I am leading planning of my daughters 6th grade trip to Williamsburg for next May. The first day, we have 2 - 3 hours we could spend in Richmond at a museum, historical site or other.

We have Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, Yorktown and Jamestown covered later. And we have a charter bus.

Any ideas would be most appreciated!!

To clarify--do you have 2-3 hours in Richmond TOTAL or is that the amount of time you have to do something AFTER factoring in: getting there, traffic, getting the group organized, and getting everyone gathered up at the end. If the former, it's probably too short to do anything worthwhile.

If the latter, there are a number of things, my favorite being the Science museum of Virginia--fun, hands-on type museum that's great for kids. It also has an IMAX theater. It's next to a Children's Museum which is WAY too young for 12-year-olds--aimed more at the 3-9 set.

Other ideas:
Maymont - Historic mansion and beautiful gardens (not sure it would hold 12yo's attention. http://www.maymont.org/

Old Stone House/Edgar Allen Poe Museum - Did this awhile ago but was too late in the day to really enjoy these http://www.poemuseum.org/

Good luck with your planning--sounds like a fun trip!

I was just in Richmond with my 10 year old. We went for a specific reason as we had been there once before. We went to the White House of the Confederacy & the Museum next door.

The White House is a fascinating tour & the Museum is excellent & self-guided.

Great for kids who have already learned about the Civil War.

Better call ahead with a group that size.

The Virginia Capitol building! Just call ahead and arrange for a tour. There is a nice statue of George Washington in the rotunda, and the snack bar makes a great limeade.

Another vote for Science Museum of Virginia (SMV)- this is a fantastic hands-on place for children and age 12 would be perfect.

I live in Richmond. At least twice a year I would take my 3 children to SMV for the day. We never had enough time to see and play with everything.

Maymont park is great for a picnic and stroll around.

www.henricus.org is a website of a park in Chesterfield county (next to Richmond) that is historical park. I haven't been, but it looks great.

Petersburg, just south of Richmond will reenact the civil war for you. It is called Pamplin Park. Both of my kids went there on field trips.

There is an art museum in Richmond. To me, the Science museum is standard and not the most exciting. They do have IMAX though which is great.

Hope you like Richmond!

I agree with Jill2. Science Museum!

I would do a private event with Ravenchase. They are extremely enjoyable and very reasonably priced.

http://www.ravenchase.com

Since the trip revolves around history why not keep it to history. A science museum can be found in every city but the incredibly significant museums and buildings pertaining to the confederacy and civil war would be fascinating.

18 years ago we were killing time before the flight back on a Sunday,
and happened upon a historic church just outside the downtown (I think it was SE, maybe 6-8 blocks out) in which local residents re-enacted a meeting of the Constitutional Convention. They were dressed in period garb, as Patrick Henry, Ben Franklin, George Washington, etc. We thought it was remarkably well done, but then we're history buffs.

The church with the re-enactment is St. John's Episcopal Church just east of the downtown area. www.historicalstjohnschurch.org
It's where Patrick Henry gave (and the re-enactor gives)his "Give me Liberty or Give me Death" speech.

Sorry, that should be www.historicstjohnschurch.org

The Virginia Holocaust Museum. It is very educational for both children and adults. It is free of charge. www.va-holocaust.com.

Just to comment on the above VA Holocaust Museum..My girls who are 12 and 14 went with our church this past summer and found it shocking. One said she felt she were going to be ill the whole time. It is a little much for middle school aged kids and I think it is better suited toward a high school group.
Unless the kids are mature, it may be a bit overwhelming. That is just my opinion and based on my two kids.