The elementary students were finishing up a unit on Astronomy and I had the urge to visit a Planetarium. So we headed to the Science Museum of Virginia. It is located in Richmond in the old Union Train Station. It is a beautiful and impressive entrance to the museum! My kids enjoyed the giant rotating marble Earth outside the front entrance.
They liked how you could touch it and get it to move faster or slower. It was massive and very impressive. If you don't have the time or the money for the museum I would recommend a picnic in the front, just so you can spend some time at this marvel.
Inside the museum we were impressed by the giant pendulum in the grand foyer. The kids spent about 5 minutes at the beginning and at the end watching it go back and forth as it knocked down pegs to indicate how much time had passed. The foyer is impressive and a bit of history.
The first section of the museum we perused was called Speed, and we were shocked to see a SR-71 suspended from the ceiling of the exhibit. There were a lot of interactive displays, but I was impressed by a display that showed the action of atomic particles in the room. It was fascinating and perfect for my high school students who are studying chemistry. I didn't take a single picture because I was so engrossed in learning!
We had to hurry to get to the Dome for our Astronomy show. When we walked in, the kids were in awe, it's BIG!!!
We had a great time and the theater had plenty of room on a weekday for social distancing.
We explored some more of the museum's featured exhibits and my artist found a happy spot in the Art Lab.
We didn't even see half of the museum because the kids had such a great time in the art lab. It wasn't why we went, so I was confused by the appeal, especially since we had all the art supplies at home. They enjoyed it and it gave me time to walk around and explore the nature displays and photography close by.
It was well worth the day trip and we will plan to go back and see the other exhibits later.