We went to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay this week. This place was so fun!
We bought tickets in the gift shop, and the kids went straight to the train table. Then, in the first gallery of the museum, there was an exhibit on graffiti on trains. I wish I could have stayed to check it out but the kids had zero interest. So we went straight past the gallery of train tail signs to the Lenfesty Center. That large space is home to some well-preserved and beautiful trains.
One of my kids in particular was totally stoked about the trains.
After the initial amazement and excitement wore off, the kids were actually a little intimidated by the enormity of the trains.
There were benches in makeshift sit-and-nurse-your-baby area. Because they were bored, I tried to keep the kids all in the same area by playing “Who can find the….red wheel?”. Which went quickly to “Who can find the silver plate? No, not a dinner plate, like a metal plate, like a hubcap. With bolts in it. Wait, you’re two, you don’t know what that means. Screw it, go have a dance party on that stage over there”.
Breakdancing was the dance style of choice, and the other family that was there really enjoyed my a cappella version of Bruno Mars’ “Treasure”, I’m sure.
Next we went to the outdoor exhibit but we didn’t last long because someone insisted on taking her jacket off and running around like crazy in the cold.
So we had a race to the next stop, which was the children’s section where we wrapped up our tour the same way we started. By playing with a train table.
Starting in May, they offer train rides. Like on a real train. It costs extra for that but I can only imagine it’s totally worth it. They also have some special events, and I’ve heard about the Polar Express evening. I can’t find information online about it, but it sounds like the event includes pjs, hot chocolate, a reading of the book by an actor, a train ride, and Santa. Awesome.
Looking forward to going back in the summer so we can play on the playground and eat lunch in the grass after our train ride.
A. Storm
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