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What is There to do with Children in Richmond, Virginia?
When you're traveling with children in Richmond, there are many fun activities to consider doing. Richmond not only has a museum especially designed for children, but it has scientific, historical and cultural museums for both children and adults. Great outdoor areas such as the Richmond Canal Walk also offer great things to do with children in Richmond.
The Richmond Canal Walk is said to have been inspired by San Antonio's Riverwalk and it goes from Shockoe Slip toward Brown's Island over many footbridges. The Canal Walk offers great views of the James River area and there is a ferry as well as a suspension bridge. The canals have historical significance as George Washington oversaw the original canal project in Richmond that was done to make St. James River's rapids safer for shipping.
The Meadow Farm Museum, in the nearby Glen Allen - Henrico County area, features costumed museum guides who provide an interesting look at the lives of the family who owned and lived in Meadow Farm right before the Civil War began. The farm includes a blacksmith forge, farmhouse, barns and pastures. The museum is perfect for seeing with children in Richmond as it has many different farm animals. Also, the farm is located in Crump Park and Crump Park has a playground.
The Black History Museum and Cultural Center, in Jackson Ward, contains memorabilia, exhibits and information about African-American culture and history in Virginia. The collection has almost 5,000 items that date from 1619 to the present day. Richmond was home to dancer and actor Bill "Bojangles" Robinson who co-starred with child dancer and actress Shirley Temple in four films made between 1935 and 1938.
Both the Science Museum of Virginia and the Children's Museum of Richmond (CMOR) are great places to explore with children in Richmond and they are located right beside each other. The Science Museum of Virginia offers hands-on exhibits in scientific areas such as computers, physics and aerospace. Life sciences are represented by the Bioscape exhibit that looks at the cellular and global effects of biology. There is also an Aluminaut submarine display, the largest crystallography collection in the world and the largest sundial in the world.
CMOR is an excellent museum to see with children in Richmond, even if they are as young as six months. Little CMOR is a roomful of museum exhibits created just for children aged six months to four years old. The rest of the museum is geared toward kids up to age eight and the exhibits are innovative and interactive. For example, there is an inventor's lab, cave exploration, digestive tract exhibit, art work to create and music to compose. Outdoor exhibits at CMOR include a play area with a theater.
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![A view of Richmond, Virginia.]()
By: josefhanusA view of Richmond, Virginia. -
![A boy skipping a rock across the Richmond Canal Walk.]()
By: Christopher MartinA boy skipping a rock across the Richmond Canal Walk. -
![Richmond is the capital of Virginia.]()
By: Ruslan OlinchukRichmond is the capital of Virginia. -
![A blacksmith shop can be toured while visiting the Meadow Farm Museum.]()
By: kyslynskyyA blacksmith shop can be toured while visiting the Meadow Farm Museum.
Discussion Comments
@Iluviaporos - It is fantastic to try and take your kids to the museums when you can though. They really benefit from being able to see things in person, rather than just reading about them in books.
And often museums like the Children's Museum of Richmond will have activities for your kids, that will keep them busy for a few hours so you can have a bit of time to yourself. I mean, it would depend on how old your kids are of course, but even if the activities just made it easier for one parent to go off and do something and the otherwise stayed to supervise I think people would really appreciate that on a holiday.
That's where the cinemas can come in handy. It's good to be able to sit them all down, particularly if they are starting to get really tired. I wouldn't try to take them to a museum when they are in that state. People don't realize how tiring it is to walk around a museum, particularly if there are no activities for kids to do.
Walking along a river might not seem like the most fun activity you can do with kids, but there is a way to make them love it. Just play that classic game of "Pooh sticks" with them, from Winnie the Pooh.
The game is pretty simple. You each pick a couple of sticks that are easy to identify and then go out on a footbridge. Then you drop them and rush to the other side in order to see whose stick comes out first.
That's why the Richmond Canal Walk would be good for this, since it's got a lot of footbridges. You definitely need to make sure that they aren't traffic bridges, since your little one might get too excited and dash into the traffic.
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