Children Are First at the New CMOR-Short Pump
My five year old son Blake and I decided to go undercover yesterday and check out the newest hot spot for VA families with young children; The Children's Museum of Richmond in Short Pump. We have always been fans of the museum downtown. Blake's first Christmas picture was with the Legendary Santa, and the recent Mr. Steve concert was enough to make my son boogy and his mommy swoon. 
With the addition of this new location, CMOR has really outdone themselves again. Just to say it was great doesn't do it justice, so I'm going take you on a picture tour, and when we're done I guarantee you'll be saying "Family Membership please."
Walking into the museum is like walking into a fairytale....literally. The first things you see are a giant pirate ship, a castle, and a safari train. Of course, the first thing I saw was the adorable gift shop. Which one did we go to first? The bathroom of course! We stopped for a Happy Meal and chocolate milk on the way in and...well, I'm sure I don't need to explain that my 5 yr old was seriously happy about the conveniently located restroom towards the front of the museum. 
After taking care of business, my son made a bee-line for the berry bushes. 
If you have been to the location downtown, the berry bushes are similar to the apple tree, on a much smaller scale. My son kept going back to fill his basket up with berries, pour them back in, and start all over again...and again...and again...hey, he was happy and entertained for almost 30 minutes. Who am I to complain?
Eventually we moved on to play with the cool pirate ship and ride the safari train. We also enjoyed Jack's Beanstalk climbing area and a sand box..or rather I should say a really neat box full of tiny pieces of recylced rubber the color of sand. 
By this time I was dying to go into what I knew would be my favorite area; the Art Studio. 
I was not disappointed. As soon as we walked in, I wanted to call a moving company and make it my permanent residence. Every art material you can think of was available for chidren to create anything their little hearts desired. I wanted to stand at an easel, put an apron on and paint a beautiful picture of a stick family with flowers and rainbows. Unfortunately my son does not enjoy art. I have to bribe him to color a picture for me with crayons. He looked around briefly and asked if we could go back to the berry bushes. With a longing sigh I took a few pictures and left the easels and paint behind. 
Our last stop was the water play area. Blake was thrilled and so was I, because the water tables are very cleverly placed next to the gift shop. 
I could shop while watching him play to his heart's content. They even have a dollar section for kid's to pick out something affordable and fun to help them remember their trip to the museum. 
Sadly, it was then time to go home, but we'll be back. We purchased a Family Membership, and we definitely intend to get our money's worth. Play-date anyone?
