News Articles

January 31, 2018

This humungous inflatable ship will make its public, one-day-only debut at VMNH on Saturday, February 17 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.! Visitors will be able to walk through the 45-foot long replica of the JOIDES Resolution research vessel, and explore six, interactive, hands-on learning stations situated around a 30-foot long floor map. The exhibit is designed to heighten public awareness of the latest scientific understanding of the Earth through drilling, coring and monitoring the sub-seafloor. More details about the unveiling will be announced soon! The ship is part of the new traveling exhibit "In Search of Earth's Secrets: A Pop-Up Science Encounter". Smaller portions of the exhibit are scheduled to be displayed at ...

January 31, 2018

Thank you to WSLS 10 / WSLS.com for stopping by to learn about this exciting project!

January 30, 2018

Thank you to King's Grant Retirement Community for visiting the museum! Museum educators and interpreters gave the group a tour of the exhibits and Ryan Barber, deputy director, gave a brief presentation about the museum as the group finished their lunch catered by the museum's PALEO Café. Be sure to contact us at 276-634-4185 or discover@vmnh.virginia.gov to schedule your own group visit to the museum!

January 30, 2018

VMNH is putting together a temporary display for #DarwinDay at Roanoke College, set to go up this Friday (Feb 2). Today we got help from Roanoke College's own Kendall Cates with some plesiosaur bones (marine reptile). Stay tuned for updates from RC later this week!

January 30, 2018

We had an amazing time hosting a MUSEUM SLEEPOVER for the Boy Scouts of Christiansburg and Smith Mountain Lake this past weekend! Before sleeping among the dinosaurs in the Hall of Ancient Life, the boys participated in a variety of activities, including the "Mad Scientist" themed program led by museum educators! Interested in a sleepover at the museum for your group? Be sure to visit www.vmnh.net/sleepovers to learn more, or contact us at discover@vmnh.virginia.gov or 276-634-4185 today!

January 25, 2018

Dr. Hastings talked to the NY Times about giant tortoises as a fine dining option. Well, not for him, but the ancient crocodiles he studies.

January 24, 2018

We at the Virginia Museum of Natural History are saddened by the news that the eastern cougar has officially been declared extinct. While not surprising, we hope that this declaration is universally accepted as sombering news and serves as motivation for each of us to learn about - and appreciate - the natural resources and species of our great planet, so that no inhabitant ever again suffers a similar, unacceptable fate. UPDATE For more information, we encourage you to go to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife website at www.fws.gov/northeast/ecougar.

January 23, 2018

The Virginia Museum of Natural History has received a $43,289 grant from the Federal Bureau of Land Management (under the Department of the Interior) to begin a year-long project to fully catalogue, georeference and photograph 4,873 animal and plant fossils dating back to the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. The fossils, which were collected from the Upper Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation on federally protected land in Montana between 1990 and 2010, not only contain a robust sampling of earth's ecosystem about 68 million years ago, but one-of-a-kind specimens not found anywhere else on the globe.

January 20, 2018

We're having a TON OF FUN at the ICE AGE FESTIVAL!! The event lasts until 3 p.m. and we hope to see you here! #IceAgeFestival

January 20, 2018

Clawd and his Ice Age friends are ready for today's Ice Age Festival from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.!! A plethora of Ice Age fossils, casts (including the 26-foot-long, 12-foot-tall Stegodon - an even LARGER relative of Mammoths and Mastodons), and activities will take place throughout the day! Don't miss-out!! #IceAgeFestival

January 19, 2018

The museum is hosting a special reception this evening for its members in preparation for tomorrow's Ice Age Festival. Dr. Joe Keiper, executive director of VMNH, Dr. Alex Hastings, assistant curator of plaleontology, and Ray Vodden, research technician, were all on hand to talk with guests about the Ice Age and give a preview of all the amazing displays and exhibits that will be available at tomorrow's Ice Age Festival! We hope to see you tomorrow at the museum from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.! #IceAgeFestival

January 19, 2018

We are pleased to share the below Ice Age Festival schedule of activities. We look forward to seeing you there! #IceAgeFestival

January 19, 2018

Cabin fever from all of the snow? Paying visitors to the museum today will receive FREE admission to tomorrow's Ice Age Festival from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.!! We're open until 5 today! Exhibit staff and curators are in the exhibit halls making last minute exhibit updates and conducting TV interviews for tomorrow's big event. Be sure to strike up a conversation with our crew, if you see them in the galleries!

January 18, 2018

Due to winter weather, the museum is closed Thursday, January 18. The Ice Age Festival is still scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunny skies and temperatures in the 50's are expected Saturday! We do not anticipate altering the day/time of the festival, but any changes will be announced on our Facebook page, as well the museum's website at www.vmnh.net. Thank you!

January 17, 2018

It feels like the Ice Age outside today, but fret not! Beautiful weather and temperatures in the 50's are in store for the Ice Age Festival on Saturday, January 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at VMNH! Don't miss-out! #IceAgeFestival

January 17, 2018

The AMAZING Ice Age Festival is set for this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.!! #IceAgeFestival

January 17, 2018

Dr. Hastings is in the WSLS10 green room getting ready for his Daytime Blue Ridge studio interview in about 10 minutes to talk about this Saturday's Ice Age Festival! #IceAgeFestival

January 17, 2018

Nice snowy walk to snowy museum on a snowy day! Although we're closed today, dedicated staffers already at work doing serious stuff for the Commonwealth... Bring on Ice Age Fest, Jefferson Awards, and the next great discoveries!

January 11, 2018

Dr. DorothyBelle Poli is tonight 's "2nd Thursday Science" Talk presenter. Don't miss the next science talk, to be presented by Dr. Alex Hastings, Assistant Curator of Paleontology on Thursday, February 8.

January 11, 2018

Dr. Alex Hastings, assistant curator of paleontology, is busy with media interviews in preparation for the Ice Age Festival on Saturday, January 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. WSET13 stopped by this afternoon to talk to him about the festival and the massive Stegodon display that awaits visitors next Saturday. If you are in the Roanoke viewing market, be sure to catch Dr. Hastings this coming Wednesday on WSLS10's Daytime Blue Ridge broadcast! He will be showing off some awesome Ice Age specimens that will be available to visitors during next Saturday's festival! #IceAgeFestival

January 9, 2018

Here's a brief glimpse of what it's like to install a massive cast skeleton of an ancient creature at a natural history museum. We're currently erecting a Stegodon (a larger relative of mammoths and mastodons) in the Harvest Foundation Hall of Ancient Life in preparation for the Ice Age Festival on Saturday, January 20th. Make plans to attend! #IceAgeFestival

January 9, 2018

The Ice Age is being ushered in at the museum! The massive Stegodon cast skeleton is being installed today in preparation for the Saturday, January 20 Ice Age Festival! Right now, staff are organizing the rib bones of this humongous Ice Age mammal. Don't miss-out! #IceAgeFestival

January 8, 2018

Paleontology Curator Dr. Alex Hastings was back in a cave this chilly weekend to train for future fossil collecting with experienced cavers from the Cave Conservancy of the Virginias. Here are some quick (& blurry) shots from deep underground in Virginia.

January 4, 2018

In anticipation of the Ice Age Festival on Saturday, January 20, Dr. Alex Hastings, assistant curator of paleontology, is giving a special presentation to museum volunteers about the Ice Age as part of the museum's "Coffee with the Curator" series.

January 4, 2018

Be sure to join us on January 11 from 6 to 7 p.m. for the next 2nd Thursday Science Talk, when Dr. DorothyBelle Poli, associate professor within the department of biology at Roanoke College, presents " Virginia is for Bryophytes"! Admission is free!