Georgia State Railroad Museum

The Georgia State Railroad Museum is one of Savannah's genuine hidden gems for families — a working historic rail facility that gives kids a completely different experience from anything else in the city. This isn't a "here are some photos of old trains" exhibit — it's a real rail yard with massive historic locomotives, freight cars, and maintenance shops spread across a 40-acre site that was the South's largest antebellum railroad facility.

For train-obsessed kids (and there are many of them), this place is extraordinary. Walking alongside locomotives that dwarf you, watching a century-old steam engine, and seeing the working turntable — a rotating platform that moves locomotives from track to track — is the kind of experience that sticks. When the turntable is demonstrated for visitors, it's a memorable moment: a massive piece of industrial machinery moving slowly and deliberately, which kids find both impressive and slightly mysterious.

The site is partially indoor (exhibits in historic buildings) and partially outdoor (the rail yard itself). The outdoor portion gets hot in Savannah's summer, so morning visits are strongly recommended — plan to be in the outdoor sections before noon. The ground is uneven in places, so skip the delicate shoes and strollers in the yard areas.

Admission is reasonable: roughly $12-15 for adults, $6-8 for children, free under 3. The Coastal Heritage Society operates this site along with several other Savannah historical properties, so check for combo tickets if you're doing multiple sites.

This museum skews toward the preschool to early elementary crowd at peak interest — the Thomas the Tank Engine generation absolutely loses their minds here. Older kids and teens who aren't railroad enthusiasts may be less captivated, but even they tend to be impressed by the scale of the equipment.