Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal

Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal Review

One of the best examples of art deco architecture in the country, Union Terminal simplified a muddled infrastructure of five train stations and seven lines when it was built in 1933. Now the West End's best-known landmark houses three museums, an OMNIMAX Theater, and Cincinnati's functioning Amtrak terminal. Large mosaic tile murals dating from the 1930s adorn the interior rotunda, and come summer kids frolic around the stair-stepped fountains near the evergreen-landscaped entrance.

Cincinnati's golden years are recalled at the Cincinnati History Museum. You can walk down a re-created city street from the early 1900s, interact with interpretive historians in period dress, and view dozens of Queen City artifacts, along with vintage automobiles and a 1920s streetcar.

At the Cinergy Children's Museum kids can climb, crawl, and explore the world around them. Play areas include a forest with a two-story treehouse, a construction site, an energy zone with pedals and pulleys, and a waterworks with small boats and a series of locks. For kids up to 10 years of age.

You can get a close-up look at whales, volcanoes, Mount Everest, and other wonders at the Linder Family OMNIMAX Theater. Movies are shown on a five-story, 72-foot-wide domed screen.

Exhibits at the Museum of Natural History and Science take you on a journey back in time, from the age of the dinosaurs through the English Renaissance and the Wild West. There's a colony of bats and underground waterfalls in a replica of a limestone cave.

You can buy individual tickets or a combination ticket that gives you entry to multiple museums and the theater.