News Articles

October 28, 2019

Hidden Rivers Film Premiere Tuesday, November 12 "Hidden Rivers" is a 1-hour film that explores the rivers and streams of the Southern Appalachian region, North America's most biologically rich waters. The film follows the work of conservation biologists and explorers throughout the region - revealing both the beauty and vulnerability of aquatic life - and how many people are finding ways to protect these ecosystems. Please go to Hidden Rivers Film Premiere to learn more about the screening and RSVP today! Admission is free to attend, but RSPV's are requested!

October 23, 2019

Behind-the-scenes tours and "pay-what-you-wish" admission on Sunday, November 3 and Sunday, December 8! Special thanks to Martinsville Speedway and First Piedmont Corporation for helping make this program possible!

October 23, 2019

The museum was fortunate to take part in the MHC After 3 "Lights on After School" event at Patrick Henry Community College in Henry County yesterday evening! The nationwide event celebrates after school programs and their important role in the lives of children, families and communities. Debbi Bryant represented the museum's education department at the event with a hands-on program for the students in attendance.

October 22, 2019

Ray Vodden, chief preparator at VMNH, recently completed two flesh-model displays (dunkleosteus and platecarpus) that will soon be on exhibit inside the museum's "Fossil Overlook" gallery!

October 18, 2019

DRAGON FESTIVAL PARKING INFO Be sure to look for the red Festival Parking signs, when you arrive at Dragon Festival 2019 this Saturday! Because festival activities will utilize the majority of the museum's parking lot, public parking for this event will be available off site. There will be LIMITED HANDICAPPED PARKING spaces available in the museum's parking lot near the gate. Free public parking will be available at the First Baptist Church (directly next to the museum and accessible via Starling Avenue, Oakdale Street, and Mulberry Road), the Martinsville YMCA (also directly next to the museum and accessible via Starling Avenue) and the Children's Medical Center (across the street from the museum and accessible via ...

October 17, 2019

DRAGON FESTIVAL PARKING INFO Be sure to look for the red Festival Parking signs, when you arrive at Dragon Festival 2019 this Saturday! Because festival activities will utilize the majority of the museum's parking lot, public parking for this event will be available off site. There will be LIMITED HANDICAPPED PARKING spaces available in the museum's parking lot near the gate. Free public parking will be available at the First Baptist Church (directly next to the museum and accessible via Starling Avenue, Oakdale Street, and Mulberry Road), the Martinsville YMCA (also directly next to the museum and accessible via Starling Avenue) and the Children's Medical Center (across the street from the museum and accessible via ...

October 17, 2019

It's National Archaeology Month and students taking part in yesterday's Homeschool Science & Engineering Academy connected live via Skype with Virginia State Archaeologist, Dr. Elizabeth Moore, and Dr. Laura Galke, who serves as Chief Curator for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources! Dr. Moore and Dr. Galke were able to talk with the students about research projects they are involved with and answered students' questions about archaeology in the Commonwealth!

October 16, 2019

Preliminary set-up began today, as we get ready for this Saturday's Dragon Festival 2019! We install the dragons tomorrow!

October 15, 2019

Wayne Theatre Signature Speaker Series: "Grand Caverns and the Karst Geology of our Region" presented by Josh Rubenstin & Scott Wahlquist

October 11, 2019

It's not every day you see a dragon head being transported in a box truck! That's exactly what happened yesterday, as museum staff loaded one of the dragons that will be on display during Dragon Festival 2019 on Saturday, October 19 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the museum! Learn more about the big event at Dragon Festival 2019!

October 11, 2019

Come meet New York Times bestselling author, Sharyn McCrumb, at Dragon Festival on Saturday, October 19! McCrumb is best known for her Appalachian "Ballad" novels, including the New York Times best sellers The Ballad of Tom Dooley, The Ballad of Frankie Silver, and Ghost Riders, which won the Wilma Dykeman Award for Literature from the East Tennessee Historical Society and the national Audie Award for Best Recorded Book. Her current novels are Prayers the Devil Answers, the story of the last public hanging ever carried out in the United States, and The Unquiet Grave, the story of West Virginia's Greenbrier Ghost. Dragon Festival 2019 is Saturday, October 19 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.!

October 10, 2019

Thanks to Kafenio Mediterranean Cuisine in Uptown Martinsville for helping us celebrate Dragon Festival with its own offering of dragonish items!

October 9, 2019

Talk about stepping up! Dr. Elizabeth Moore recently took the position of State Archaeologist for the Commonwealth of Virginia and the museum is currently in the midst of an international search for our next Curator of Archaeology. In the meantime, members of our awesome base of volunteers are helping fill the void inside the lab, as they continue work on ongoing archaeology projects!

October 9, 2019

Behind-the-scenes tours and special Sunday hours!

October 8, 2019

Donnie Jones, museum technician, is busy installing a Tylosaurus skull inside the Fossil Overlook exhibit today! Tylosaurus was a predatory marine reptile that lived during the Late Cretaceous (approximately 101 to 66 million years ago). The new display is part of multiple major updates currently taking place inside the Fossil Overlook gallery.

October 8, 2019

As major updates continue to take place inside the Fossil Overlook exhibit, new specimens are being prepared for display. Seen here are two ginsu shark teeth and a goblin shark tooth. These particular teeth are from sharks that lived during the Cretaceous Period (approximately 145.5 to 65.5 million years ago). When the exhibit updates are complete, the Fossil Overlook will feature eight species of shark from the Cretaceous Period.

October 7, 2019

Tuesday, October 15 in Waynesboro!

October 5, 2019

Museum staff are at Virginia Tech today for Hokie Bugfest! Dr. Kal Ivanov, assistant curator of invertebrate zoology, Liberty Hightower, research technician, and Ben Williams, science administrator, are spending the day showing off specimens from the VMNH entomology collections!

October 3, 2019

Science, history and myth collide during Dragon Festival 2019 on Saturday, October 19 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.! Explore the lore of dragons, the impact these creatures have had on societies across the globe, and the science behind the growth and dissemination of their myth! All of the sights and sounds that make the myth of dragons so alluring will be in full-force throughout the day! EXPERIENCES INCLUDE... Dragon Displays and Art A Life-Size Dragon Sculpture Fire Performances Blacksmith Presentations Vikings Stilt Walkers Sci-Fi and Fantasy Authors Live music Beer/Meade Garden (11 a.m. to 6 p.m. | $5 per beer/meade ticket) Ren Faire Marketplace Games, Crafts and Activities Food Trucks Much more! ADMISSION IS ONLY... ...

October 2, 2019

Alicia Lantz, museum paleontology volunteer, helped transport a Xiphactinus (giant Cretaceous fish) fossil from the paleontolgy lab to the Fossil Overlook exhibit today. The fossil, which Alicia helped prepare for display, has never been on exhibit before and is part of many changes currently taking place inside the exhibit.

October 2, 2019

Joel Clifton, trades technician, is adding and rearranging specimens today to the "52 Virginia Discoveries" exhibit, a free display located in the museum lobby that features a new scientific discovery each week throughout 2019.

October 2, 2019

The Museum Store is ready...are you? Dragon Festival 2019 is Saturday, October 19!

October 1, 2019

Dragon Festival 2019 will have a little bit of everything! Ben Williams, science administrator, is busy with some minor mechanical adjustments to the "Hungry Dragon" game...because who doesn't want to try their hand at shooting a quarter into a dragon's mouth?? Careful, Ben!

October 1, 2019

VMNH staff participated in a team-building workshop this morning at Virginia Tech's Reynolds Homestead! Much of the morning was spent on the Homestead's low rope course and we're pleased to report no serious injuries and a whole lot of employee bonding!