Winchester Museums

Head to Winchester to learn about the colonial days, science and the culture of Shenandoah Valley.

By Renee Sklarew • Posted December 19, 2018 at 2:40 p.m.

Museum of the Shenandoah Valley / Photo by Renee Sklarew

Museum of the Shenandoah Valley

This museum complex spans two Winchester estates—Glen Burnie, the ancestral home of the Wood Family, founders of Winchester in 1735; and Rose Hill Farm, home of Julian Glass and R. Lee Taylor. The innovative museum portrays the cultural life and heritage of the Shenandoah Valley through artifacts, crafts, decorative arts and paintings. It also functions as a gathering place for education, entertainment and theater. Kids love the MSV Makerspace with its hands-on STEAM focus. Notable displays of miniature houses and the Japanese style gardens are standouts. $5-$10, free on Wednesdays

Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum

A wonderland for children and their parents, the museum offers hands-on science exploration. Each floor has a different focus—Leonardo’s Corner, Science Kitchen and Moccasin Trail on the Explore Zone. The Action Zone has an apple packing shed, Roller Coaster Alley and Potomac River Watershed exhibits. Visitors enjoy the rooftop pavilion and observation deck for views of downtown Winchester. $8-$10

Weems-Botts Museum

Infamous for its paranormal activities, Weems-Botts, nearby in Prince William, hosts regular ghost tours and explains the history of Dumfries’, a growing community in the late 1700s and Virginia’s oldest chartered town. The house was owned by both George Washington’s biographer, Parson Weems, and Benjamin Botts, a lawyer representing Aaron Burr in his treason trial. $3-$5

The Shenandoah Valley Civil War Museum

This museum is located on the Old Town Winchester walking mall and housed in the historic Frederick County Court House, circa 1840. The Court House served as a prison, hospital and barracks for both Confederate and Union soldiers during the Civil War. The museum has preserved the soldiers’ handwritten names and pictures they drew on the walls. On one level is the restored court room, and the second level has a collection of Civil War era weapons and other relics. The exhibits showcase the tumultuous events of the Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley. $3-$5

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Renee Sklarew

Contributing Writer

A contributor to Northern Virginia Magazine since 2007, Renee Sklarew writes about travel, restaurants, and Mid-Atlantic landmarks. She is the co-author of 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of Washington DC, and her writing and photography has appeared in The Washington Post, Boston Globe, AAA The Extra Mile, Washingtonian, Arlington Magazine, and more.