Cincinnati Union Terminal Offers a Day of Fun for the Whole Family

Cincinnati Union Terminal offers a day of fun for the whole family, with educational and entertaining exhibits. I would like to highlight these options available to families visiting the greater Cincinnati area, along with the details of the Union Station. The Cincinnati Museum Center is located at 1301 Western Avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Constructed in 1933 as the Union Terminal train station, the building is now a National Historic Landmark. Union Terminal stands on a prominent location one mile northwest of the city center. Coming up to the ten-story, arched, limestone and glass facade of the building also for an amazing view of the architecture at the time it was constructed. A fountain, complete with cascading water and pool offer a fun entrance to the Station. On either side of the main doors, Maxfield Keck's bas-relief figures symbolize Commerce and Transportation. The building was cleaned up and reopened in the late 1980's as the Cincinnati Museum Center.

The Museum displays artifacts about the history of Cincinnati and the surrounding area. Permanent exhibits include a re-creation of the Cincinnati Public Landing of the late 1850s, allowing you to step in and on a 94-foot side-wheel steamboat. Also, there is a large home-front exhibit on World War II and a streetcar from the same time. The kids really enjoyed the small scale model of the city of Cincinnati from 1900s to 1940s with working trains and inclines, as well as computer terminals that you could play and do activities on.

The Duke Energy Children's Museum opened in 1998 in the Union Terminal, located in the bottom level. This museum is ranked as one of the top children's museums in the country. The exhibits allow exploration on our kid's parts, and the ability and freedom to climb, crawl, explore and learn about themselves and the world around them. The activities are all hands-on, and the areas vary on education and activities based on age. There are two areas designed for preschool age children and younger-Little Sprouts Farm and Kids' Town. Our preschoolers loved the various play areas, including the "min-garden" and the construction area. The sand and water tables are of course a fan favorite, and they provide the heavy smocks for your little ones to stay dry while still splashing around. The Children's Museum also has educational opportunities that cover arts, culture, reading and science. Our kids got to see some of the programs up close, and the fun they had was amazing and you could see in their eyes that they were entertained and educated at the same time!

The Woods, a play area inside the Children's Museum was definitely the highlight in that section. This wilderness exploration area offered the kids a chance to climb up rope ladders and through hollowed-out logs and over net bridges, all in a safe environment. The long twisting slides and climbing walls let them burn out a lot of energy in a fun way that they enjoyed.

The Museum of Natural History & Science has a large area to explore also, the two best parts being the caves and ice area. The Kentucky limestone cave, complete with underground waterfalls, streams, fossils and a live bat colony offers a tight walking area, so strollers are left outside and any little kids might be a bit frightened by the dark, echoed area, so be forewarned. The Ice age cuts through a "glacier" into an area with mammals and other animals that make you feel like you have stepped back into the ice age itself. Fun area to learn a great deal.

Overall, The Cincinnati Union Terminal provides a fun day with the family full of plenty of activities and events to fill a day of exploration. We would highly recommend it to children and children at heart alike!