News Articles

December 22, 2017

Our sincerest condolences go out to the family of Clay Gravely, who served for many years on both the VMNH Foundation Board and Advisory Board.

December 21, 2017

Congratulations to the awardees who will be honored at the 31st annual Thomas Jefferson Awards February 15, 2018 at the Library of Virginia: Dr. Robert J. Bodnar, Dr. Dennis Casey, Michael J. Pinder, and The Helen S. and Charles G. Patterson, Jr. Charitable Foundation Trust.

December 16, 2017

Dr. Nancy Moncrief, VMNH Curator of Mammalogy, and Krystal Davis, VMNH Science Administrator, are in Washington, D.C. today visiting our friends at the Smithsonian. They even made a new friend outside on a city bench!

December 16, 2017

Krystal Davis, VMNH Science Administrator, and Dr. Nancy Moncrief, VMNH Curator of Mammalogy, are at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. today to learn more about how our friends at the Smithsonian are using augmented reality experiences within the exhibits.

December 14, 2017

Dr. Raymond D. Dueser, Professor Emeritus at Utah State University and Visiting Professor at the University of Virginia, presented "Virginia's barrier islands: A natural laboratory for the study of ecology and evolution" on December 14th as part of the museum's 2nd Thursday Science Talks series.

December 12, 2017

The next edition of the Virginia Museum of Natural History's 2017-18 "2nd Thursday Science Talks" series takes place this Thursday from 6 to 7 p.m., when Dr. Raymond D. Dueser, Professor Emeritus at Utah State University and Visiting Professor at the University of Virginia, presents "Virginia's barrier islands: A natural laboratory for the study of ecology and evolution". Free admission to the 2nd Thursday Science Talks is made possible by VMNH Membership support. Click to learn more! Photo © DCR-DNH, Gary P. Fleming

December 11, 2017

It is with great sadness that we announce that dear friend and longtime museum volunteer Ward Littlefield recently passed away. Ward was an incredibly devoted volunteer, putting in over 8,000 hours of service, largely spending his time sorting through artifacts in the archaeology lab and fossils inside the paleontology lab. We'll greatly miss seeing Ward in the labs each morning, but we'll cherish the memories of his time at VMNH.

December 8, 2017

VMNH paleontologist Alex Hastings wrapped today at the Luck Stone Quarry in Culpeper, Virginia with grad students from the University of Florida. We hope to get some great 3D models from the photos taken. Check out the video from this morning for more on the site & project. With Florida Museum of Natural History, iDigFossils and University of Florida College of Education

December 8, 2017

MUSEUM STORE HOLIDAY PROMOTION OF THE WEEK Arrive at your next holiday party with the perfect hostess gift of Virginia food products! Carriage House Cheese Straws, Virginia Peanuts, and Nancy's Fudge will be discounted 20% (30% for VMNH Members) now through December 14!

December 8, 2017

Live from the Luck Stone Quarry in Culpeper, Virginia making 3D models of dinosaur tracks for K-12 education. Joined by grad students from the University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History iDigFossils University of Florida College of Education #outreach #dinotracks #broaderimpacts

December 7, 2017

The museum hosted a special reception this evening for VMNH members to celebrate the opening of the exhibit "Farmers, Warriors, Builders: The Hidden Life of Ants". The exhibit will make its public debut inside the museum's Suzanne M. Lacy Education Center tomorrow at 9 a.m.!

December 7, 2017

VMNH paleontologist Dr. Alex Hastings was at the Luck Stone Quarry in Culpeper, Virginia today with students from the Florida Museum of Natural History to generate 3D models of dinosaur tracks. Got help from two students at the College of William and Mary too! Also stopped by the Museum of Culpeper History. Join us tomorrow at 9:00am for a live feed from the dino track site!

December 7, 2017

DINOSAUR TRACKS VIA FACEBOOK LIVE TOMORROW! Join Dr. Alex Hastings, assistant curator of paleontology, live from Culpepper, Virginia tomorrow (Friday, December 8) at 9 a.m., as he shows off the amazing dinosaur trackways of the Luck Stone Quarry. The exquisitely preserved dinosaur tracks are a marvel that keep bringing VMNH scientists back to the quarry time after time. Now, you, too, can experience this amazing paleo site!

December 7, 2017

"Farmers, Warriors, Builders: The Hidden Life of Ants" will make its public debut inside the Suzanne M. Lacy Education Center at the museum tomorrow! Staff are putting the finishing touches on the exhibit for this evening's members-only reception. The museum's newest exhibit allows visitors to view the world at an ant's level through the macro lens photography and insight of famed ant expert and photographer, Dr. Mark Moffett, as well as witness the incredible world of ants first-hand through an elaborate leafcutter ant colony. "Farmers, Warriors, Builders: The Hidden Life of Ants" was donated to VMNH for educational purposes by the Smithsonian Institution at the end of its national tour in 2016. The original tour ran ...

December 7, 2017

The exhibit "Farmers, Warriors, Builders: The Hidden Life of Ants" opens to the public on Friday, December 8 at the Virginia Museum of Natural History. This spectacular exhibit was donated to VMNH for educational purposes by the Smithsonian Institution at the end of its national tour.

December 7, 2017

Mark your calendars now for the Ice Age Festival on Saturday, January 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville for a day full of incredible displays of the most iconic animals to roam the earth during the last Ice Age! The event also includes actual Ice Age fossils, presentations by Ice Age experts, as well as all of the games, crafts and activities that you'd expect at a museum festival! For the first time ever at VMNH, witness the incredible cast-skeleton of Stegodon, a LARGER relative of mammoths and mastodons! The display is OVER 12 FEET IN HEIGHT and OVER 26 FEET IN LENGTH...and that doesn't even include the 10 foot long tusks! Meet the life-like recreation of an 8 foot tall, ...

December 1, 2017

Fill your holiday season with warmth and scent with items from the Museum Store's scented candle collection! 20% OFF candle products! 30% OFF candle products for VMNH members! Promotion ends December 7!