Tales on the Rails: New National Railroad Museum springtime event

The National Railroad Museum in Green Bay will be hosting a new event, Tales on the Rails, on March 28 and 29.

This springtime event will mix travel and literature to create a unique experience for children.

Tales on the Rails is replacing the museum’s original spring event, the Great Bunny Train.

“We decided to try something different this year and put something together that brings together a lot of the different pieces of what makes the museum interesting,” said Liz Van Pay, events coordinator for the National Railroad Museum. “This event is a celebration of reading, it is a celebration of springtime and it’s a celebration of travel.”

This event will include a variety of activities for families to participate in. When children enter, they will be given a passport that correlates to certain stations around the museum.

“We are going to have six stations,” said Van Pay. “They’re either going to be able to do an activity or hear a reading of a book, and there is going to be a person at each station that will be stamping that passport.”

Once the passport has stamps from each station, children will be able to pick a prize out of a prize wagon.

Readings will be related to the trains in some way, whether that be books about the mail service, Pullman porters or the conductors and engineers of trains.

In fact, the conductor book will be read by the conductor for the premium train experience. “We’re doing what we can to take and apply the historical pieces to the selection of books,” said Van Pay.

Train rides are also part of the experience.

“One thing that’s important and kind of cool about the event is that it is one of the first times the train is running for the year,” Van Pay said. “The train is not going to start running daily until May 1st, so it is going to be an opportunity to catch a train ride before you’re able to come daily and get a train ride in the summer.”

The train goes on a one-mile loop around the museum’s property, taking around half an hour. When purchasing tickets, take note that the time is for the train ride. Families are able to enjoy the other activities at any time.

Other activities include performances by Mischief and Magic Entertainment. The business will be hosting two magic shows and one concert for each day of the event. Mischief and Magic will also be making balloon animals.

In addition, children will be able to plant seeds, play games and create spring-inspired crafts. Food from Dos Chiles will be available as well.

The National Railroad Museum relies on volunteers to make events like this a reality.

For anyone interested in volunteering, there is a link on the Tales on the Rails event website.

Volunteers can sign up to host activities and games, greet guests or read some of the stories.

There are two ticket options for this event: standard and premium.

Standard tickets are $22 for patrons over the age of two and includes access to all story stations, activities and entertainment.

For the standard train ride, patrons will be able to ride once on either the Josephine or Bi-Level coaches.

Premium tickets are $30 for patrons of all ages and include all standard access, as well as a special ride experience aboard the Silver Spirit car.

This car has dining and lounge seats, and patrons will have access to light refreshments and a special activity aboard the train.

For tickets, train departure times and more information, visit nationalrrmuseum.org/tales-on-the-rails.