Activity Center - California State Railroad Museum

Educational opportunities for kids abound at the California State Railroad Museum! Although the Museum is perhaps best known for its school field trips, the fun doesn’t end there.

At the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento, Guided Tours introduce you and your family to the role railroads have played in making California the great place it is today. Weekend Train Rides from April through September in Old Sacramento show you what it was like to travel by rail.

Junior Rangers

Do you love trains and want to learn more about the Museum and the amazing railroad cars and locomotives? Are you between the ages of 7 & 12 years old? Then become a Junior Ranger today!

Explore the museum & Become a Junior ranger

Earn your Junior Ranger award by completing the activities in this Adventure Guide as you travel through the Museum. Learn about everything from smokestacks to the Lost Golden Spike!

Download and print the Junior Ranger Adventure Guide, or pick up one up from the Museum's front desk. Find answers to the questions you are asked by exploring the Museum, reading exhibit information. Park staff and volunteers will be happy to help you discover the Museum!

When you are finished, bring your completed activities to the Museum's front desk and receive your official Junior Ranger award. Once you have taken the Junior Ranger pledge, you can help the hundreds of park staff and volunteers who protect and care for our California State Parks.

Download the Adventure Guide

If you wish to create a booklet, download the version below. Print this document double sided, and then fold to create the paper book to complete the adventure:

Print as Booklet

All Aboard For Story Time

Let railroads help introduce and foster the love of reading for your little ones! All Aboard for Story Time! takes place inside the Museum every Monday of each month with readings at 11:00 a.m., year-around. This program is included with Museum admission.

This interactive and fun program is designed for imaginative young children ages two to five. Museum volunteers and staff will read a different railroad-related book each month, followed by a related activity. Periodic Story Time programs will include special readings by community partners, which will be announced on social media.

Afterwards, little ones can enjoy the Museum with their parents. Whether its toy trains or big locomotives, there is something to discover in the Museum that will thrill children of all ages!

How The Railroad Changed The Circus Digital Book

Have you ever fed an elephant? Have you ever seen a person do tricks while riding a horse? When was the last time you saw a clown or acrobats flip high in the air? Have you ever heard a big band orchestra play? People used to do all of this and so much more in one day at the circus. Find out how the railroad changed the circus in this digital book!

Open Digital Book

Horses to Horsepower Activities

Hop on board Horses to Horsepower to experience what it was like to build the nation’s first Transcontinental Railroad more than 150 years ago! Your conductor will escort you to five different stations located throughout the California State Railroad Museum. Discover how Transcontinental Railroad reduced travel time, inspired innovation, encouraged western settlement, and enabled California’s agriculture industry to grow. The Transcontinental Railroad changed life in America forever!

The activities explore topics from the Horses to Horsepower Education Program.

Open Activites

Coloring Pages

Calling All Creatives!

Keep the magic of trains alive with these fun coloring pages. Tag the California State Railroad Museum Foundation in your completed artwork for a chance to be featured on our social media channels! See below for coloring pages, and check back for updated content.

Train with two carriages coloring page

Toy train coloring page

CSRM activity page 1

CSRM activity Fruit label

CSRM activity Fruit label 2

CSRM activity Mary Colter

CSRM activity Plate design