News Articles

A special thank you to Dollar Tree for your continued support of the Virginia Museum of Natural ...

A special thank you to Dollar Tree for your continued support of the Virginia Museum of Natural ...

November 30, 2017

A special thank you to Dollar Tree for your continued support of the Virginia Museum of Natural History's educational programs! Your support goes a long way in allowing the museum to deliver exceptional programming to Virginia's school students, such as those at Achilles Elementary in Gloucester County!


#GivingTuesday is here!

November 28, 2017

#GivingTuesday is here! Whether you purchase a Virginia Museum of Natural History Membership, donate to the Discovery Fund, sponsor a school group visit, or share museum information on social media, your support helps us continue inspiring today's students and tomorrow's leaders. Thank you for your support!


Holiday sales in the Museum Store!

November 27, 2017

Holiday sales in the Museum Store! This week's featured product is the Disappearing Dinosaur Mug! Was the extinction of dinosaurs caused by hot coffee? Pour hot liquid into the mug and watch the dinosaurs turn into fossils! Mugs are 20% off now through November 30 ($9.80 for members and $11.20 for non-members). Be sure to check our Facebook page for special offers now through Christmas!


"Stump the Director" is today from 11 a

November 24, 2017

"Stump the Director" is today from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.!! Be sure to visit the museum today, as Dr. Joe Keiper, executive director of VMNH, will have a special display of specimen and artifacts from the museum's collections vault! If you can ask him a question about any of the specimens that he can't answer, you will win a prize ranging from free coffee for a year from the museum's PALEO Café to free museum memberships!


In observance of Thanksgiving, the museum will close at noon today and re-open at 9 a

In observance of Thanksgiving, the museum will close at noon today and re-open at 9 a

November 22, 2017

In observance of Thanksgiving, the museum will close at noon today and re-open at 9 a.m. on Friday. Don't forget that "Stump the Director" is this Friday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.! The museum's executive director, Dr. Joe Keiper, will have special artifacts and specimens from the museum vault on display. Anyone who asks him a (reasonable) question about the objects that he can't answer will win a prize! If you have a natural history artifact of your own that you have a question about, be sure to bring it with you!


Liberty Hightower, VMNH research technician, fed the museum's leafcutter ant colony today

Liberty Hightower, VMNH research technician, fed the museum's leafcutter ant colony today

November 21, 2017

Liberty Hightower, VMNH research technician, fed the museum's leafcutter ant colony today. Even the colony's queen ant made an appearance! Well, her backside did, at least. By the way... We're in the midst of transforming the public space of the Suzanne M. Lacy Education Center into a full-fledged exhibit space! The ant colony will become the focal point of the exhibit "Farmers, Warriors, Builders: The Hidden Life of Ants", which will open Saturday, December 9! The exhibit was donated to VMNH for educational purposes by the Smithsonian Institution at the end of its national tour in 2016. The original tour ran from January 2011 to September 2016.


Earlier today ...

November 18, 2017

Earlier today, the VMNH paleo team brought the local chapter of the Master Naturalist to the Solite Quarry, great day!


Today VMNH paleo did a field trip to the Triassic Solite Quarry with the local chapter of the ...

Today VMNH paleo did a field trip to the Triassic Solite Quarry with the local chapter of the ...

November 18, 2017

Today VMNH paleo did a field trip to the Triassic Solite Quarry with the local chapter of the Master Naturalist training program. Great day and found some nice fossil plants, fish and the reptile Tanytrachelos!


Thank you to First Piedmont Corporation for your continued support of VMNH!

Thank you to First Piedmont Corporation for your continued support of VMNH!

November 17, 2017

Thank you to First Piedmont Corporation for your continued support of VMNH! Your support allows the museum to deliver top-notch educational programs, such as today's outreach program for 7th graders at Westwood Middle School in Danville!


VMNH paleontologist, Dr

VMNH paleontologist, Dr

November 15, 2017

VMNH paleontologist, Dr. Alex Hastings, had a good time talking paleo last night with the local chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist training program. Dr. Hastings talked all things fossil with the chapter and even gave participants a tour of the paleo lab and collections. Thanks to Marlene Woods for the photos!


Thank you to our Ice Age Festival sponsors: The Helen S

Thank you to our Ice Age Festival sponsors: The Helen S

November 15, 2017

Thank you to our Ice Age Festival sponsors: The Helen S. & Charles G. Patterson, Jr. Charitable Foundation Trust, U.S. Cellular, Bassett Furniture, and Boxley. Don't miss the Ice Age Festival at the Virginia Museum of Natural History on Saturday, January 20, with a student day to be held Jan. 19 thanks to the support of our Corporate Partners. We look forward to seeing you at the festival!


Congratulations to the museum's science administrator ...

Congratulations to the museum's science administrator ...

November 15, 2017

Congratulations to the museum's science administrator, Krystal Davis, for graduating from the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Development Program!


Saturday, October 14, 2017

Saturday, October 14, 2017

November 14, 2017

Saturday, October 14, 2017


Virginia Museum of Natural History staff and supporters were on hand for a reception November 9 ...

Virginia Museum of Natural History staff and supporters were on hand for a reception November 9 ...

November 10, 2017

Virginia Museum of Natural History staff and supporters were on hand for a reception November 9 celebrating the opening of a joint exhibit developed by VMNH and the Museum and Archives of Rockingham County in Reidsville, NC. The exhibit highlights the natural history of the Dan River Basin. Be sure to stop by the MARC to see this fascinating display!


Katie Hastings ...

Katie Hastings ...

November 9, 2017

Katie Hastings, VMNH educator, is at Patrick Henry Elementary School today presenting "Fantastic Food Webs" to the school's 5th grade students! Katie brought Sheldon, the museum's adorable painted turtle, as well as Reggie, the museum's friendly ball python, to help teach students about food webs - a system of interlocking and interdependent food chains. �� If you are interested in having your students participate in a museum-led program at your school or at the museum, be sure to contact us today at discover@vmnh.virginia.gov or check-out the museum's education guide online at http://www.vmnh.net/content/uploads/PDF/Education/education_program_guide.pdf!


The Virginia Museum of Natural History is now accepting applications for a Part-Time Educator

November 9, 2017

The Virginia Museum of Natural History is now accepting applications for a Part-Time Educator. Please click the below link for details.


Our Doodle Bugs program today was a ton of fun!

Our Doodle Bugs program today was a ton of fun!

November 8, 2017

Our Doodle Bugs program today was a ton of fun! Focussing on plants, we made pumpkin lifecycle hats, leaf outline paintings, and even got to inspect plants using magnifying glasses! To top it off, Doodle Bugs participants mixed their own soap using herbs and other pleasantly scented mixtures! Interested in having your pre-schooler take part in our Doodle Bugs program? Learn more about the monthly program at www.vmnh.net/doodle-bugs!


VMNH paleontologists Alex Hastings and Ray Vodden are at Virginia Tech today to talk with ...

VMNH paleontologists Alex Hastings and Ray Vodden are at Virginia Tech today to talk with ...

November 8, 2017

VMNH paleontologists Alex Hastings and Ray Vodden are at Virginia Tech today to talk with students about careers in paleo plus the re-mounting of their Allosaurus skeleton dubbed the Hokiesaurus, fun stuff!


This week, VMNH Archaeology Curator, Dr

This week, VMNH Archaeology Curator, Dr

November 8, 2017

This week, VMNH Archaeology Curator, Dr. Elizabeth Moore, is excavating in Pittsylvania County with colleagues and students from Ohio University, the Archeological Society of Virginia, and NC State. The rain and cold does not stop this intrepid field crew from investigating evidence of some of Virginia's earliest inhabitants. Also seen in the field this week, river otters, gray fox, a bald eagle, and three deer who were swimming across the river.


Sign-up your child for Youth Curator Camp today!

Sign-up your child for Youth Curator Camp today!

November 8, 2017

Sign-up your child for Youth Curator Camp today! Youth Curator Camp is an opportunity for children ages 6 to 12 to meet the museum's scientists and educators, learn about the museum, and participate in fun, hands-on activities and programs led by the scientists! In addition, campers will enjoy pizza and a movie in the museum's Education Center! It all takes place on Saturday, December 9 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Register online today at www.vmnh.net/youth-curator-camp! A list of programs campers will participate in are listed below. Registration is only $30 per camper and only $25 per camper for VMNH members. The deadline to register is Monday, December 4. Tricky Tracks Presented by Dr. Nancy Moncrief, Curator of ...


Short and dark video from inside one of the main caverns in a cave near Blacksburg, Virginia

November 7, 2017

Short and dark video from inside one of the main caverns in a cave near Blacksburg, Virginia. Taken by VMNH paleontologist Alex Hastings. Huge space deep underground. The only light was from a couple headlamps, but hopefully you can get a little of the feeling to be in a huge, dark space underground.


This weekend ...

This weekend ...

November 7, 2017

This weekend, VMNH paleontologist, Alex Hastings was back in a cave, training for future fossil-collecting cave work. This time he was near Blacksburg, Virginia where there are some beautiful caverns! Light is pretty limited (just a headlamp) so photos are a little dark (not a surprise, right?). Pretty cool to run into salamanders deep underground!


Our scientists and educators are still excited to have had the opportunity to participate in ...

Our scientists and educators are still excited to have had the opportunity to participate in ...

November 6, 2017

Our scientists and educators are still excited to have had the opportunity to participate in this year's SOVA Career Choice Youth Expo! We're looking forward to the 2018 expo on October 3 & 4!


Delegate Les Adams (right) presented a resolution by the Virginia House of Delegates honoring ...

Delegate Les Adams (right) presented a resolution by the Virginia House of Delegates honoring ...

November 5, 2017

Delegate Les Adams (right) presented a resolution by the Virginia House of Delegates honoring the Virginia Museum of Natural History's "2017 Year of Discovery" program. Accepting are Dr. Barry Dorsey, Chair of the VMNH Board of Trustees (middle) and Dr. Joe Keiper, Executive Director (left).


We aren't an art museum, but we create works of art!

November 3, 2017

We aren't an art museum, but we create works of art! Ray Vodden, who leads the museum's casting and molding program, is busy creating cast displays of Ice Age animals that will be part of the upcoming Ice Age Festival at the museum on Saturday, January 20. Stop by the museum soon and you might be lucky enough to see Ray inside the paleontology lab working on the displays, including this Ice Age wolf!


A Project Learning Tree educator workshop is taking place at the museum today in partnership ...

A Project Learning Tree educator workshop is taking place at the museum today in partnership ...

November 3, 2017

A Project Learning Tree educator workshop is taking place at the museum today in partnership with Reynolds Homestead. A new batch of educators in the region are becoming Project Learning Tree certified!


A colony of Chinese Needle Ants has been started by Dr

A colony of Chinese Needle Ants has been started by Dr

November 2, 2017

A colony of Chinese Needle Ants has been started by Dr. Kal Ivanov, assistant curator of invertebrate zoology, inside his museum lab!


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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