Traintastic opening next week in Gulfport

For those excited for the largest model railroad train museum Traintastic, the wait is almost over.

Board President Glenn Mueller said, ”I guarantee two things. When people walk through this front door, they’re gonna go, ‘Oh, wow.’ And the other thing is, when they see everything, they’re not going to be able to do it all one in day. They’re going to want to come back.”

Anyone who loves trains and railroads will have more than 50,000 square feet of space to enjoy activities for all ages when the Traintastic Museum opens next week. Traintastic CEO Cynthia Minton-Wa said, “It is all fun. Right here are the introductions to the hands-on exhibits where you can actually experience a lot of STEM activities. And then you keep walking where you get to go into a climber or you get to be on one of four train cars that are back there. And then you get to go outside and actually ride a train and you get off of that you can go and see two big areas of about 26 different model train layouts from every kind of environment you could imagine.”

Though there is tons of fun all around, the museum aims to mold young minds to lead the workforce in the future. “While we’ll offer early childhood programming here, we’re going to introduce those STEM skills at the very earliest of age so that every time they are here with a lesson or an activity, they will be able to build a little higher layer on what we started. So, their workforce development skills are getting closer and closer aligned to what the corporate world needs right now.”

Mueller says the project has brought like-minded-enthusiasts to cultivate the Coast. “And that’s what’s really great about modeling we’ve had some of the best in the country right here in Gulfport. Each one’s different and the one behind me is made specially for the Coast. It has over 52 features about the Coast and you’ll find some fun things.”

Mueller says the museum lets kids and adults alike tap into their imagination. “To really create, use their imagination, be exposed to things that otherwise they’re not going to be able to really experience unless they travel, maybe outside the state or even outside the country. But it’s all right here.  And that’s something that my brother and I really want to give back to community, is to make this really special. And it will be and it is the world’s largest Railroad Museum. ”

The museum grand opening is at 10 a.m. Saturday at 615 Pass Road tickets range from $15 for adults and $12 for children.