Dear Friends and Supporters of VMNH ...

March 13, 2020

Dear Friends and Supporters of VMNH,

The Virginia Museum of Natural History is closely monitoring the developments regarding COVID-19 (coronavirus) and we are committed to responding to them as quickly as possible. As a state agency, we are following the recommendations provided by the Commonwealth of Virginia and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to guide our response.

With the health and well-being of our visitors, volunteers, and staff in mind, we have determined that the prudent course of action is to cancel or postpone all events and programs through March 31, 2020. We will continue to assess the situation and determine whether additional cancellations and/or postponements will be necessary.

As a result, the VMNH Foundation Thomas Jefferson Awards ceremony, originally scheduled for March 19, has been postponed indefinitely. Constituents and ticket holders who had RSVP'd to the event will be contacted individually in the coming days with further details. We are saddened to take this step, but believe it is in the best interest of everyone involved.

As of now, the museum will remain open during normal operating hours and our exhibit galleries will remain open to visitors. This is also subject to change as we continue to monitor the situation.

Any further announcements regarding additional postponements, cancellations and/or changes in hours of operation will be posted on the museum's website (www.vmnh.net), the VMNH Facebook page (www.facebook.com/VirginiaMuseum), as well as Twitter (www.twitter.com/VMNH).

We greatly appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter.

Sincerely,
Joe B. Keiper, Ph.D.
VMNH Executive Director