Richmond, VA Indoor Activities

One of the Science Museum of Virginia’s current exhibits includes a few basketball players—just don’t expect LeBron James or Kobe Bryant. These basketball players are two rats, playing a live one-on-one game to demonstrate operant and classical conditioning. Throughout the three-story museum, more hands-on examples of science await at five permanent exhibits. Inspect a rock from the moon, explore a life-size space capsule, and generate energy by pedaling a stationary bike. Kids can even build their own playground with materials such as mats and foam blocks.

Inside the IMAX Dome, a screen 10 times the size of a typical 35 mm screen shows a wide range of educational films. Outside the museum, plants in the BayScapes Garden thrive without pesticide, fertilizer, or the encouragement of a motivational speaker, and an onsite greenhouse offers free planting areas for visitors to contribute greenery and learn about sustainable farming.

In 1997, Nancy Glenmore Tatum and Kevin Casey founded Glenmore Yoga & Wellness Center in their house's sunroom. Their operation's therapeutic blend of yoga, massage, and consultation services attracted a wide enough student base to necessitate three expansions, and Nancy and Kevin eventually settled in the Glen Eagles Shopping Center. They still uphold a central belief that "yoga is for everyone," and have upheld that philosophy by building a time machine to let the late Ben Franklin participate. Nancy and Kevin have also cultivated a nurturing community with resources such as workshops and teacher training that promote its growth.

The center's impressive roster of yoga classes covers the flowing Vinyasa poses as well as specialty courses for prenatal mothers, older adults, and kids. Every class pays attention to the individual needs of its students, just as the massage services modify their kneads to better treat specific tensions. A calming interior contributes to Glenmore's warm ambiance: two carpeted studios, a massage room, and a lounge accommodate its guests. Students can also borrow the yoga books and videos of the lending library, so long as they turn in their senses of balance as collateral.

Edgar Allan Poe holds a distinguished reputation in American literature, given his proclivity for dark work, such as “The Raven” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.” But the Poe of legend is often at odds with the real Poe: the student who had to gamble and burn his furniture to make it through college; the career man who traveled extensively to find better opportunities; and the devoted husband who never recovered from the death of his wife. He even enrolled at West Point … though he was thrown out eight months later.

The Poe Museum educates guests on the writer's life, helping them reconcile the reputed Poe with the real Poe. Located within the Old Stone House that lies just blocks from Poe's first Richmond home and his first employer, the Southern Literary Messenger, the museum showcases exhibits and significant artifacts, such as Poe's walking stick, his boyhood bed, and even a lock of his hair. This collection reveals his journey, showing what drove him to become a master writer of short stories, lyric poetry, action-movie screenplays, and, of course, horror stories.

A parade of thoroughbreds approaches the starting gate, each steed jabbing the grass with its hooves as it prepares for the gun to sound. Meanwhile, from their seats in the grandstands or within the air-conditioned dining room, spectators get their first clear look at the pre-race procession, quickly making the final judgments (Which horse is the most physically imposing? Which one looks determined to win? Which jockey has the coolest hat?) they need before placing a wager. Finally, the gates swing open, and they're off.

Home of the Virginia Derby, Colonial Downs Racetrack upholds the age-old Southern tradition of horseracing with a pair of impressive tracks. Measuring at 1.25 miles, the dirt track is the second largest in the country—dwarfed only by Belmont Park—though most thoroughbred races take place on the Secretariat Turf Track, the widest grass track in all of North America. As Virginia's only site for pari-mutuel betting, Colonial Downs attracts droves of racing fans and wandering derby hats throughout the season. Once inside the gates, visitors can enjoy the sights and sounds from the outdoor grandstand or relax in one of Colonial Downs' club and suite seating options, most of which offer dining and betting services, TVs linked to off-track races, and unobstructed birds-eye views of either track outside.

Having stood its ground against those who wanted to tear it down, Wilton House serves as a symbol of the Colonial American spirit in more ways than one. Built in 1753 as the main house on a 2,000-acre plantation, the structure serves as a steadfast example of Georgian architecture. It’s the home of more than 1,400 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century objects and artifacts, including documents signed by founding fathers and US presidents. Wilton even played host to the likes of Thomas Jefferson, the Marquis de Lafayette, George Washington, and George Washington’s white-wig-wearing foxhound. In addition to daily tours, the museum staff hosts events, such as lecture series, concerts, and seasonal exhibits.

Rare-breed horses trot down green, tree-dappled streets, past rustic wood and brick buildings. As cracking drums and chirping fifes echo off ancient streets and the gnarled trunks of trees, a solider in a red jacket, boots, and military epaulets addresses a group of visitors clad in baseball caps and T-shirts. The historical interpreters and other staff of Colonial Williamsburg bring the restored 18th-century town's history into the modern era through live demonstrations, walking tours, and educational programs. The living museum town sprawls across a 301-acre Revolutionary City, which encompasses designated historic structures such as the opulent Governor's Palace, Capitol building, and Magazine, many of which are perched atop their original foundations. Within some buildings, interpreters explain the significance of various period furnishings such as medicine cabinets and original 1770s Twister mats.

Visitors can witness live demonstrations of blacksmithing, shoemaking, and carpentry in Williamsburg's 19 historic trades shops, or traverse galleries inside DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, and Bassett Hall. In warmer weather, the Revolutionary City's manicured gardens bloom with period-appropriate plantings, and a garden maze confounds explorers with winding hedges and resident gnomes who insist on reading maps upside down. On tours, guides lead visitors through archaeological collections or into a reenacted courtroom session, and at Great Hopes Plantation, interpreters provide glimpses into the lives and plight of African-American slaves. Other seasonal activities span hands-on children's programs, Revolutionary War reenactments, and fife and drum performances.