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.

Days before D-Day, a secret message from the Japanese Ambassador was decoded in Vint Hill, a former…read moreU.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command. The Japanese Ambassador was in Berlin, and had the power to get a meeting with Adolf Hitler. The U.S. gets this message and it gets sent to Eisenhower's staff. This message changed the U.S.' move. To buy time in Normandy for a few weeks, the U.S. puts on a fake ghost war, playing up Hitler's belief that Colette was significant. Fake tanks, commands and signals were staged. Germans in England who sided with allies played Hitler reinforcing Colette on purpose. (Last image is from this ghost war.) The impact of D-Day can be traced here. Very cool learning about cryptography and geospatial intelligence in the Cold War.

Happened upon this by complete happy accident and I cannot be more thankful to have discovered…read moreit!!!! Walking in we were immediately greeted by a delightful gentlemen who I unfortunately couldn't catch his name, that's on me he said it twice but I was so overwhelmed walking in! He took the time to explain exactly where everything was, what room included what, and what the key spots were. We only had a very limited time to poke around so I didn't even get to go upstairs unfortunately :( I was thrilled to see that they had merchandise, so we grabbed two amazing shirts that I've already worn. Clayton was incredibly charming ringing us up. His delightful jokes and willingness to put up with me going back and forth between sizes for 10 minutes still brings a smile to my face. I am so desperate to come back now that I know it is so close to DC (under an hour). Again, everyone was so kind and funny and just amazing and there was soooo much to look at. 10000/10, counting the days until I can come back!!!!

I brought my 6-year-old twin grandsons here and they had a blast. There are a lot of fun things…read morefor the kids to do, and the place is small enough to be manageable. it is well organized and kept clean. The rules require socks for kids and either socks or shoe coverings for adults. Make sure the socks have rubber things on the bottom if you think you will be in the disco room, as the floor is slippery. I highly recommend this place for some wholesome fun!

So much fun. Every detail AMAZING! We signed up for an hour and had so much fun we extended to…read more2!! Great Creative active play.!!! Not I front of a tv!!! Loved it!!!

OK. So for the record, it is very much overpriced And they…read moredon't take ACM reciprocity for other museum members, so that was a huge let down. That being said, they have a decent amount of activities, and my kid was never bored. There were a lot of different activities for kids of varying ages. The little brothers and the younger brother won't be bored. On top of that it's right next to the National Mall, so... four stars.

We went specifically for the Curious George Exhibit. It was underwhelming at best…read more The Children's Museum is located downtown, so you can only imagine how parking can be. There is a garage underneath the building and no there is no discounts for attending the museum. In my opinion, the space isn't very big and I was a bit disappointed with how it is kept up. Some of the installations did not work and there didn't appear to be enough staff available to keep up with items that are running low. Can't say it was the best experience and I doubt we will be returning.

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 a nice small museum, mostly entertaining for young kids. The ticket price was cheap for…read moreboth adults and kids ($10). They had four floor, with part of top floor having an open terrace with some toys in it. Alongside museum, they also had summer camp and activity classes. The first floor had the reception desk, small gift shop, obstacle course, and a plasma sphere that really passed electric shock, we felt it in our fingers lol. Second and third floors had lots of play space for kids. Fourth floor had few things around space. All the staff members were very friendly. Most of the area of was clean and maintained. We spent about an hour here. Seemed really popular with locals as many families were there with their kids.

This discovery center located across from Old Town Winchester. Meter parking. They have 4 floors…read moreand a rooftop playground. Good view to the city. There's literally no tall buildings anywhere. Hands on activities and make believe sets. It is more for younger children. We were there for about 1 hr. It's not very big. But the admission fee is not too bad. $10/person. Kids younger than 2 are free.

This museum was so nice! We took our toddler here and he loved it. There are two floors with plenty…read moreto do. What struck me is how clean and new everything looked. The price was reasonable and the tickets are for all day. Would definitely recommend this place if you're in Harrisonburg with kids.

I am visiting the area and kept missing the turn for parking , so if this helps anyone who is…read moreslower like me, park on the left side of the building (facing the building). Haha tons of parking there. The place itself is so fun, lots to do for kids. There are three levels but only the first two were opened. Very clean which is my favorite part. Reasonable ticket prices as well!

I came back to host a birthday party. For any parent, looking for a party venue for their child I…read morehighly recommend this place. I booked the option two party about three months in advance. What's great is that you just select a theme from the pictures they have they send you a digital invite to send out and as you get close to the party date, they'll confirm the theme and give you an idea of what the schedule is. That's it that's literally all you have to do. Honestly, if you were to just walk in the door without anything in hand other than a child, your 90 minute birthday party would go off without a hitch. They had the cupcakes, the utensils, the balloons, the beautiful room set up and they had the goodie bags. Honestly, a lot of the parents gave us a compliment on organizing the party and how much fun they had and I felt weird taking any credit for it. We had an assigned party planner that was very invested in making sure everything was running on time and that the room was set up perfectly to our needs. And at the end of the party, they packed everything up for you. What's wild is they actually packed everything back in the original containers organized and ready to go. And then these poor people had to re-organize all the toys that our party had demolished and dragged a different corners of the room all within 30 minutes. I hate planning, and hosting events gives me a lot of anxiety, so to have a party go off successfully with my minimal involvement is amazing.

Celebrated my son's 6th birthday and it was so much fun. The room was really clean and staff were…read morefriendly. They helped with decorating, singing happy birthday, and cutting the cake. Thank you! My son and his friends had a great time.

What a cool place to play for kids! Came here for a kid's birthday party, and my son had such an…read moreawesome time! This is one of the coolest children's museum play spot that I've ever been to. The details inside are so cool!

Came to check out this amazing spot for families and the kids loved it! Large space with plenty of…read moreareas for kids to explore. Entire space was very clean and staff were attentive . Cute front room with great toys to purchase. Also another private room area for parties. Plenty of parking available in the shopping center. Will be back for more fun!

We held a party at Urban Air Gainesville on their opening day, and while the experience started off…read morewith a lot of frustration, I want to commend the way it ended Thanks to the owner, Dante. Leading up to the party, communication was very poor. Despite having placed a deposit well in advance and receiving confirmation that the party would be held on opening day, we didn't hear anything back until the day before. This is far too late for anyone trying to organize a special celebration. One of the representatives even turned off her phone when asked to confirm basic things she had previously promised, like goodie bags. In the end, we were told they wouldn't be provided. On the day of the event, there were several missteps: food we brought for kids with allergies was taken to the kitchen to be warmed and never came back. Decorations weren't done as expected either. It felt like everything was going wrong. However, Dante, the owner, truly stepped up. He found goodie bags at the last minute, offered free allergen free pizzas to make up for the missing food, and even comped mini melts for the kids. He was present, responsive, and genuinely did everything he could to turn a chaotic situation into a fun and positive one. Thanks to his efforts, the kids had a great time, & we were so happy, and in the end, that's what mattered most. I'm hopeful that with time and experience, the Gainesville location will work through its growing pains. Dante's commitment to customer satisfaction gives me confidence that they will. Thanks Dante!

This was, without question, the worst customer service experience I've ever had--not just locally,…read morebut anywhere I've traveled in the U.S. or abroad. We chose Urban Air based on the activities and attractions that were advertised. Unfortunately, many of those attractions were unavailable during our visit. When I asked why, the manager explained that they were "short staffed" and that this was directed by corporate. Had this been communicated before we paid, we would have made a different decision. What made the experience especially disappointing was that we paid for services and attractions that were not actually available. We spent much of our visit standing in long lines or waiting, only to discover that attractions were closed or not operating. Members of our party became exhausted from the repeated delays, and the overall experience was frustrating from beginning to end. The problems didn't stop there. From check-in onward, nearly every interaction was disorganized, and several staff members were dismissive and unhelpful when we tried to address the issues. We repeatedly gave the staff opportunities to correct the situation, but each opportunity was met with another disappointment. The most upsetting part is that this was supposed to be a special day with my daughter. Instead, it became an experience neither of us will forget--for all the wrong reasons. My advice to other families is simple: before purchasing tickets or booking an event, ask specifically which attractions are operating that day and whether any are closed due to staffing--better yet, find someplace else. I wish we had been given that information before paying.