankind’s relationship with the stars. There’s a floating astronaut and a chance to make your own planet. The children’s activities are on until May 5. Website

Celebrate freedom
The Netherlands is celebrating freedom for the 80th year with Bevrijdingsfestivals across the country on May 5. This year it’s ambassadors Antoon, RONDÉ and Zoë Tauran who will be making lightening visits to many of them. Each festival has its own lineup and venues which you can find on their individual websites.

Revisit the Laramie Project 25 years on
The Orange Theatre in Amsterdam presents The Laramie Project, the play about 21-year-old Matthew Shepard, who was robbed and tortured for being gay in 1998 in Laramie, Wyoming.

He was tied to a fence post and left to die, where he was found 18 hours later. The play, drawn from interviews with people in Laramie and other sources, premiered in 2000 and remains controversial in certain circles. Some Catholic schools in the US banned performances by students and are still at it it 23 years later. From May 15 to June 1. Website

Rejoice in the rise of Fenix
This month queen Máxima will open Fenix, a spectacular new museum about the city’s migration history, with art about “goodbyes, hope, expectations, luck and disappointment” by artists such as Shilpa Gupta, Steve McQueen, Rineke Dijkstra and Kimsooja. In the Kofferdoolhof (the suitcase maze) migrants tell their own  stories. From May 16. Website

Watch the birdies
The Hortus horticultural gardens in Amsterdam are home to lots of plants and trees and, consequently, to birds as well. If you are lightfooted and leave the whispering to the guide, you can can come on a birdwatching tour of the garden, binoculars and booklet courtesy of the Hortus itself. The tour starts at 9 am. May 3 – 17. Website

Take a wander in Zuid
It’s time again for ARTZUID, the annual open air sculpture biennale that takes you along the leafy streets of Amsterdam Zuid. This year’s theme is Enlightenment, a reference to the freedom and tolerance that the city has been trying to keep a tenuous hold on for the past 750 years. Have a wander, book a tour or get involved in any of the other activities. From May 21. Website

Share in the love of Charley for Vincent
Dutch artist Charley Toorop (1891-1955) loved the work of Vincent van Gogh and the Kröller Müller Museum in Otterlo has traced his influence in some 60 of her earlier works.

Toorop said Van Gogh’s use of colours and subjects painted from nature were “a gateway to a new world” for her. She followed in his footsteps, visiting the Borinage and the South of France, and remained a lifelong admirer. Charley Toorop: Love for Van Gogh is on from May 24. Website

Face a monster
Another good one for your own little monsters (from 7) is the Leiden museum of antiquities Monsters and Mythical Creatures. Are they creepy or great? And what is the point of all these weird and wonderful beings? There are lots of activities too. From May 29. Website

Meet Josphine Baker, the allied spy
The Verzetsmuseum in Amsterdam is honouring American artist Josephine Baker, who, confronted with the relentless racism and segregation in the United States, moved to Paris and world fame.

Baker worked for the French resistance and as an allied agent during World War II, and, an activist until the end, she supported the civil rights movement and spoke at the March on Freedom in 1963. Until November 9.  Website

Get your fill of fashion in Arnhem
Arnhem, home to art and fashion academy ArtEZ, is Unraveling its Roots as it looks at its creative identity in the annual Festival Arnhem. The city boasts such famous designers as Viktor & Rolf, Iris van Herpen and Oscar Suleyman, so something of its textile industry past must linger.

Fashion shows, workshops, presentations, guided tours and more are turning Arnhem into a month-long fashion extravaganza. From May 31. Website