Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine & Youth Museum

AlegreMENTE | Happy Brain: Celebrating Early Connections Children ages 0 to 6 and their caregivers can learn about how everyday life builds long-term brain health in this exhibit, which Beckley has loaned from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. The Youth Museum will have this bilingual (Spanish and English) exhibit from Jan. 23 to Sept. 3, 2024, Director Leslie Baker said Jan. 23.

Baker said the museum regularly hosts traveling exhibits from bigger museums across the country. It will bring in the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum’s How People Make Things exhibit on Sept. 6. (The museum will close between that opening and the closure of AlegreMENTE.) How People Make Things will be open through December 2024.

The exhibit showcases how childhood objects are made and allows children to cut, mold, deform and assemble raw materials to create products, the exhibit’s description said. For example, children can mold spoons with melted wax.

The complex is at 509 Ewart Ave., Beckley, just under 3 miles from Exit 44 of Interstate 77/64.

The youth museum is open year-round. From April through Nov. 1, it is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The phone number is 304-256-1747. There is free parking in front of the museum’s buildings, Baker said.

From April 1 through Nov. 2, veteran miners lead visitors on roughly half-hour tours of the Exhibition Coal Mine “drift mine.” Guides tell about mining’s methods, equipment, history and responsibilities. The temperature in the mine is 58 degrees, regardless of outside weather.

The museum has also recreated a typical settlement of the late 19th century, with a weaver’s shed, two-story log house, one-room schoolhouse, barn, blacksmith shop and general store. In the winter, tours of these buildings, which are collectively the “Mountain Homestead,” are limited because of weather.

Admission for the underground tour, the coal miner’s house, superintendent’s house, miner’s shanty, coal camp church, camp church, youth museum and Mountain Homestead is a total of $22 for people ages 18 to 54, $16 for people who are at least 55, $12.50 for children ages 4 to 17 and $15 for military members, who must be in uniform or present ID. Admission to solely the main gallery of the museum is $5. Tickets can be purchased online, here.

Baker said young children enjoy simply the experience of going on the underground train ride, regardless of whether they listen to mine interpretation from tour guides. As children age, they become more appreciative of the knowledge the tour guides share. The Mountain Homestead provides a great sense of West Virginia culture. The complex is in a beautiful park, with nice picnic facilities.

Groups of at least 15 people can make appointments outside of the site’s regular hours. The center asks that people make reservations between 10 and 14 business days in advance by contacting [email protected] or 304-252-3730. Regular admission applies if fewer than 15 people can attend the trip. Groups can also see presentations at the planetarium, which can accommodate up to 40 people. To learn more about tours, contact Assistant Director/Tour Coordinator Donna Clark Totten at [email protected]. Tours are quickly booked up in May, June and October.

If any visitor with disabilities needs special accommodations to enjoy the museum, staff will make those accommodations upon advanced request.

Heritage Farm Museum & Village

This recreated 19th-century Appalachian village, which includes a nature center, transportation museum, children’s activity museum, progress museum and makerspace, is at 3300 Harvey Road in Huntington. More information about these attractions and museums is here. The phone number is 304-522-1244.

In 2024, admission is free for children under 4 years old, $10 for children ages 4 to 12, $12 for youth (13 to 17), $17 for adults 18 to 64 years old and $14 for seniors, Heritage Farm Manager, Motorcoach & School Reservations Laura Perry said Jan. 24. The village will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from May 2 to Aug. 17 and from Sept. 5 to Nov. 2. Parking is free and onsite.

Activities include a “critter corner,” wagon rides, and “tree house trek.” Each museum has STEM opportunities.

“We are very family friendly with guides stationed in all our facilities to teach and assist,” Perry said.

Most buildings have ramp access, and there is a motorized wheelchair that is available upon request. Lodging options are available onsite. More information about lodging is here.

Museum of Radio & Technology

The museum seeks to display historic electronic equipment and teach people about the history of broadcasting and electronics and the repair and restoration of electronics equipment.

According to the museum, its radios collection is among the largest in the U.S. Its inventory of equipment, such as transmitters, is here.
The museum is at 1640 Florence Ave., Huntington, near where West Virginia’s border meets those of Ohio and Kentucky. The phone number is 304-525-8890. It is typically open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. A calendar of events is here.

Staff said that tour requests for specific dates and times can be set up through Facebook messages. The museum is interactive and allows kids to see and experience the growth of technology and can provide a window into tech that is often taken for granted. Usually, with enough prior planning, there can be multiple tour guides leading a group at the same time.

There is a fenced-in parking area. Admission and parking are free. Visitors may make donations. A virtual tour is here.