History's Variety: A Day in Richmond

Richmond, VA--close but far.  It's an easy drive from the Roanoke Valley, and it is a whole different place.  It's also full of treasures--multiple museums, National Parks sites, just plain interesting places. J had heard that the Virginia Historical Society was running a fun special exhibit on toys, and we had to go see what overlapping things we own or with which we played.  Really.

The Toys of the 50s, 60s, and 70s exhibit alone was worth every effort to visit.  This is a grand display of true life as it was often imagined from a Sears Wish Book, complete with period living rooms and commercials to watch.  Items on display range from Raggedy Ann dolls to Barbie Dream Houses, early Legos to lawn darts.  The interpretation makes it easy to understand changes in toys related to changes in parenting styles and popular culture overall.  In the back of the exhibit, there are a few play spaces including a Nerf ball area in a simulated garage that will remind you of the Brady Bunch backyard.  There's a modest cost ($10 per non-member adult).   We're often flattered to be asked how to help young people interact with museums and understand their relevance--it isn't hard to engage kids in conversation about personal and family history here.

The Virginia Historical Society itself is a free museum (excepting special exhibits) to visit with interesting galleries.  There's a large exhibit of Virginia's story, prehistory to the present, that includes many interesting artifacts and some interactivity.  Other exhibits focus on various firearms, silver, interesting Virginia homes, and the like.  The Landscapes of Virginia exhibit is an excellent primer on Virginia geography, too.  If you have a student in Virginia and US History (usually about 4th/5th grade), everything here is on point with the curriculum expectations.  Additionally, part of the museum was once known as the "Battle Abbey" and pays tribute to the US Civil War, including through lovingly-restored large murals.  The gift shop is splendid, featuring a good selection of academic resources as well as more popular-press histories at various price points. Our least-expensive buy, a book on Jewish history in the Commonwealth, was just $1.

After the museum visit, we took our National Parks Service Passports and went over to Tredegar Iron Works, a site at which many Civil War-era cannons were made.  Interestingly interpreted, the Iron Works is a site of American history as well as industrial history.  The interpretation includes information about Richmond, about the Civil War, and about industrialization in the region.  E completed the Junior Ranger program here to his enjoyment and at no cost.

At the Virginia Historical Society, there's free onsite parking--and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (also free) is right next door.  At Tredegar, you'll pay to park--but a pretty modest $5/day.  Just take the parking times seriously--you have to have your car out before the lot closes for the evening or pay a hefty $50 fee to have the gates opened.  If you go and do this same trip, take some snacks and eat dinner as your main meal.  We headed out to the Short Pump area for a bunch of options.