The Hampton Roads Naval Museum isn't a place that most people would associate with kids, but they actually do a lot of outreach for children. They host FREE in-house field trips for local schools (tell your elementary-high school kid's teacher!), and their museum is always free. They do have a small craft area in the museum, but as you might imagine the naval history of Norfolk is... well.... full of information and old artifacts. However, the museum hosts some events that are totally for kids (and adults) to explore.
Yesterday's event, Brick By Brick, had legos as simple as the duplos all the way up to as advanced as computer programed robots. Starting on the second floor of the Decker Half Moone Cruise Terminal, you walked through displays of intricate lego builds towards tables marked easy, medium, hard, and advanced. Upstairs there was also a sensory room for any kids with alternative needs. Heading downstairs (where Charles Dickens' Christmas Towne is held) toward the free play area, the areas were separated by age and size of legos. They also had crafts and the big train display set up.
Each family received a bingo sheet upon arrival which had spots for each station. Volunteers signed off as you visited or built different ships, and once a person had bingo they could trade in their card for a prize. The prize was actually a full size batman lego set.
The event ran from 10-4 and was totally FREE. We got there right at ten and it was already super crowded. I can only imagine it got more so as the day went on. Even so, RT was able to play and make a craft, but be aware that if you attend next year, the crowds are large and it isn't quiet. For a free event, I was beyond impressed. It was organized, clean, and there was a good variety of things to do and space to go. They even had a cafe with food up and running. The security, volunteers, and medical personnel were easy to find and all around. We enjoyed our morning, and RT was so tired afterward that he couldn't make it through lunch!
