The Golden Key Kindergarten (Russian: Zolotoy Klyuchik) was a daycare facility in the Soviet city of Pripyat. The city was founded in 1970 to house workers of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and their families. As Pripyat grew rapidly, reaching nearly 50,000 residents by 1986, many schools and kindergartens were built to support the large number of young families living in the city.

The Golden Key Kindergarten, officially known as Kindergarten No. 7, followed a typical Soviet design for early childhood education buildings. The facility included classrooms, play areas, sleeping rooms with small beds, and a kitchen. Children of power plant employees were cared for here while their parents worked.

On 26 April 1986, reactor number 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded during the Chernobyl disaster. Although the accident occurred during the night, the city of Pripyat was not evacuated until the following day. On 27 April 1986, approximately 49,000 residents were ordered to leave the city. They were told the evacuation would only be temporary and were instructed to take only essential belongings.

As a result, buildings throughout the city were suddenly abandoned, including this kindergarten. Toys, furniture, educational materials and personal items remained inside the classrooms when the children and staff left.

Since the evacuation, the kindergarten has remained inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a restricted area surrounding the power plant where permanent habitation is prohibited. Over the decades the building has deteriorated due to weather, vandalism and natural decay. The abandoned classrooms and scattered toys have made the Golden Key Kindergarten one of the most recognizable reminders of daily life in Pripyat before the disaster.