This is a hidden gem…read more Located like exactly 20 minutes west of short pump is the cutest reptile museum. I cannot recommend it enough. The staff were SO knowledgeable and kind. They do regularly come to Henrico library visits but you need to go in person to get an up close and personal visit with the reptiles. Very excited to see how they expand in the future.

What a hidden small town gem! We have a reptile loving kiddo. One rainy day we decided to visit in…read more Jake and his team were SO knowledgable and friendly. They clearly have a passion for what they do and love sharing that with all who visit. We had the best time! Lots of creatures to see, feeding time observations, and hand on experiences! If you have a reptile lover, this is the place for you. We will most definitely be back.

We absolutely loved our visit to the Virginia Discovery Museum!…read more It looks a bit small and dinky from the outside, but my children and their cousins, ages 4 - 9, played non-stop for three hours. While most children's museums are multi levels, this is more like a giant long maze, making exploring each room feel like a treasure hunt. Favorite spots included the authentic log cabin complete with life size baby crib and a little play town with cafe, post office, and nature playground. There were lot of places for parents to sit and the whole museum felt relatively low key. The front desk was super nice and reminded us many times that we could come and go as we pleased throughout the day. Since we are American Children's Museum members we got free admission which was a huge added perk. Love being able to learn, explore, and play with my littles all around the US.

Great hands on play for your kids!…read more We were in the area and since it was hot we wanted an indoor activity for our kids. The museum recommends 8 and under. Our kids are 8, 7 and 5. The website does a great job of explaining where to park. We followed our gps and it took us the emergency exit entrance. The entrance is right on the main brick road. The museum will also validate your pass so parking is free. Entering was easy and we let the kids loose. We spent about 2 hours but they could have easily stayed longer. They do not allow food in the museum but you can come and go as you please. Great experience to let your kids explore.

This was such a fun trip. We did the Rock Bottom tour. If you are looking for more than just the…read morewalking tour, this was Great! We did this with our older teen boys and they loved it. You will get dirty so bring clothes you don't mind getting muddy. This was such a great memory!

First time visiting caverns, and it was an amazing experience. A must for anyone that likes caves…read moreand 54°.

This was a little hard to find, especially if you're not from the area like me. I passed it…read moreinitially because of my GPS. But once you see it, the sign is clear as day lol. It's a pretty small museum but it has a lot of stuff inside. It's two trailers, one has donated artifacts from trains and railroads. The other trailer has motorized trains running, and it was amazing. They have about four train cars that you can look at and some you can walk through. They also have a little yellow train that you can ride, depending on the weather. We couldn't ride it today, because it was raining, so that was unfortunate.

Our visit to the Railroad Museum was incredible - we will, undoubtedly, be back! It is entirely…read morerun by volunteers - who are so helpful and friendly that it's impossible not to have a great experience. Our entire family was actually having a not-so-great day (because of some unrelated events) and left there feeling so uplifted and energized... really, though, I have to say that none of us wanted to leave. I also use a wheelchair and they went out of their way to help in anyway they could with accessibility. There is a gravel parking lot - that they hope to pave one day - and ramps to two trailers. They also have a train that can be entered if one can climb stairs. And, they were willing to help me onto the little yellow maintenance car. There are model trains and equipment to view as well as an area for children to play but I thought the best part was actually chatting with the volunteers. Free, but they accept donations.

Bottom Line: A very small museum that takes visitors back in time when beach goers arrived at…read moreChesapeake Beach via rail and gives insight to the resorts and attractions that used to be here. Imagine wearing a wool suit or Victorian dress in the middle of the summer in Washington DC when it was 90 degrees with 100% humidity and air conditioning was very rare. For the middle to upper middle class Washingtonians in the early 1900s a way to beat the heat was by taking a thirty mile train ride to the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay where the water was clear (yes, back then you could be in chest deep water and see your toes) and the breezes were cool. This museum pays tribute to the Chesapeake Beach Railroad that transported beach goers to the Chesapeake Beach resort town from the early 1900s to the 1930s. The museum building itself is the original train station of the Chesapeake Beach Railroad. Before there were cars there was railroads and this station was and is located just a few hundred yards from where the Chesapeake Bay meets the shore. The train station has been restored and consists of a few rooms and the outdoor platform. The museum has lots of old vintage pictures of the train and resort as well as various artifacts, some of which I've captured in my photos: I really enjoyed the roughly 15 minute video about the railway. The video covers the route of the railway including the various stops between DC and the beach. The video also talks about the various locomotives and train cars that served the line. I also enjoyed learning about the building of the track and brides and opposition from the behemoth Pennsylvania Railroad.

The Museum is housed at The Chesapeake Resort and Spa and great for children and adults. The images…read moreand information here is well worth taking a look

Awesome place. Plenty of games to keep you busy, wide variety of machines spanning many decades…read more Pleasant atmosphere.

I ask three things of any arcade: Burger Time? Frogger? Skii / Ice Ball? Decades Arcade has all…read morethree and so much more. Pay for two hours or all day, the games are unlimited turns (free play) within your time slot. We brought three of our kids, teen girls & 21 yr old son, everyone stayed highly entertained, well worth the $60 / 5 people. Staff is fun, informative and friendly. They did not honor my brilliant "if my name starts with Arcade, do get a discount?" pitch, but it's always worth asking, lol. Extremely clean, fully stocked, well lit bathrooms with eco-friendly hand soap and surface cleaner. Vending machines with sodas & seltzer. Comfortable spacing between consoles. I'm so glad that we spent a portion of our afternoon at this wonderful establishment, it was a great way to beat the heat and bond with the kids over video games from when we were children PLUS we got to play the games introduced by their generation. YES: FAMILY FRIENDLY

We've been talking about visiting Weems Botts for years. We finally made the trip and guess what…read moreit was closed! It is closed for renovation until May 17. Unfortunately, this information was not on the website only via the phone advising that the property was under renovations. We did walk around the property which is a nice park. We took pictures in the stockade, read the markers and stood on the porch. So better luck next time.

I really love this little museum, the park, and the amazing historical cemetery right down the…read moreblock. I saw the two 1-star reviews from people that hadn't had the good fortune of actually being able to visit, and since I've taken the tour twice I suppose I too will leave my review. This place is great!!! Incredibly knowledgeable and friendly tour guide/property manager, and the history itself is very interesting. Five stars, and all the thumbs I possess UP.

I really love Maymont Park and will stop here to walk every chance I get. It has parking right…read moreoutside the gate and it's free to just walk right in. I really like how big the park is and that they have an Italian and Japanese specific garden within. This park has so much, from animals to waterfalls, and would be great for photos. It's so easy to find peace here and spend time even just sitting and relaxing. It's the perfect spot for families or to take a date, so you can really have a nice time with anyone. I highly suggest stopping in and getting some zen time.

What a beautiful experience! This park offers a ton of scenery. I enjoyed seeing animals, the…read morepeacefulness and how clean the park is!

Man, I wanted to like this as I am a self-proclaimed Presidential History nerd. However, it is…read morejust land that Monroe once owned because his buddy Tommy Jefferson told him to buy it, sold because he was broke, then the house burnt down years after he left, then someone else built a house here. That's the house you see. Now they do have an outline of the foundation of the house that was once here. So, there is that. Then the new(er) house is full of exhibits on Monroe. Honestly, I am glad I went but if you are pressed for time, it's one you can skip.

Our visit to James Monroe's home was wonderful. Tour Guide Allison and Docent Russell added to…read morethe experience. Both were easy to talk with. They encouraged questions and were happy to not only answer the questions but also added bits of information that they have gained over the years. We give them 10+ stars. Thank you so much. We were happy to add to your donations. June and Craig

Since my last review, I ended up purchasing a family membership to the Children's Science Center…read moreand it is the BEST purchasing decision I have made all year. It's close proximity means that I have a go-to spot to bring the kids on school breaks, rainy days, cold days, or whenever we simply have nothing to do. While there are a few standing exhibits, the staff does a really good job at changing things up (and keeping things topical) so each visit feels special. And the best part... SLIME. We've made slime conductors, spider slime, fluffy slime, snowflake slime, glow-in-the-dark slime .. basically alll the slime. The experiment lab always has a slime option and it is a highlight of every visit. My eldest daughter went from barely reading and needing help at the beginning of our membership to fully reading and creating experiments on her own. It is so much fun to see. For the littles, there is a small playroom with building blocks, magnatiles, books, and those large blue fort/construction material building materials. My two-year old loved spending time in this room but now that she is three she likes making her own hovercrafts and setting them sail in the wind tunnel. The staff is SO kind, SO helpful, and so passionate about what they do. I love how they offer volunteer/internship opportunities to teens and will also set up special traveling science labs to Title I schools. If you are a member you also get discounted or free visits to children's science museums all across the United States which has made this membership 100% worth it for our family. If you are looking for an experience gift to give a little one this year, I highly recommend the Children's Science Center!

Had a great time with my toddler today. She's not quite two so her admission was free and there's a…read more$2 discount for purchasing tickets in advance. I was worried there wouldn't be enough activity for her age but she had a blast playing with exhibits and blocks in the interactive room. She also made "play dough" as an experiment. The staff were all friendly and helpful, we will definitely be back.