The Mission of the O. Winston Link Museum's Education Department is:
To inspire life long learning for people of all ages using the photographs, recordings, and film of O. Winston Link and the Norfolk & Western Railway.
Interested in planning a visit?
Click here to download a booking form.
Group Size
Programs and guided tours are available for groups of 5 to 50. Accommodations can be made for larger group sizes on a case by case basis. Please be prepared to divide your larger class into smaller groups to ensure each students receives adequate program/tour time.
Chaperones
In order to allow students to fully benefit from their visit, we ask that school groups have at least one adult per 10 students. Additional chaperones pay general admission fee. Chaperones and teachers are responsible for their group during the entire visit.
One free adult admission
with every 10 students!
Museum Etiquette
To make the most of your visit to the O. Winston Link Museum please review expectations with your students and chaperones before the visit. Students should stay with their group at all times. We ask that visitors, young and old, use quiet voices and refrain from running in the Galleries. Food, gum, and drinks are not allowed inside the Galleries. Photography is also not allowed.
Museum Shop
Be sure to visit the Museum Shop on your way out. The Museum Shop offers a wide selection of age appropriate souvenirs starting at $0.60.
No time to shop?
Request goodies bags!
Museum Shop Goodie Bags are available for an additional $3.00 per person.
Goodie Bags feature a train eraser, O. Winston Link Museum pencil, postcard, and train pencil sharpener.
School Group Fees
All fees are due the day of your visit unless prior arrangements have been made. We accept cash, VISA/MasterCard, money orders, or a single check made out to the O. Winston Link Museum.
Grant Funding is available! Please contact the Education Department for more details!
School Group Fees
| Tours | groups of 10 or more* | $2.00 per person |
| Workshops | $3.00 per person | |
| Outreach Workshops | maximum 40 students | $75.00 per class |
| * One adult per 10 students; standard group fee for additional adults. Standard adult group fee is $4.00 per person. | ||
Group Hours
Monday thru Saturday: 9 am to 5pm
The Museum is closed on Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.
Directions and Parking
Buses and vans should park along the sidewalk in front of the building. Backpacks, drinks, and large bags should be left on the bus so that hands are free for learning.
From I-81: Take Exit 143 to I-581. Take Exit 4E onto Orange Avenue and take a right onto Williamson Road followed by a right onto Shenandoah Ave. The Museum is in the Nx Railway Passenger Station on the corner of Williamson and Shenandoah.
From 220 North: 581 N. to Exit 4E Take Exit 4E onto Orange Avenue and take a right onto Williamson Road followed by a right onto Shenandoah Ave. The Museum is in the Nx Railway Passenger Station on the corner of Williamson and Shenandoah.
Tours
We offer guided tours to groups of all ages. Our tours emphasize and discuss the historic passenger station, the history of the N&W and Link's photography, audio and film recordings. The Link Museum explores the background of this building and its architectural significance as well as the social aspects of its use, including rail transportation and the segregated South of the 1950's. The tour highlights the N&W history, including freight and passenger services, the use of coal, and descriptions and explanations of the different steam locomotives. The tour then turns to the life and career of O. Winston Link and his five year project to capture the final years of steam on the last remaining railroad to use this source of power. Link's photography depicts the lives of not only the employees of the railroad, but also the communities supported by the railroad across the states of Maryland, North Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia.
Workshops
The following programs are available both in-house and as out-reach in your classroom unless otherwise noted. Our programs are Standards of Learning based. Please contact the Education Department at (540) 982-5680 for SOL information.
Hootie the Owl- Let's Talk About Shapes
This interactive program in a box uses rail memorabilia and O. Winston Link images to focus Preschool thru Kindergarten age school children on the shapes around us everyday. This 45-minute program reviews shapes, colors, and railroad safety and how we can use shapes and colors to stay safe.
Norfolk & Western Railway: From Roanoke to Today
In 1891, the two railroads which would later become the Norfolk & Western Railway merged and created a junction in the sleepy little town of Big Lick. This union literally put the area on track to build locomotives, freight cars, and passenger cars in the Roanoke Valley. This workshop explores both rail and Roanoke Valley history. Appropriate for grades 3-5.- 
O. Winston Link: The Man
This one-hour program focuses on Link images, his photographic technique, and the use of a large format camera. This program can be adapted for use for grades 5 to college level. Examples of Link's lighting equipment and camera will be used to discuss the changes in photography in the later part of the 20th century. Appropriate for grades 5 to college level.
Coal: Living in a coal town
The N&W Railway was known as the Last Steam Railroad in America partly because of its interest in the Pocahontas Land Company. Join us as we travel to a 1955 West Virginia Coal Town. Using images, sound, and film we will experience life of a coal family. This workshop will include hands-on manipulatives for children. Appropriate for grades 3-6.
Separate but Equal
In 1892 Homer Plessey sued the East Louisiana Railway for forcefully removing him from an "all white" seating area. Eventually his case ended up in the U.S. Supreme Court and resulted in the "Separate but Equal" precedent and what became know as the Jim Crow laws. Join the O. Winston Link Museum as we explore the Jim Crow years of the N&W Railway with this in-house workshop focusing on segregation of the Norfolk & Western Passenger Station. This program features a guided tour of the building and a slide-show of the building during the height of the Jim Crow era.
Opportunities for Educators
Education Advisory Board
The O. Winston Link Museum is currently forming a panel of area educators to work directly with the Education Department to creating engaging interactive programs. We are seeking representation from all area schools- public, private, parochial, and home schools. The board will meet four times per year, providing opportunities for brainstorming, sharing ideas, and helping the O. Winston Link Museum staff offer the best educational experience for students and educators. Please consider becoming a part of this informative and creative group.
Educator Membership
The O. Winston Link Museum offers an individual membership exclusively for Educators at a reduced rate of $20.00. This fully tax deductible membership includes free admission to the History Museum of Western Virginia as well as to the O. Winston Link Museum, a 10% discount in the Museum Shops, access to and discount for historic site tours, and invitations to museum openings. Please call for more details!
Girl Scouts
Appalachian Heritage Patch Program
D, B, J, 11-17
The O. Winston Link Museum offers an hour-long session of exciting activities to earn the Appalachian Heritage Patch. Girls will discover the rich culture of the Appalachian region while surrounded by the Link's captivating photographs. This program explores the topics of everyday life, leisure and Appalachian history. Please allow for at least one hour.
The fee for this program is $8.00 per girl (includes activities, materials, and patch). One adult admitted free per five girls (maximum 15 girls).
Boy Scouts
The O. Winston Link Museum offers a guided tour for Scouts focusing on rail heritage and Link's photography. Scouts can also participate in a scavenger hunt of O. Winston Link's images to learn new and exciting information about the railroad, photography and local life.
Contact Leah Sineno at 540-982-5465 for more information on rates, scheduling, or any related education topic.
