virginia discovery museum

We have a pass to the museum (mostly so on vacations we can get into other ones too). My kids are 1, 3, and 5 and we go about once a week. My 5 year old really loves the Thursday afternoon Science Club at 4pm. The stations don't change very often and in comparison to other children's museums this one is just average but it's pretty great all the same.

We have attended several birthday parties there and overall they were quite fun for the children of 5+ old. The museum overall is great fun though a bit aged- but the children love the activities!! and is located right on the Mall for shopping and eating out.

We were disappointed when we were all herded to a big yellow school bus for the drive around Charlottesville to view the holiday lights. I thought we would travel the route in the Trolleys the have that go around the city. The seating was horrible and a small child standing on the seat behind us sneezed all over the backs of our heads. Most of the light we poor and the last stop was the only one worth seeing. This tour need to be thought out a little better if they do it next year.

This place is great for kids. It's not super new or formally educational, but it's REALLY hands-on and kids truly have fun. I hate the museums that force "educational" information the whole time. It's not like the DC children's museum in that way at all. My son (18 mo) loves the train table, car-creating station, air tunnels, and real beehive best. We bought the year pass (which works at tons of other museums around the US and internationally) only 2 weeks ago and it's already paid for itself with the number of times we've been. Totally worth checking out!

Museum has some changing displays and hands on things for little ones to do. Grandparents seem to enjoy taking the little ones for an hour or more.

We always bring grandkids, nieces and nephews and they have all had a blast! It is educational as well with a little something for everyone, even the adults have fun!

*TIP: We got free passes by signing up for them on jmrl.org. SUCH a great resource, and it was so nice for the whole family to go for free since I think we will get more out of it later...I recommend you request the passes online, and then get them from your local library once they become available to you.We brought our 18 month old daughter here, and it was a fun experience! I think it is probably better for kids 3+, but she got something out of it. The garden area where the kids can pick the vegetables was super cute, and we also loved the really cool tube structure (kind of like what hamsters play in) that would spit out the balls at the front window when you walk in. The mini "Panera" at the back was also so adorable, but again, our daughter was a little young for that. We were also impressed with the beehive where you can watch the bees flying in and out and making honey. All in all, a great place to explore in downtown C'Ville.

Great place to take the children, whether it be a one time visit, or, a membership, children, play, while learning. Staff, hands-on activities, available to answer questions. FYI> The staff, are not child-sitters.

Come play with your children as they learn through hands on activities. Great set-ups, interesting topics, and friendly people working there. It is also centrally located so it is a good place to hang out for a day and then grab a bit to eat, and stroll down the mall pedestrain walkway.

It is a great location for kids to release energy while learning. The museum is designed to also teach families about the area and its history.

We drove from Fredericksburg to go to Carpe Donut (yum, yum), go to the children's museum, walk the pedestrian mall and eat at Citizen Burger Bar (SO good!) Okay, so not our healthiest day but we did some walking.The Discovery Museum, itself, would have been worth the 60 mile trip! Our 3 1/2 yr. old and 16 mo. old loved it. We spent close to 3 hours here. Its very hands on and so much to do and play with. Our children loved the vacuum tubes; car & ramp activity; tree house seat in the reading room; ship and slide in the toddler room; log cabin; garden; alphabet hallway (buttons to push to hear the letters and numbers' names); train tables; dress up area and Panera Bread Shop. See, so much to and I didn't even name everything! I do think our experience was even better because we went on a Tuesday afternoon during the school year and it was not busy at all. When more people entered around the 3 o'clock/school dismissal hour, we just headed to the back and spent time playing pretend and with trains and once again had most of that part of the museum to ourselves. Also, its easy to bring a stroller in and park it in the coat room. There is no place to eat so don't plan on packing a lunch or bringing snacks but its right in the pedestrian mall area so you can easily get your hand stamped, leave to eat and return for more fun.I was on their FB page the night before we went and found a posting about Groupon. I bought the Groupon for 4 admissions for $12 (half price!) and since they are good until July 2014 I'm thinking of going back to buy 4 more. Either way, its absolutely worth the $6 admission and if we lived closer I would be buying a family pass. I would say its best suited for the 10 and under crowd with optimal enjoyment for the 1-6 yr. old age group. The staff was friendly and helpful. Thanks for a great time! We will be traveling back to Charlottesville to enjoy the good eats and fun play!

My son and I visited C'ville for a boys weekend and at three, he wasn't into late night music...so we came to VADM and had a blast.The staff was so friendly and the activities were wonderful, interactive and well-kept. There was a party going on and it was easily infused with the activities of the general public.From the air tubes, to the historic cabin and garden, this place was so fun for us. We made race cars and raced them down the track...not sure who liked it more, him or me.A great activity for families with kids and so convenient to the C'ville Downtown Mall...they even validate parking at the garage right across the Mall! What a deal. In total, we spent $12...what a value!

To be honest a little disappointed in the museum aspect. It is definitely geared to the 2-4 year old set. Most of the exhibits were extremely low tech and the museum is small and our experience coincided with seemingly 100 kids in the same morning. Our 3 year old was in and out in 30 minutes. The poster that stated the setting was almost day care like is pretty much spot on. I felt as if it was a place to take your toddler to expend some energy in between shopping at the downtown shops.

educational hands -on fun for the family. Love that this organization partners with local businesses and community volunteers to build such a wonderful opportunity and experience! The Little C-ville was just the right size for the children to experience Charlottesville on a different level. The live honey bee exhibit is fascinating for all ages! There is parking at two different parking garages.

My middle grandson loves visiting the VA Discovery Museum. He can't wait to go back, to climb up the steps to the cabin loft, try to catch scarfs he puts in the giant blower and build his own race care. My only complaint is sometimes there are older kids that are not well supervised by their parents.