Places We Love Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum S Contributed by PFM reader, Tina Utt henandoah Valley Discovery and incline planes while he is collecting and moving apples Museum in Winchester, in an orchard setting. He is Virginia, is a wonderful having so much fun that he place that is more imaginative does not realize he is learning playground than museum. The about how mechanics and tools exhibits are completely handshelp him complete tasks more on so that children can learn easily. He revels in pulling and interactively while having a ton tugging on ropes and gears of fun. The museum inspires learning by encouraging visitors The Shenandoah Valley to explore, observe, imagine, and ask questions. The museum offers Discovery Museum is located many ongoing exhibits and special at 54 S. Loudoun Street in classes and programs that focus Winchester, VA. For more on the sciences and mathematics, information, visit: the humanities, and the arts. www.discoverymuseum.net. My four year-old son, as he transports his apples Lahsen, loves visiting the from one location to another. Shenandoah Valley Discovery He occasionally crashes an Museum. His favorite exhibit apple cart, which I am sure is Simple Machines, where he can play with the lifts, levers, has nothing to do with his desire to be a monster truck driver. Lahsen also enjoys role-playing in the Emergency Room and Ambulance exhibit. He can pretend he is an EMT as he steers the wheel of an ambulance, or a doctor as he examines real X-rays. And he always manages to find his way to the physically engaging rock wall before we leave. The Shenandoah Discovery Museum is great for children of all ages. It is a bit smaller than other area children’s museums, but it packs a lot enjoyment into one level of a building. The size of the museum strikes the perfect balance for many of us parents: it is small enough to do in an afternoon or a morning. Children can enjoy many hands-on activities, including dress-up play, at the Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum. My son and I have visited the museum several times, and we are looking forward to seeing what explorations lie ahead for us when the museum opens its new location in 2014.                               22 Piedmont Family Magazine 2013 • Issue 5