History meets virtual reality at Union Station! Participants can experience Black history firsthand through virtual reality in the Magnolia Shoebox Lunch N Learn & Traveling While Black Experience.
January 13, 2025

What Is the Experience?
The Magnolia Shoebox Lunch N Learn & Traveling While Black Experience recreates how Black travelers in the Jim Crow era would eat if there wasn’t a safe place for them to stop while traveling.
This immersive experience is presented by The Historic Magnolia at Union Station, part of The Historic Magnolia House. The organization’s mission is to preserve Black historic sites, reunite them with their communities, and give them a voice to tell their own story.
- Backstory:Â The Historic Magnolia House offered the virtual reality experience at its location in Greensboro prior to bringing the experience to Union Station in Winston-Salem at the end of 2024.
What to Expect
Participants will sit in the Ben’s Chili Bowl section of Union Station for the VR experience, during which they will join historic Black travelers discussing what it was like to travel during the Jim Crow era.
After the VR experience, participants will enjoy their shoebox meal (if purchased) during a historical discussion.
- Length: The experience lasts 60-90 minutes.
- When:Â The experience is available every Thursday – Saturday through the end of March 2025.
- Bonus: On Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Monday, January 20), The Historic Magnolia at Union Station will offer the experience from 9 AM – 2 PM.
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Why It Matters
This innovative use of technology allows The Historic Magnolia at Union Station to share Black history with various communities and people with different learning styles.
Want to learn more about local Black history? Check out the Museum of Understanding, Storytelling, and Engagement (MUSE) in our museum guide.