HEY, MUSEUM FANS!

HEY, MUSEUM FANS!

We're asking our awesome Facebook following to help vote for "Petra" as the top endangered Virginia artifact! Petra, an ancient cat that was extracted from deep within a cave in western Virginia late last year, recently received recognition as one of Virginia's Top 10 Endangered Artifacts for 2021 by the Virginia Association of Museums (VAM), and you can now vote for Petra as YOUR favorite endangered artifact! The artifact receiving the most votes will be awarded $2,000 in conservation funding!

HOW TO VOTE FOR PETRA
Voting only takes several seconds and you can vote for Petra once every 24 hours now through January 27! Simply visit https://vamuseums-org.wishpond.com/virginia-s-top-10-endangered-artifacts-2021/entries/197781380, enter your email address, and click "vote"!

MORE ABOUT PETRA
While the species and exact time period in which Petra lived remain a mystery, researchers currently believe it could be an ancient cougar or even an American cheetah (Miracinonyx inexpectatus), an extinct species that lived during the Pleistocene epoch, which ended approximately 11,700 years ago with the end of the last Ice Age. Scientists at the museum are currently hard at work inside the Elster Foundation Vertebrate Paleontology Lab preparing the fossils for both scientific research and eventual exhibition inside the museum's galleries!

Although it will be many months before the prep work is complete and the fossil cat is ready for exhibition, portions of the fossil remains are now on display inside the paleontology lab, which can be seen from within the Harvest Foundation Hall of Ancient Life!

map of Virginia and surrounding areas

Please Visit Us Soon

Hours:

Tuesday - Saturday: 10am - 4pm
Sunday - Monday: Closed

Admission:

$10 for ages 18-59
$5 for ages 3-17, seniors 60+, and college students
FREE for children under 3, museum members, and members of ASTC participating institutions

My 4 year old son loves going to the museum. The exhibits are educational, interactive and kid-friendly.

Beth Deathrage

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