Recently, we were in Richmond for a special event (congratulations new Lay Ecclesiastical Minister Melissa!) and decided to exercise our ASTC Passport membership again and visit the Science Museum of Virginia. It had been a long time since I'd visited--probably honestly since the 1990s--and I'd heard they'd done some renovations including some updates this year. The museum had a decidedly fresher look--and better yet, it was a ton of fun.
Visitors are immediately welcomed to the highly-interactive Speed gallery, a new set of exhibits that feature physics concepts in a way that engages most everyone. Well-staffed by volunteers and others, the gallery allows visitors to race virtual mice and to play table hockey with a robot. As we were told, the robot, advantaged with calculations about trajectories, always wins. In the same gallery, there's a new Science on a Sphere theatre, and the presentation there, included in the cost of admission, was fuller and more interactive than any similar presentation we've seen. For E, it was great fun to see the sphere "become" various planets he's studied.
Other areas in the museum include a small collection of living specimens including snakes and spiders and an interesting (if a bit more worn) exhibit about the human body. We also enjoyed a brief performance of trained rats playing basketball. Yes, you read that correctly, and any adult who has ever completed a behavioral science class of any kind shouldn't miss it...and the kids still find it funny. We didn't explore the full museum--there are other exhibits and, for additional charge, Dome theatre movies. If travelling with younger kids, don't miss LightSpace, the new exploratory area downstairs for those 5ish and under. There's a place to climb! The only drawback is that the area is not gated, which can complicate supervision. While at the museum, visit the outdoor area where the trains in this restored stations used to arrive. It's easy to imagine the glamour of travel in another century there among the platforms, a fabulous possible event venue. Don't worry, previous visitors--the giant pendulum still hangs in the 5-story rotunda!
If you go, know you are very, very close to the Children's Museum of Richmond's Broad Street location, a fun stop for the littles, and are also conveniently beside a McDonald's if you are feeling fast food. There are also picnic tables available at the back of the science museum's outdoor area. If you will be travelling back west on I-64 later, stop at Tom Leonard's Farmers Market on the way home. It's just plain cute--and there tend to be free samples of good food and solid deals on local produce.
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