Originally appeared in West Ends Best Magazine
Kids love to play and have fun. When given the choice between having fun or learning something, they will almost always choose fun. Just try it. Ask a child, “Would you rather play or do your homework?”
As parents though, we realize the importance of learning. So, how do we get our kids to have fun while learning? It’s not as tricky as you think. Just take a trip to the Science Museum of Virginia! Centrally located at 2500 West Broad Street, it’s just a hop, skip and jump from anywhere in the Richmond metro area.
Says Deputy Director Jack Parry, “We are a family fun outlet. Our experiences inspire life-long interest in learning by allowing play, curiosity and unique opportunities to engage kids of all ages. Where else can you move a 29 ton globe or bounce on the surface of the moon or watch rats play basketball!”
If moving a giant globe, bouncing on the moon or watching rats play basketball isn’t enough for you, visit the Science Museum’s Dinosaurs Alive show, where you’ll witness, up close and personal, the inhabitants of the Triassic and Cretaceous periods as they come alive via computer-generated animation on the larger than life IMAX® screen. You’ll also join renowned paleontologists on screen as they uncover fossils that prove dinosaur descendants are still among us.
A variety of multimedia planetarium shows are also offered in the Ethyl Corporation IMAX® Dome and Planetarium. These educational, yet entertaining shows include astronomy, space and related topics. Currently, the planetarium is showing Icy Worlds, where you’ll learn about dozens of strange, frozen landscapes a billion miles from the sun, just awaiting our exploration.
Are you curious to find out what’s going on up in the sky at this very moment? Then LiveSky is for you. The show takes you on a guided tour of the current night sky and the latest celestial happenings. You’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions of your astronomer host. LiveSky is presented each month on the third Friday of the month.
If there’s a Boy Scout in your life, you’ll want to take them to the special two-hour LiveSky show with museum astronomer Ken Wilson who presents everything Boy Scouts need to know, including star maps and other study guides, to earn their astronomy merit badges.
Also, currently showing in the IMAX® Dome Theater is Coral Reef Adventure, your kids will learn about coral reefs and the worldwide challenge to save them; and Wired to Win, where you’ll discover the thrill of the Tour de France and learn about the wonder of the human brain.
In addition to the special shows offered in the IMAX® Dome and Planetarium, you’ll want to check out the permanent exhibits which include Bioscape, Newton in Space, Computer Bits and Pieces, Crystal World, Electriworks, Space Gallery, and Waves and Patterns, just to name a few.
The Museum also offers, among other things, weekly Science Explorers Summer Camp Programs and Science Saturdays with hands-on activities, science demos, interactive exhibits and more on Saturday afternoons. Visit www.smv.org or call (804) 864-1400 or 1-800-659-1727, for more information on these and other programs.
As you can see, getting your children to learn doesn’t have to be a chore, thanks to the Science Museum of Virginia. When you visit, you and your family will have a great time, but shhh, don’t tell the kids… they’ll also be learning!

2500 W. Broad Street
(in the former Broad Street Union Station)
804 864-1400
www.smv.org