The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, October 2, 1994                TAG: 9409300190
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS      PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Editorial 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   34 lines

CHILDREN'S MUSEUM SOON TO OPEN: A CLASSY REALITY

The wraps are off the new Children's Museum of Virginia, scheduled to open in the former Leggett building on High Street on Dec. 10, and it's shaping up as a class act.

Designed especially for children, the exhibits also may teach their parents a thing or two. Certainly, all of them promise the same intrigue that keeps children and their adults fascinated with the long-running bubble exhibit that will be even bigger and better in the new quarters.

The new museum may upstage any children's exhibit in the area. It's well-designed and interesting with exhibits that are not only educational but fun.

The $3 admission charge will cover everything, including the planetarium show, and Portsmouth public school groups will have free admission. Compare this to Nauticus and other places where admission is beyond the means of many people, especially those with large families.

A lot of people, many of them not residents of Portsmouth, contributed more than $1 million to make the museum happen. Without the donations, there would be no exhibits.

Portsmouth owes a lot to the vision of its residents who supported the museum and to those across the region who contributed large sums of money to make that vision a reality. by CNB