A nice local or out of town attraction location. They are always having nice events during the week…read moreand weekends.

Such a nice museum. A little bit of everything and great assortment of dinosaur fossils. Would…read morenever had expected this in Martinsville. Took our Grandson and he really enjoyed it. Also was able to get a free day pass for all of us at the library

Wow! Just WOW! I'm sure glad we didn't miss this in our travels. The museum is a huge private…read morecollection of American history (and some other stuff) in the most intriguing mansion being lovingly restored by the owners. We had the private museum tour (well worth it to learn the history behind all the artifacts and the mansion). We did a paranormal investigation night with the folks from Haunted Night Experience and the Wraith Chasers and serval other professional paranormal investigators. Then, Dinner with a ghost our last night. It was one of the best experiences of my life. (I would drive the 17 hours for that dinner...YUM!). Lots of amazing paranormal activity was experienced and the pros were so awesome in showing us what they do, how they investigate, how they separate the electrical and radio interference from the actual activity and why they do what they do. We drove from central TX to VA for this event and it was well worth it. Even just visiting the museum is worth the stop if you are ever in the area of Wytheville, VA. It's a cute little town too.

This past June, Wytheville got a new museum when private collector John Cushman moved his six…read moredecades worth of uniforms, weapons, photos, flags, drums and so much more from Oregon to Virginia. The Octagon Mansion isn't just infamous for its 8,800 square feet American war memorabilia, locals also say its haunted by the ghost of a little girl who died during the 1950's polio epidemic. Subject of a 1.5 out of 5 star Amazon movie, the house is supposedly plagued by poltergeist activity, apparitions, and disembodied voices.

Delightful and Unexpected:…read more My family and I thoroughly enjoyed our time at Wolf Creek Indian Village and Museum. We pass it every other year on our Ohio/Pennsylvania vacations, and we always joke about visiting. This year we decided to give it go. We were pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed Wolf Creek. The staff is super friendly and our tour guide was exceptionally educated on the site, and you could easily tell that she enjoyed her job. This is a fun and relatively inexpensive way to spend 2 to 3 hours and learn fascinating Native American history

Saturday, April 20th, 2024 (Earth Day Weekend) Showed up…read morelate afternoon so guided tours were over but self guided tour and indoor museum available however we just shopped at the gift shop. The staff were very friendly, professional, knowledgeable, eager to help and had answers for any and all questions. The pottery was stunning, the book selection was great, fun gifts, cool collectible items, handmade jewelry etc We highly recommend this experience to any and all

I was here for the Roanoke Pinball Museum…read morehttps://www.yelp.com/biz/roanoke-pinball-museum-roanoke?hrid=_aVRvVUx4AoYrhkv-k-7Cw but spent some time in the atrium and later at the Candy Store https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-candy-store-roanoke?uid=hWDybu_KvYLSdEFzGrniTw. Roanoke has gathered a number of different experiences into this one location and made it quite special. The Harrison Museum of African-American Culture, Kids Square Museum, Mill Mountain Theatre, Roanoke Pinball Museum, Roanoke STARCADE, and the Science Museum. All with one box office and one central atrium. Converted from an abandoned warehouse, it was initially just the art museum, theatre, history and science museum. But it's expanded its tenants and brought a cultural star to the Star City. Awesomesauce. You might find street parking but you'll probably do better with one of the nearby parking decks. [Review 13799 overall, 1120 of 2020, number 1233 in Virginia.]

Stopped by here on my way to my hotel stay and so glad I did! There is so much inside to explore…read moreand check out! Centrally located within walking distance of tons and tons of stores and shops, restaurants, cafés and hotels. The perfect place to spend a day while on your stay in Roanoke Virginia

I had a day to entertain my two year old by myself in Roanoke. This place was perfect! It was in a…read moregreat location, just down the street from our hotel, so we walked. It was a reasonable price. It was the perfect size for her to get through in two hours. She had a blast going from room to room playing in all the different themes. She loved the playground area for climbing and slides. She also loved the little camping area. The Kroger exhibit was quite a hit as well. I loved that she was learning about all the different trades and burning energy at the same time. I also loved the details they put into each station. The news reporting with the live broadcast and microphones were really fun. The working cash register experience at the Kroger experience was awesome. The black light area was a lot of fun too. I think I had as much fun as she did! Definitely recommend for anyone with a toddler and at least two hours to get through it.

My son absolutely loved this place and there were so many activities to do. It's well worth the $9…read moreper person and the price is nothing at all. You can spend hours in here. There isn't time did mission and you can stay as long as you want. There's activities for just about every interest your child can possibly have, a market place, a salon, trains, jungle gyms, digging, construction, sensory play, a black room, literally everything. The staff keeps it nice and clean, but your expected to clean up after your child as well, of course. There's even a section for kids two and below. The only thing I wasn't really fond of was when we first walked in, the employee was talking to my three year old autistic child, and telling him the rules, which he really doesn't understand, and she was expecting a response back from him. Just because you don't know the nature of younger children, I think it's better to direct rules and everything to parents, so they can direct it to the child.

I'm amazed sometimes by the amount of knowledge one person can accumulate in a lifetime about one…read moreparticular subject. That's what I was thinking during my guided tour of Historic Smithfield, a plantation house turned museum and farm. Our tour guide knew so much about the American Revolution, George Washington, the Civil War and Virginia in general. Plus so much more! He knew everything about the families and enslaved individuals who lived in that house. It was a very informative visit. I'm not even sure you can visit the inside of Smithfield without a guided tour. I should say, though, that although the guided tour was informative, I would suggest it only for adults who might have an interest in history, or people who don't have a short attention span. They cover a lot of information here, and even I was feeling like I was melting down at the end of the tour, because it was just so many facts and we went at a slow pace. So, would I recommend a guided tour for kids? Absolutely not. At least, not my kids or any kids I know. But I would suggest you let kids explore the grounds outside, and say hello to the livestock roaming the fields, and run around the garden. There's a small gift shop with a few snacks and water. The gift shop is also where you purchase admission. There's lots of parking in the gravel parking lot.

What a gem tucked away right next to the VA Tech campus! This is a must visit for history buffs…read morewhen in the area! No longer owned by the APVA, it's a private foundation now I believe, the house has been painstakingly restored and features many pieces owned by the original family. Take the tour! The on-site historian who gives them is clearly passionate and knowledgeable about the history of not only the plantation and Home, but the area as well. I could have listened to her for hours! This is reasonably priced ($8 for adults, but we found a groupon!) and the gift shop has some nice and locally made choices.

Science museum with hands on exhibits and learning for kids!…read moreWe spent a good morning playing with family at the museum. We went to the human body exhibits and the magnatiles, blocks and dino dig upstairs. They also had fish in an aquarium on the ground floor.

This was a really cool museum that my wife found online while planning our trip. We came to Roanoke…read moreon vacation and wanted to go here since it was close by where we were staying. I thoroughly enjoyed the Planetarium. The family really enjoyed the parakeet garden. That was a lot of fun to get that up close and personal with over 250 birds all at one time. I highly recommend this for the kids and some adults might enjoy it as well. They have tons of fun things to do and to learn about.

This is one of my favorite and fondest memories as a child!! I would definitely recommend it to…read moreparents today! My children also had the same experience as well and I believe it was enjoyable for them too!

I am a big fan of caves/caverns so when I see one when I am traveling I try to stop if I can…read more While in West Virginia we were fairly close to Lost Word so we made the stop. The grounds are nice and have places to picnic and there are llamas. There is a gift shop and that is where you enter and exit and get your tickets. The caverns are pretty neat. Not super large or difficult to walk. Just be warned that there can be large school groups that could impact your visit.

From the outside I never expected to see such an amazing variety of quality exhibits highlighting…read moreour nation's transportation history. Located in downtown Roanoke's historic freight station, The Virginia Museum of Transportation does a great job in preserving Virginia's transportation history with a major focus on rail, featuring iconic locomotives like the N&W Class J 611 and Class A 1218. It houses a vast collection of steam, diesel, and electronic locomotives, including famous Roanoke-built engines. The museum offers interactive family-friendly exhibits covering trains, automobiles, and aviation, featuring over 30 antique automobiles, aviation displays, an outside railyard with historical locomotives on the rail, and a U.S. Army Jupiter Rocket. In 2025 it also launched the Maritime Gallery, with the Naval History of Virginia, located on a second floor. There they also have an interesting exhibit of the Circus and America's Railroads. I invite you to view my photographs accompanying this review to get a better sense of the place and its amazing exhibits. The museum also houses the Traveler's Treasures Gift Shop with lots of desired item for sale, such as pins, posters, apparel, wooden trains, hats, toys, books, and tumblers, among other items. These can be also purchased from their website vmt.org Free parking is available for guests immediately adjacent to the museum. Also, cross from the museum is located the award winning Valley Metro Third Street Station, providing convenient bus transportation. Admissions prices are reasonable at $14.77 for adults, and discounted to $12.66 for Youth (13-17), Seniors, and Students with ID (17-59). Children (3-12) pay $10.55, and 2 & under are Free. I highly recommend you visit this museum if you have not yet done so. It is definitely an enriching experience.

Ever see the movie planes, trains and automobiles? Well that's exactly what the Virginia Museum of…read moreTransportation has all under one roof in Roanoke, Virginia. The displays are well done and offer some interactive features. The kids can have a ball getting up close too! Even the gift store was excellent! Made a few purchases. It's a one off for me, but was worth the visit to see the rich history of the railways the Roanoke community has. 4.5 rounding up. I can understand why it's a beloved local attraction.

Such a great space. Very clean to have so many kids in it every day. Very kind and helpful staff…read more Only $3 if you have WIC or nap/ebt! Hours worth of fun inside. You can leave and come back the same day also. We will be back.

Great for young children. I have been to several places like this one (in malls) and this one has…read morehad the least amount of things for kids to do when it comes to variety of hands on task. Benefit of this place, you can come back on the same day and not restricted to a time limit.