Petra on Exhibit!

This August, the museum's paleontology team is set to unleash the incredibly well-preserved fossil remains of the ancient cave cat, Petra, inside the museum's exhibit galleries for the first time ever!

The pop-up exhibit will include the individual fossil remains of Petra laid out across multiple paleontology research tables, with experienced museum staff on-hand to provide visitors with Petra's backstory and to help field questions.

Visitors who choose to take part in this optional add-on experience will not only gain access to the exhibit, but will receive a FREE Petra keychain and will be entered into drawings for a chance to win FREE tickets to the museum's annual Bonez & Booz Halloween bash on Saturday, October 25, as well as the chance to win a 3D printed puma skull!

The pop-up exhibit experience will be offered to all museum visitors during regular operating hours from August 8-10 and August 12-15 for an additional $7 fee ($3 for VMNH Members, ASTCP Passport holders, and qualifying participants of the 'Museums for All' program).

Affectionately named Petra (derived from the Greek word "petros", meaning rock or stone), the ancient cat's skeleton laid undisturbed deep within a cave in western Virginia for many centuries until a field crew of nearly a dozen experts - led by former Virginia Museum of Natural History Assistant Curator of Paleontology (and current Fitzpatrick Chair of Paleontology at the Science Museum of Minnesota) Dr. Alex Hastings - extracted the fossil remains in 2021 and successfully transported the specimens to their new home here at VMNH.

Recognized as one of Virginia's top ten endangered artifacts by the Virginia Association of Museums, museum paleontologists have spent the past several years meticulously preparing the fossil remains of the cave cat in order to get it ready for public exhibition, and to determine the exact species that Petra belongs to and the time period in which Petra lived.

Initial theories have ranged from Petra being an ancient cougar to the possibility of it being 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. Though the mystery surrounding Petra has yet to be solved and preparation of the fossil remains continues, researchers are getting closer to solving the puzzle every day!

Tickets for this add-on experience can be purchased online in advance or at the museum box office upon arrival. Each ticket sold online includes general museum admission. Each ticket can be used once on one of the following dates and between the following times:

Friday, August 8
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday, August 9
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sunday, August 10
Noon to 4 p.m.

Tuesday, August 12
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Wednesday, August 13
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Thursday, August 14
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Friday, August 15
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Get tickets now!

* Cover image of Petra (as found in cave) is courtesy of Katarina Kosic Ficco, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Karst Program