Cincinnati Children's Museum

About a month before we moved to Cincinnati Jon gave Isobel a picture book of the city. She spent a lot of time looking at the pictures, excited about the idea of moving. She even took the book to pre-school with her on her last day and showed all of her friends where she would be living. One of the pictures that has always captured her attention is that of Union Terminal. The building itself is beautiful. It was built in 1933 and is still considered an Art Deco Masterpiece. The intricate detail on the outside of the building is rivaled only by the murals and marble found on the inside of the building.

The first train pulled into the station on March 31, 1933 and the last departed on October 28, 1972. At the height of use the station saw up to 34,000 passengers daily. However by 1962, only 24 trains were passing through the terminal on a daily basis. In August of 1975 the City of Cincinnati purchased Union Terminal for $2.00 (the 15 Acre grounds were purchased for an additional $1,000,000.00). A mall operated in the terminal from 1980 - 1985, at its peak there were 54 tenants and 7,800 - 8,000 customers daily. On November 10, 1990 the Cincinnati Historical Society Library, Cincinnati History Museum, Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and the Robert D. Linder Family OMNIMAX Theater opened. A year later, on November 2, 1991, the two museums opened their first exhibits. On July 29, 1991 the Amtrak Cardinal pulled into the station marking the return of Passenger train service to the terminal. Today the train runs from Chicago to Cincinnati to DC.

In 1995 the Cincinnati Historical Society and the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History merged to become Cincinnati Museum Center. Three years later, in October of 1998, the Cinergy Children’s Museum opened.



On Saturday, September 27th, we pulled up to the breathtaking building for the first time. Isobel was awed to see the building from her book. She had no idea that the most exciting part of the building was inside. The Cinergy Children's Museum is amazing. All of the kids had a fantastic time. When the day was over and the kids were exhausted we made our way back up to the information desk and became members of the museum. Sunday we made our way back to Museum Center and explored the Natural History Museum. Even after spending two days there, we can't wait to return.