Hours & Admissions
Directions
On Thursday, March 18 at 6:30 p.m., the Virginia Museum of Natural History Foundation will host the 33rd Annual Thomas Jefferson Awards ceremony. The awards ceremony - which honors individuals and organizations throughout Virginia for outstanding contributions to natural science, natural science education, and conservation - will be held via Zoom and broadcasted live on the museum's YouTube page for the public to view. Dr. Mark Crabtree, former member of the VMNH Board of Trustees, will serve as this year's keynote speaker.
The 33rd Annual Thomas Jefferson Awards ceremony was originally scheduled to take place as an in-person event in March 2020, but was postponed due to the ongoing pandemic.
Awards to be acknowledged during the virtual ceremony include:
The William Barton Rogers Corporate Award, which has been awarded to the National Society of Black Engineers. Accepting for NSBE is Mr. Charles Thompson III, Interim Executive Director of the National Society of Black Engineers. The National Society of Black Engineers is being honored for its long-time commitment to STEM education across the nation and, specifically, throughout the Commonwealth. NSBE has been a long-time partner of VMNH, with the mutual goal of educating future generations of STEM leaders.
The Noel T. Boaz Director’s Award, which has been awarded to Cynthia Eanes Gray (In Memoriam). Accepting are Matthew Rorrer and Philip Rorrer, Cindy’s sons. Cindy is being honored and remembered for her decades of faithful service to VMNH, as well as her commitment to excellence in helping the museum grow and reach generations of visitors.
The Thomas Jefferson Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Natural Science, which has been awarded to Dr. Jim Beard for his long-time service to the Virginia Museum of Natural History as Curator of Earth Sciences. Dr. Beard retired in 2020, and has since been appointed as Curator Emeritus of Earth Sciences by the VMNH Board of Trustees.
The Thomas Jefferson Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Natural Science Education, which has been awarded to Dr. DorothyBelle Poli and Dr. Lisa G. Stoneman for their dedicated service to science education both in their work as faculty at Roanoke College and through their leadership of the Dragon Research Collaborative. This multi-disciplinary program started as a research project aimed at finding a link between the ancient fossilized Lepidodendron plants and the lore of dragons. This unique research collaborative inspired the successful Dragon Festivals at VMNH, which have drawn thousands of visitors from across the region and beyond.
