We’ve all been there—all geared up and ready for an active day outside, only to get rained out.
The Dan River Basin is loaded with options for outdoor adventure—but sometimes the weather doesn’t cooperate. Fortunately, you can find plenty of options for things to do on a rainy day. We’ve got some ideas for grown-ups and children alike.
Virginia Museum of Natural History
21 Starling Ave., Martinsville, VA 24112
Phone: 276-666-8600
Ancient creatures greet visitors to this museum. When you arrive, you’ll walk into a hall filled with Pteranadon the flying reptile, a 140-million-year-old Allosaurus and a 14-million year old baleen whale specimen. Exhibits change regularly, and working scientists often are available to answer questions.
Roll-A-Bout Skating Center
1023 S. Van Buren Rd., Eden, NC 27288
Phone: 336-627-5173
Go skating on weekends or on specially advertised weeknights, including a $1 “cheap skate” on Wednesdays. Check the website or call for special events and deals.
Palace Pointe Family Entertainment Center
5050 Durham Rd., Roxboro, NC 27574
Phone: 336-598-5050
Palace Pointe offers an array of family fun: bowling, pool tables, roller skating, bumper cars, arcade, and eight movie theaters, as well as a candy store, diner, and pub. Better yet: It’s open seven days a week.
Uptown Pinball
35 E Church St., Martinsville, VA 24112
Phone: 276-224-7139
Parents will have just as much fun as the kids at Uptown Pinball, home of 5 of the top 10 pinball machines ever made, including Monster Bash, Medieval Madness, and Lord of the Rings. The museum has 27 pinball machines, skee ball, air hockey, racing games, and more.
Danville Science Center
677 Craghead St., Danville, VA 24541
Phone: 434-791-5160
Located in a renovated Victorian train station, the Danville Science Center houses interactive exhibits that allow kids to learn about physics, geology, and biology by doing. In the spring, there’s a butterfly station.
Wood Brothers Racing Museum
21 Performance Dr., Stuart, VA 24171
Phone: 276-694-2121
The Woods Brothers Racing team formed in 1950, and has blazed a road into stock-car racing history ever since. Over the decades, the team’s No. 21 car has become as legendary as the Petty No. 43 or the Earnhardt No. 3 cars. The Wood Brothers invented the pit stop as we know it. Its drivers have included Curtis Turner, Fireball Roberts, Junior Johnson, Cale Yarborough, Donnie Allison, Davey Allison, Kyle Petty, Dale Jarrett, Bill Elliott, Trevor Bayne, and Ryan Blaney. The museum includes tons of cars, uniforms, and equipment for hardcore and casual racing fans alike.