Miniature Railroad & Village at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Science Center

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The Miniature Railroad & Village at the Carnegie Science Center has been a Pittsburgh tradition for over 60 years.  Whether at the old Buhl Planetarium or now at the Science Center, generations of Western Pennsylvania families have visited this exhibit.  Growing up in Western Pennsylvania, this was an annual Winter and Christmas time attraction.  In fact, the exhibit traditionally was only on display for four months from November through February.

When I began writing about our visit to the Miniature Railroad, I kept struggling over how to discuss the exhibit's history while including the enjoyment of my two young sons during their first visit.  You see, neither of my boys wanted to leave the display.  Colton, my oldest, insisted on going around the display multiple times to see everything.  While Nash, my youngest, would stay at a certain area minutes at a time in amazement and waiting for the next train to come by.

I think that the experience my family and I had over Easter Weekend in 2018 sums up why the Miniature Railroad & Village has been a Western Pennsylvania tradition for so long.  It's seeing your kids excitement over a train village and remembering trips you made to go see the trains.  It is something that ties generations together.  It's the smiles of your five year old son when he gets to press the buttons that blow the train whistles.  Or your two year old's amazement as the scene shifts from day to night and back to day again.


It is said that they exhibits are laid out at a lower level for a child's eye view.  That they experience the most magical view of all.  I can say that for a fact that this is accurate.  The excitement and reactions from both of my sons are unforgettable.

I hadn't seen this exhibit in at least 20 years yet I was just as excited and found myself looking for old landmarks and describing to my sons what they were seeing and stories about those places.  The level of detail put into this exhibit is fascinating.

The Miniature Railroad & Village offers a glimpse of Western Pennsylvanian life from the 1880s through the late-1930s.  It depicts all four seasons - includes past and present landmarks like Forbes Field, Fallingwater, and the Grandview Ship Hotel.  Steel mills, mill towns, Luna Park are also part of the landscape.
 
After nearly four decades at the Buhl Planetarium (now the Pittsburgh Children's Museum), the exhibit moved the newly opened Carnegie Science Center in 1992.  Since then, it has become a year round attraction to thousands of visitors young and old.  The exhibit is part of the cost of the overall admission to the Science Center.  However, donations are gladly accepted at the entrance to the exhibit.

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