Simply Amazing That Our Kids Hadn't Been Here: Lynchburg's Amazement Square

We live in Roanoke--and we'd never taken our kids to Lynchburg's children's museum, best known as Amazement Square?  Hard to believe, but true, so we were very thankful when dear friends invited us out with their family for a day at this truly-geared-for-kids museum. 

Amazement Square is an impressively interactive place--and among children's museums, its indoor climbing tower is known as the tallest in the nation and has many fun features, including a room-to-room zipline.  The museum is also well-known for its plexiglass painting room, but Elijah's favorite exhibit was the canal water table.  Gwen enjoyed the Big Red Barn toddler area--and honestly, her mom did, too, playing in the "underground" tunnel.  Several exhibit spaces allow for lots of "getting energy out" with gross motor activities, including a fun bug exhibit built for crawling in and on.  It's also one of those places when you can feel good about your kids exploring pretty freely--there's only one real entrance/exit, and it is monitored; just be advised that there are stairs if you have kiddos that aren't particularly sure-footed or are still crawling.

We recommend you visit, especially if you have kids between about 4 and 8, but kids of other ages will have a blast, too.  If you go, The Depot Grille is nearby (walkable) and good for a casual lunch.  It impresses Elijah as a restored train station.  On the date of our visit, we seemed to have "good timing"--eating lunch at the Depot noonish and then going to the museum just as lots of other families seemed to be doing the opposite.  For our take on another children's museum, this one in Greensboro, NC, click here. 

A New Treasure: Discovering the Danville Science Center

Inspired by a field trip at Kim's school, we headed out to the Danville Science Center--a place we'd barely heard of but thoroughly enjoyed.  The center is full of interactive exhibits and play areas--and it's worth the drive from Roanoke. 

Permanent exhibits span two buildings and include rocks, small "stuffed" animals, and a few live animals like a lizard and a turtle.  There's a large temporary exhibit space, and exhibits rotate reasonably frequently.  There are also seasonal attractions like a butterfly garden.  Elijah was a huge fan of the From Here to There temporary exhibit, enjoying the "air tubes" for moving balls very much.  Picture a large see-thru bank or pharmacy drive thru that you can control, and you'll get the idea.  This exhibit has a small "ball pit" with building toys including various simple machines (a ramp, a gear and pulley system, etc.), and both Elijah and Gwen could have stayed in it all day.  While the museum isn't as expansive as some similar museums, there was plenty for us to do--and in a visit of about three and a half hours, we didn't even make it upstairs.  This, of course, is a sign we'll have to go back.

The site itself is interesting and features a restored active train station--complete with a model layout of the city and a red caboose you can play in.  A recently-added Digital Dome Theater is prominent in the center's architecture.  On our trip, the kids took in their first such show, seeing a film about the solar system and a sky show.  We understand why the dome is advertised as the best theater of this type in the region.  The technology for the sky show was particularly impressive, and our guide was able to show us a 3-D model of our galaxy. 

If you go, expect a kid-friendly place, including a small room for snacking (bring your own) and a gift shop with low-cost items (we picked up a globe keychain for less than a quarter).  The staff spoke genuinely to the kids, which is always a friendly plus.  In fact, Kim recommends it as one of the best science museums we've been to for preschool-to-elementary aged kids.  On a warmer day, pack a picnic--there are lovely, if urban, grounds for it--and take in a walk across the river on a nearby pedestrian bridge.  Another plus?  Admission is more reasonably-priced than many similar attractions in the region.  If you live close, the center's birthday parties sound like a great deal.  On the day we visited, a group of young kids were launching toy rockets as part of their planned party activities--Elijah would love it.

More and More Art-Venturous: An Additional Visit to the Taubman Museum of Art

One wintery afternoon, Kim, Elijah, and Gwen decided to head to the Taubman Museum of Art just to see "what was new."  We always begin by walking the upstairs galleries.  These galleries change frequently and often feature both contemporary and more traditional art, so they make for good discussion with small children.  On this trip, Elijah particularly enjoyed Motomichi Nakamura's "monsters," an collection of art including animation of bold creatures in red, black, and white.  Motomichi was at the museum preparing for weekend events, and he even stopped and said hello to Elijah!  You can say hello to Motomichi yourself on Twitter: @motomichistudio. 

As always, we spent a fair amount of time in Art Venture, the museum's first-floor children's space.  With free admission and a plethora of art and play supplies, Art Venture is one of the best deals for families in Roanoke.  Today, we noticed there were additional toys for younger kids, including several that were accessible to our infant-daughter Gwen (even though it is important to note the space is designed for ages 2-13).  There are many types of blocks, gears, and puzzles for kids of all ages to explore as well as stations for creating art to take home.  There's also a "stage" and many puppets for dramatic play, and recent additions included creations made by a 3-D printer.

If you go, know that there is a "new" nearby surface parking lot a block away that hosts free weekday parking for two hours or less.  It's maintained by the City of Roanoke and is close to a private paid parking lot near Beads Indeed, a fun make-your-own jewelry store, and Nawab, Kim's favorite Indian restaurant.  Read more about one of our previous museum visits here for more information.  If you are not accustomed to visiting art museums, know they can feel, well, a bit pretentious.  Make yourself as "at home" as you can within reason, and at the Taubman, I recommend engaging the security staff upstairs in conversation.  They know the collections well and are always approachable.