science museum of virginia

as we headed north along I-85 then I-95, I thought we should get off the highway in Richmond and see something in the city we have driven through so many times. We drove along Broad street (not the shortest route) though varying neighborhoods, including Virginia Commonwealth University. We landed at the Science Museum of Virginia. Despite having visited their website briefly, I had no idea what to expect. We were all pleasantly surprised.

First, the building originally had been Richmond’s Union Station. And it was beautiful. I could have taken a seat in the lobby area and been happy. Second, we were given free admission because I had, amazingly, brought along our Fernbank Museum membership cards.

We first headed to the National Geographic exhibit on cartography. It was aimed at kids, and both of the girls loved it. I thought it had a great balance of hands-on activities and “touch screen” activities. The range of themes went from ancient Egypt, to space, and more. From there, stomachs growling, we headed to the cafe. Cafe Portico is one of the best museum cafes I’ve been to. Reasonably priced, good kid-friendly selections, Starbucks coffee, very fittingly decorated, games to play, etc.

Then we had a minor crisis. Chloe lost her favorite Bakugan. Camille had warned her to not bring it in, but Chloe did not heed the wisdom of her big sister. She cried, we retraced our steps, she recovered. Bummed was she, but she managed to not fall apart. We headed through a hands-on Newton gallery where the girls maneuvered air-powered “hover” chairs and investigated elliptical orbits. We then went outside to the train platform area and learned about various forms of solar and wind energy. Chloe found a hallway of interesting rocks, fossils and minerals (please touch).

We finished up at the store, where I bought each girl a little “break your own” geode. I’m hoping that we will find something interesting inside!