I am visiting the area and kept missing the turn for parking , so if this helps anyone who is…read moreslower like me, park on the left side of the building (facing the building). Haha tons of parking there. The place itself is so fun, lots to do for kids. There are three levels but only the first two were opened. Very clean which is my favorite part. Reasonable ticket prices as well!

We love this place! Ever since we found it on our last trip to Massanutten, it quickly became a…read morerequirement for our vacations. There is so much for the kids to do! Trains, planes, and automobiles included! Probably one of my favorite parts is that it integrates fun with learning. Definitely a must if you have kids.

What a gorgeous place! I went in the late winter/early early Spring and even though there were no…read moreleaves on the trees, it was still gorgeous. Monticello is the estate of Thomas Jefferson and there is so much history packed into the tour but the beauty is what captivates you. The woodwork, the flooring, the artwork...I could go on and on. The tour guides are excellent! Very knowledgeable, engaging, friendly and they keep history honest. I loved that they stuck to the facts and told the history as it should, the good, the bad and the ugly. The estate is still kept immaculate and holds so much history in every detail. The view alone overlooking the mountainside takes your breath away. It immediately sets your mind to wandering and fantasizing of a time long ago and how spectacular it must have been to live surrounded by such beauty. I highly recommend and would recommend going in late Spring or early Summer or Fall when the leaves have changed color.

Monticello is probably the most famous of all the President houses (Mt Vernon may have it beat)…read more As a self-proclaimed Presidential history nerd, I have been to several presidential homes, libraries, museums, gravesites, monuments, etc. Monticello's history is the most interesting because of many factors including Jefferson's architectural obsession, the atrocities with slavery that occurred with building and maintaining it, and the innovations and experimentation Jefferson used while living here. Monticello is a huge operation. You should definitely get a reservation. You park at the bottom of the hill (or maybe middle of it) then you go through metal detectors and are now in the cafe/gift shop/bathroom area. From there you can take the 1/2 mile walk up hill to the home or take the bus. Once you are up top, you will be put into different huddles depending on your tour time. Oh, there are several different style tours, we just did the general admission tour. Anyway, you can walk around the grounds while you wait. The whole thing is very well organized. Our tour guide took us through various rooms in the house, pointed out various artifacts from Jefferson's past, told stories and was very knowledgeable when asked questions. The group I was in was probably 20 people. The whole tour took 45 mins. Then we walked the grounds independent of the tour including looking at Jefferson's family cemetery plot. My only issue is that I went on July 1st, 2026, so the whole back (or front) had a huge tent set up for the America 250 celebration. Not a big deal just didn't get the complete feel or pics.

The science museum is wonderful for all ages. Parking is free and it's easy to get to…read more. The café inside the museum is recently priced, and the staff was friendly. The food was pretty good though. I wish there was a little bit more of it.

I really regret not spending more time here. If we had realized how awesome this place would be, we…read morewould have spent more time in virginia. love that the parking is free and it is right next to the childrens museum so you can do multiple things in one day. but really, you could spend all day here and love it! we got to see a sloth! I don't know who was more excited, me or my kids. so much to do that was so fun! Definitely recommend

Jam packed with Virginia history as well as history specific to Rockingham County. I spoke with the…read moredocent quite a bit during my visit and she was very engaging and knowledgeable. Gift shop has lots of books on Virginia history, some by local authors. Quite a few value-priced used books also! Restrooms were clean and there were a few places to sit. It's about 3 large steps to enter the museum, then 6-7 steps down to the exhibit, or there is an elevator. The suggested donation is $10, but it is pay what you can. Support local!

During my stay in Virginia I visited this fun and educational museum. One of the first things you…read moresee upon entering is plaques narrating the burning of the bread basked, a brutal time during the civil war. Afterward you enter a room with a felt art wall where you can exercise your creativity. Great for kids and even better for me. I made a surfing girl. It was the highlight of my visit. Other notable features of this museum include garments worn and weapons used during the time period. Other knickknacks were also on display like old school flasks. The museum was not very large but you could still spend a chunk of time there of you enjoy reading about history. The museum ends where it began, in the gift shop. The lady at the front desk said it gets busier on rainy days. I think there was only two other people there during my visit.

Shout out to Scott, our guide for the 830am tour. We had such a wonderful time. Highly recommend to…read moredo the guided tour. It's about 60 mins. Only 1 tour per day starting at 830am. The temperature of 54°F (12°C) year-round. I brought a light jacket. We walked thru the paved loop. Scott talked about history and the discovery of the carven. He pointed out many different shapes of limestones around us. He also mentioned lots about minerals, Stalactites, Stalagmites etc. I enjoyed his jokes and he definitely made the early tour worth it. With the ticket, you can also visit Car & Carriage Caravan Museum, Shenandoah Heritage Village, and Toy Town Junction. The cafe sells some snacks and chocolate. All the staff were very nice and friendly. Bathroom is clean. You can stay there as long as you want. visit all the museum and the carven . No time limit. Big parking lot in the front. Very convenient. Highly recommend if you are in the area.

We have been to VA before and went to other smaller caverns and had a good time. We decided to take…read morethe family here as it is much bigger. Overall, I'd tell people to save some money and go to a smaller local cavern honestly. Around $90 for the 4 of us, and that included a Giant card discount. The caverns are quite large and beautiful as to be expected. Other tours we have been on had a person walk you through and talk to you about everything, not this one. It was a free for all, people pushing through, kids running wild, quite unenjoyable. There were staff members in some areas, they were kids (16yr~olds). You could ask them questions but you got the kind of answer expected from a teenager. There were 2 teens working by the organ. They were talking to each other very loudly, extremely distracting and they offered no information about the organ when asked. Even though these caverns are larger than previous ones we visited, we ended up going through them much faster just because of how people were pushing through you. The experience was not worth $100.

Amazing exhibit of aircraft, you can easily spend the day immersing yourself in all of the history…read moreand background of all of the aircraft, including rocket ships! They also have an observatory with nice views of the surrounding greenery, an IMAX theater, and Shake Shack! Ample parking (with a small fee) but the exhibit itself is free!

This museum is fantastic. The parking lot is large and parking is $15 but entering the museum is…read morefree. There is so much to see and so much rich history here. You could really spend all day reading the signs and learning about the development of aircrafts/aviation/spacecrafts. I love that the planes they have here are the real thing and not just models. There are also free tours you can join to learn from a staff member! A couple more pros are that there's a movie theater and shake shack within the building. I think this museum is great for people of all ages. Another thing I appreciated is that there are plenty of bathrooms and water fountains!

always relaxing to walk through the gardens! summer 2026…read moreexhibit earth and sky sculptures by marguerite elliot

Best ever ! Art , Music, hiking and more !…read more Well kept trails filled with plants , sculptures and views. MSV at Night shows are awesome not to mention the many beautiful acres to explore. It's always a pleasure to visit and see what is new. Become a member and support the Museum- it has many perks and is well worth it.

Delightful. During…read morethe school season, it's a pleasure to have somewhere to take my 3 year old son that's not crowded. We can spend an hour daily going back to his favorite exhibits and exploring new ones. As an adult, I've learned so much already and would love to spend a day here alone. Their "Everyone is Special" initiative focuses on autism with trained individuals in the field--a great opportunity to reach out to others in the Autism community. Spend some time browsing their website. There are a lot of valuable resources here. The staff is wonderful.

We had a great time. Our kids had a wonderful time. I would definitely recommend Amazement Square.read more

This was a nice small museum, mostly entertaining for young kids. The ticket price was cheap for…read moreboth adults and kids ($10). They had four floor, with part of top floor having an open terrace with some toys in it. Alongside museum, they also had summer camp and activity classes. The first floor had the reception desk, small gift shop, obstacle course, and a plasma sphere that really passed electric shock, we felt it in our fingers lol. Second and third floors had lots of play space for kids. Fourth floor had few things around space. All the staff members were very friendly. Most of the area of was clean and maintained. We spent about an hour here. Seemed really popular with locals as many families were there with their kids.

This discovery center located across from Old Town Winchester. Meter parking. They have 4 floors…read moreand a rooftop playground. Good view to the city. There's literally no tall buildings anywhere. Hands on activities and make believe sets. It is more for younger children. We were there for about 1 hr. It's not very big. But the admission fee is not too bad. $10/person. Kids younger than 2 are free.

The Valentine offers wonderful walking tours of RVA neighborhoods. Yesterday we did the Scott's…read moreAddition history hounds tour (yes, you can bring your dog!) and Nancy was a terrific guide. She's interesting, well organized and very knowledgeable.

We had a great summit at the Valentine. The set up was perfect and the staff were very attentive to…read moreour needs the meeting area was clean and well ventilated. After the event we were able to move about the museum that at some interesting items relevant to Richmond modern and older history. Great little museum to visit.