Science Museum of Virginia

2500 W Broad St, Richmond, VA 23220, USA

Address:	2500 W Broad St, Richmond, VA 23220, USA
Phone:	+1 804-864-1400
Site:	smv.org
Rating:	4.5
Working:	Closed 9:30AM–5PM 9:30AM–5PM 9:30AM–5PM 9:30AM–5PM 9:30AM–5PM 11:30AM–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 8

Kat M

During our Summer vacation trip to Virginia, my husband and I make it a tradition to bring our three teens to an educational or historical place and the Science Museum of Virginia was on our bucket list. In short, it was not without its positives and negatives, but it definitely was worth the time. Along with the ticket entry fee, we also opted to see the Dome Theater Show about the different weather on each planet and most appreciatively they offered us a military discount. When we first visited the museum, we were welcomed by some amazing Earth sculptures in the front of the building. These sculptures spun slowly from the force of the water and the information gave us some insights as to the distance of the Earth to the Sun. Upon entering the museum, there was a swinging pendulum in the center of the vaulted entry that showed the entire map of the world. Then the first room past the ticket area was filled with information, examples, and real time interactivity on speed and motion. This room displayed an amazing shell of the SR-71 Blackbird supersonic jet. It was rather breath taking to us as we were prior Air Force and take pride in such amazing aircraft. We were also able to experience the feel of various different hurricanes through a wind tunnel and we even challenged a robot to some air hockey. You can see the video of our game from our travel blog in my profile. Moving further into the museum we saw how much mobile technology and social media had changed from then to now. It was a perfect example of how speed through the wires has advanced over time. The amount of people who are using these devices and accessing social media networks is mind numbing and yet a bit frightening as to how much we depend on these. We made our way through the museum in a little under 65 minutes before reaching the Dome Theater. The Dome features live astronomy presentations, Cosmic Expeditions, and Giant Screen Movies on the most technologically advanced digital dome theater in the world. The theater had a concession stand where we bought popcorn, snacks, and drinks before getting in line to watch the show. The show itself was quite educational and very motion strong. Since I have motion sickness and equilibrium issues, I found myself looking away every now and then as the Dome provides a virtual reality effect of space travel. If you have any similar issues, I would recommend passing up on the Dome Theater. The museum is smaller than some of the other museums we have been through, but it was quick enough for us to learn quite a few new discoveries and have time left over in the day to move onto something else.

A Private User

This science museum is an excellent place to spend a day with kids of a wide variety of ages. Our two science-oriented boys are 13 and 15, but there are many activities for younger chidren also. We thought we would be there a couple of hours, but we ended up staying most of the day. They have an expansion in progress, and when that is complete, SVM might even beat our current favorite science center, OMSI in Portland. Their staff were extremely helpful, friendly, and flexible - when we were there, school was still in session in Richmond, so the facility wasnt busy and they did two demonstrations off-schedule just because we asked them when they would be occurring. They have a Segway that they taught us how to ride (awesome!) and they have a rat-training demonstration, magic/optical illusion demonstration, and others too. Our favorite exhibits were Newton in Space, Seeing Things, Matter & Molecules, and Electriworks. The outdoor exhibits of the Aluminaut and Steam locomotive were cool too. (Thanks SVM for keeping the train station platforms, too!) Trivia - the Earth Kugel sitting in front of the museum s a replacement kugel. The original one was the biggest kugel of granite in the world, but it started cracking soon after installation and now sits out back at the "Track level" where you can see the crack that goes all the way around it. The new kugel is fine, but its cool to be able to see the original one too. (Thanks to wikipedia for this information.) The Cafe Portico even had a few tasty items that satisfied our vegetarian lunchtime appetites. (They serve Starbucks too.) Highly recommended!!!

James DeSchinckel

My 14 year old son and I really enjoyed the Speed and Boost exhibits, which were both well done, but that was about it. The steam engine and the bathyscaphe were kinda wasted out back with no signage, I had to look up its history (which was interesting) on my phone. It looked like they had a bunch of good summer program things going on for local kids and a teen maker lab. It also looks like they are adding on a major DaVinci exhibit as well but, as it stands now, $14 a head was steep for a tourist drop-in visit. If the Imax dome show were included with admission it would have been better value for money.

A Private User

The building architecture is a marvel. Stunning. Almost worth the $10 ticket alone. Whats inside, however, is the equivalent of a 1980s PBS special. My wife and I were extremely disappointed to find outdated and drab exhibits. The information was interesting, but presented very poorly. Most of the interactive ones didnt even work. Doesnt look like theyve tried to update the museum since it opened. I see people writing about this place being great for kids. But every kid I saw appeared to be bored out of his/her mind. If youre going to do it, do only the IMAX.

A Private User

I fail to see the attraction of the Science Museum of VA. I was there last week with my 10 y/o niece, my sister and my mother. Several of the exhibits didnt work or were under construction. Several in the MAPS section were not user friendly and most were boring, even to my niece. For the amount of money spent to see the museum, we were greatly disappointed. I will not suggest it as a "must see" for anyone visiting me again. I went there several years ago with 2 of my nephews and there were several fun exhibits then, but it seems to have gone down hill.

Toni Stovall

While best suited for youngsters, there are definitely interesting and fun things for adults as well. Parking is sufficient, though slightly cumbersome since it shares space with a neighboring similar venue. Pricing is decent. There are free lockers, which is a plus, and clean restrooms. The elevators are cool too! For us, the outdoors train wasnt thrilling and the fountain balls outside were initially a mystery (it could use better explanation). Worth visiting if you have kids with you. For a fun date, I wouldnt use this as a top choice-try the art museum.

Anna Driscoll

Weve been members here for a while and have found our membership to be very well worth it. We (my husband and I and 5 and 7 year old boys) have seen all of the demonstrations (cow eye, sheep heart dissections etc). And have hit all of the exhibits at least twice. We homeschool, so the exhibits offer a great way to spark interest in a particular topic or to drive home a concept in a concrete fashion. The SPEED exhibit in the main hall is worth the stop, whether you have kids or not. Its one of the coolest things to see in Richmond, right now.

Nathaniel Norman

It definitely skews towards kids. But my 19 year old son and I had a good time looking at the exhibits. And despite having learned relativity on multiple occasions in my life, I found the relativity exhibit to be very informative. The current DaVinci exhibit is definitely not kid oriented. It was interesting. But about three and a half hours is all I can take of absorbing information. Its a little pricey in my opinion, but then I grew up in DC where all the museums were free! Definitely worth a visit!