A great children’s museum is a place where any child can learn, play, and be their authentic selves. Here in Charlottesville, we are lucky enough to have the Virginia Discovery Museum, where kids of all ages can use their imagination alongside friends and family to create a world that’s all their own and learn about the one we live in now!
About The Virginia Discovery Museum
The Virginia Discovery Museum (VDM) has been a beloved Charlottesville location for over 40 years, originally established in 1981 as a group of traveling exhibits. Its popularity helped it find a permanent home in its current location on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall, where it has been since 1990.
Today, VDM is an independent nonprofit organization that aims to foster “intellectual curiosity and development for all children of our community.” They work hard to instill a love of learning in all their young visitors, promoting a lifelong love of learning and providing all kids in the community a space where kids from diverse economic and cultural backgrounds can gather to explore, imagine, and discover together.
The organization’s love of Charlottesville stretches beyond the museum’s walls. They have worked hard to increase outreach to low-income families in the community and forged deeper relationships with area schools and educational institutions. While people from all over the state and country visit VDM, the heart of their organization is still Charlottesville and the children who call it home.
Fun Things To Do
The Virginia Discovery Museum’s exhibits follow a free-flowing floor plan with 15 hands-on play areas and exhibits. Each exhibit engages kids cognitively, physically, and socially so they constantly learn as they play and explore. You’ll love watching them discover new wonders of the world around them, and they’ll love having fun, using their imagination, and trying new things!
Their exhibits include several different STEM labs that explore different elements of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, including:
- Amazing Airways, which sends colorful balls whooshing through a massive pneumatic air system of tubes, and
- the Flight Lab, which encourages kids to explore the principles of flight, drag, lift, and air pressure.
If building and science are your kid’s jam, they’ll love Automoblox, which lets them build a customized car piece by piece and then race it down ramps and slopes as they explore mass, force, friction, and motion.
The Showalter Cabin lets guests travel back in time to the 18th century as if they were living in a rustic cabin in the wilderness of Virginia. The cabin itself was originally built in Rockingham County in the 1700s. It was transferred to the Museum when it opened at its current location!
Artsy kids will love the Creation Station, which is open for coloring and craft of the week projects. Those drawn to music will have a blast experiencing vibrations and discovering how they translate into music, using cymbals, triangles, tambourines, maracas, and other musical instruments!
One of their most popular exhibits allows your kiddos to stretch their imagination in Little C’Ville, a town not too unlike our own that allows them to work as postal workers, a doctor, a chef, and so much more!
Specialty
While there are plenty of exhibits that little ones will find entertaining, the Sensory Studio is a safe and calming room for VDM’s smallest visitors and those who may need a quieter space to explore gross and fine motor skills. It’s the perfect spot for sensory-friendly guests, too, who may need a few moments away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the museum.
Virginia Discovery Museum
The Virginia Discovery Museum is the perfect place to let your kids explore and learn in a safe environment designed just for them! Be sure to plan your next visit soon. Prepare for lots of laughter and smiles.
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