Hi I am traveling to Richmond next week and will be there the whole month of March! I am needing activities/baby family friendly places to take my children to during the day while my husband is at work. Any ideas?? Please send them in... I have never been here and I want them to learn and have fun while we are away from home (Oklahoma)
Thanks,
C.
Thank you all for your advice. It would be nice to know what your days are like in Richmond with small children, what are they involved in? In Tulsa we go to the library, mall, aquarium, zoo, Pump it Up, parks. Are there any Chick fil A's in Richmond? My kids love chick fil A... story times?? Places that are friendly to nursing mamas?? :) Thanks so much for your advice...
I recommend the Childrens Museum of Richmond http://www.c-mor.org/. I also take my kids to the Playroom http://www.the-playroom.com/, and sometimes to one of the area malls (such as Chesterfield Town Center, or Willow Lawn) to play in the kids areas.
If the weather is pretty, you should see Maymont Park http://www.maymont.org/, and the Richmond zoo http://www.metrorichmondzoo.com/.
Enjoy your visit to Richmond!!
The Playroom is great and also a newer place in Midlothian called Itz Party time. Both places have websites you can check out. Both are fairly cheap. My son is 2 and LOVES the playroom. He gets to run around and play with a ton of toys. The Children's Museum is fun. For me it is a little pricey so if you go, you want to go for the day. If the weather is nice, I would try the zoo (it's in midlothian) your kids will get to feed giraffes and other animals. It is not too big but large enough for your family to have a good time. Maymont is also great fun. They have an animal barn as well so if your kids like to pet and feed animals, they will love it there. Hope you have a great time in Midlothian/Richmond. We moved here from TX 2 years ago and VA has been pretty family friendly.
Hi C.,
There are plenty of things to do here in Richmond - especially for the kids. Here are just to name a few:
a) Children's Museum/Science Museum (on Broad St)
b) Maymont Park (animal farm,nice park for picnic too - close to U of Richmond/Fan area) Our fav park!
c) Richmond Zoo (down in Chesterfield)
d) Jamestown (about 1hr drive away in Willimasburg, VA)
e) Water Country Park (indoor water park in Williamsburg, VA)
f) Kings Dominion (about 30mins drive from Richmond, on I95North towards DC)
g) The Playroom - indoor play area in North Side as well as in Chesterfield
h) Sherandoah Lake/Charlottesville, VA - about an hour or 90mins drive west of Richmond. Take 64West towards Charlottesville, VA)
i) Short Pump Mall - big outdoor area and has good indoor playground
j) Stony Point Mall - another major mall here in Richmond
- I'd normally go to the mall if the weather sucks outside. Just to let our daughter burn her energy, while I can do my window shopping too! :)
I think that is plenty to keep you busy during the day and weekend. Hope you guys have a great time and welcome to Richmond (in advance!)
- R. D.
About me: Hubby and I work fulltime in IT industry, we have a 4yr old daughter in preschool. Hubby, born and raised here whereas I moved to Richmond from Singapore in 2000 - love Richmond to death! People here are wonderful, and it's a nice place to raise a family. We're so close to the mountains, beach, parks, major mall, etc. Not complaining a single bit!
We have lots of great things to do here in Richmond! There are 2 museums that are side-by-side on Broad Street (downtown). One is called the Children's Museum -- all of your children will love this one! There's even a small gated off area for the youngest to enjoy spending time with you. Next door is the Science Museum. The 5 year old will love it, the 2 year old will enjoy it!
At 2 local malls there are play areas -- one is at Chesterfield Mall (south of Richmond, in Chesterfield County). The other is at Regency Mall (west of Richmond, in Henrico County). Both are very easy to get to.
There are always LOTS of special events as well. There are always book readings at the local libraries and bookstores. Look for a newspaper called "Parents Magazine" at the grocery store or maybe at your hotel. You might look for it online, I don't know if they have anything listed online or not.
Also, we have the local zoo. It's called the Richmond Metro Zoo. It's not tiny, but it's not huge either. They have a decent collection of animals - lots of monkeys. I think the highlight would be the giraffes. Warn your children ahead of time that they can feed them -- but they are face to face with them. My 3 year old finds them intimidating. He doesn't like being that up close. But you don't have to be, you can look at them from afar.
We also have the typical "Romp and Roll", "My Gym", "Little Gym" where you can sign up and pay a membership fee to play or interact with your children. There's also a placed called The Playroom. THere are 2 locations. You pay to play for the day. THe one in Chesterfield (on Hull st. and Courthouse) has play areas for smaller children as well as inflatables for older children.
I hope all this helps. If I think of anything else, I'll post.
Richmond can be intimidating, but once you get the hang of the interstates, it's very easy. Also, your main highways to get out of the city will be Broad Street, Hull Street, Midlothian Turnpike, Rt 288, etc.
Do you know what part of Richmond you will be staying in? Downtown or in the suburbs?
Good luck! Keep posting if you have more questions.
R E
Richmond's great. Try Maymount park, Carytown, Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, Canal Walk and Meadow Farm Park. For indoor stuff, there's a place called All Fired Up in Carytown (small part of Richmond...very eclectic). You can paint your own pottery. There's also a Little Gym and Romp and Roll. I hope you have fun and enjoy our town!
