Virginia Museum of Transportation
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Children under three enter free.
3 Reviews for Virginia Museum of Transportation
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'10, '11
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"Fun for the transportation lovers in your family!"
We visited this museum this October- our party included myself, my mom, my 3-year-old and my 1-year-old, and my husband. When we walked in, my kids immediately spotted the gigantic model train display- they seem to have a sense for finding these things! They stood and stared at it, spellbound, for ages. There were so many little people and buildings to look at and trains going around and around!
Once we left the trains, we enjoyed walking around and looking at the old cars. When we made it out into the railyard with all the fullsized locomotives and railcars, my husband's eyes lit up. He and the kids had great fun climbing on the cars that were open and pretending to drive the trains.
We finished off our visit with some time in the play area outside. This was actually the highlight for my kids, as they loved watching the real trains go by outside.
The airplane section of the museum was closed during our visit (October 2010), but we had a great time with all that we did see and do. A must visit for any family with train and car lovers.
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"A Great Surprise!"
OK, when my wife suggested this as a destination for our family I quietly acquiesced just to avoid a discussion about why and a notation that I never plan anything anyway. Expecting to be less than wowed, I was pleasantly surprised!
Trains dominate the environment because the site is along a working rail line in downtown Roanoke, but there are an array of displays dedicated to cars (with a great exhibit on Tucker - played by Jeff Bridges in "Tucker: A Man and His Dream" - great movie) and airplanes, and they even have a rocket from the space race. There's also a terrific exhibit dedicated to remembering the African-Americans who served the rail industry and a great history on "wheel-rolling" that I found myself engrossed in for almost an hour.
Back outside, we took pictures as the kids clambered about on trucks and trains both modern and historical and we walked through row after row of parked trains. I even found myself looking at a train my dad had taken me to see when it came through Richmond on a promotional tour in 1976. I took a picture of my own kid standing on the ramp of that locomotive and called my dad with tears in my eyes to tell him that I was looking at a memory of my childhood he'd made so great. Choked up, he and I said goodbye, and we headed on to the gift shop, bought a DVD for my son, an engineer's hat for my daughter, and headed for the car.
Before we left, I turned to my wife and said, "good idea." She thanked me. Really, folks, good idea!
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"Fun with the Family"
Located in the historic Norfolk and Western freight station downtown, this museum is a great place for kids to learn about all kinds of transportation. The collection includes examples from railroad’s golden past such as steam, diesel, and vintage electric locomotives, cabooses, a railway postal car, and business car. Although the museum is primarily devoted to rail, other eye-catchers include aviation exhibits, as well as horse drawn buggies and a trolley bus. The Star Station Transportation Playground has child-sized helicopters, cars, and trains and a rocket for kids to play in and on. Don’t miss the model-trains exhibit, a star with six tracks, multiple viewing levels, and a model of a Barnum and Bailey Circus.
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