The name says it all. Amazement Square in historic Downtown Lynchburg, Virginia, truly is an amazing place to visit. As an award-winning museum renowned throughout the region for its myriad attributes, it makes for the ultimate hands-on haven to come and explore any time of year and in any season. Seeing how April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day and, by extension, all of April marks World Autism Awareness Month, you may be even more inclined to head on over, as Amazement Square stands out as the only museum in the state noted to be a Certified Autism Center.
Amazement Square goes above and beyond in catering to individuals from all walks of life. Whether you have a child with special needs, sensory or otherwise, or you’re just looking for a fun yet educational option for your STEM-enthused future scientist or budding artist, Amazement Square has it all in the way of interactive exhibits and multi-disciplinary endeavors.
The museum boasts 10 permanent exhibits, as well as changing galleries, all of which are spread out across four floors. Discover the Art of Acting, Bee in the Know, and the Helene P. Schewel Kaleidoscope Gallery on level one. The second floor boasts the Emmy Lou Thomson Big Red Barn and a changing gallery that houses temporary and traveling exhibitions exploring global and regional topics in the arts, humanities, and STEM concepts. Floor three sports the Centra Gallery: League of Healthy Heroes, Raceways & Voltageville, and Shipwreck Cove. The fourth floor offers the Native American Gallery, the Mary Jane and Ron Dolan Gallery on the James, and Once Upon a Building. All the floors are interconnected by the famed and favored Amazement Tower: From Here to There to Everywhere. This attraction stands out as being one of the tallest climbing structures in the nation! Its featured offerings include ladders, a maze of slides, tunnels, and even a zip line.
It’s really all about learning through creative play at Amazement Square, which is done through a broad range of diverse disciplines and offerings. There is no singular set way to learn, grow, or even experience life around you. All people are individuals, originals. And they understand that at Amazement Square.
While children of all ages may benefit from Amazement Square, note that their outreach also extends to adults with unique abilities or alternate capabilities.
The Museum also partners with local schools and organizations to offer different programs while providing various in-house specials onsite in addition. Current features include Imagination Studio: Start with Art, Open MakerSpace, Fun Fridays @ The Paint Box, and rotating PopUp Programs. They also present onsite WonderCamp day camp programs in-house. These take place on select days throughout the academic year when schools are closed for holidays, developmental days, or other planned reasons. There are also WonderCamp programs offered during the summer months. Learn more about all of these on the Programs link.
Amazement Square houses the onsite Café Amaze, making a daylong outing here doable with all vittles and essentials available to you and yours to remain fueled up and focused on fun and learning. In addition to food and beverage options, the site serves as a small gift shop where you can purchase merch and memorabilia.
There are simply no age limits when it comes to educational growth through exploration. And the folks at Amazement Square know this firsthand, which is why they’ve already thought of everything. Is it any wonder why they were named one of Central Virginia’s favorite family spots? Discover the amazement for yourself!
Amazement Square is located at 27 Ninth Street, Lynchburg, Virginia 24504. Hours of operation are Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The Museum is closed on Monday and Tuesday. For all other information, visit the website at www.amazementsquare.org.