News Articles

May 30, 2018

Drs. Kal Ivanov and Nancy Moncrief presented results from their current research activities at a recent meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science. Dr. Ivanov discussed his "Ants of Virginia" project, and Dr. Moncrief shared information about her studies of raccoons that live on the Virginia barrier islands. Dr. Ivanov also chaired the afternoon session of oral presentations in the Entomology section, and Dr. Moncrief chaired the morning session for Natural History and Biodiversity. The first presentation in that section was given by a student (Nicole Romine) who is working in Wyoming with VMNH Research Associate Dr. Brooke Haiar and VMNH Assistant Curator of Paleontology Dr. Alex Hastings.

May 30, 2018

Dr. Joe Keiper, executive director of VMNH, and Dr. Jim Beard, curator of earth sciences, are at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria today presenting at the tjSTAR symposium! The duo is presenting programs on comparative medical entomology and comparative planetology. The annual tjSTAR event is a day-long symposium that is an opportunity for Thomas Jefferson High School students to share research projects and to learn about future research opportunities at the school, as well as learn about potential careers.

May 26, 2018

VMNH paleo was out today at the Aurora Fossil Festival in sunny Aurora, North Carolina. Great day talking about the museum's dinosaur collection and our #digitization project plus some promo for #DinoFest in July. Great day to talk about the science of ancient life! #FantasticFossils #scicomm #ScienceSaturdays

May 24, 2018

VMNH paleo curator Dr Alex Hastings and emeritus curator Dr Lauck Ward are at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Association of Vertebrate Paleontology presenting great fossils of Virginia. The meeting is in sunny Aurora, North Carolina, where fossils abound both at the conference center and right in front of the Aurora Fossil Museum. Dr Hastings collected all the way to sunset! #2018SeAVP #caves #fossils

May 21, 2018

June 11 - 15, Ages 9 - 11 Come find out if you can make it as an astronaut! This camp is all about space and everything in it! Space suits, aliens, even ice cream! Campers who attend this camp will gain free entry to the museum's first-ever Space Festival happening Saturday, June 16! Registration deadline is May 28.

May 19, 2018

We're less than a month away from liftoff!

May 17, 2018

Little video extracting a whale vertebra from the skeleton today, about 12 million years old from the Carmel Church Quarry fossil site in Ruther Glen, Virginia.

May 17, 2018

VMNH paleo ended up with a great day at the Carmel Church Quarry fossil site today. Pulled out a big set of whale ribs plus a vertebra (video will be posted soon). A few other odds and ends too, not a bad day overall!

May 16, 2018

June 4 - 8, Ages 9 - 11 Outdoor Adventures – Campers will discover the amazing plants and animals that call our backyard home as we explore the trails and natural areas around VMNH. Dress for the outdoors! Registration deadline is May 21. Rates: $115 members/$125 non-members (extra fees may apply for some camps) and include a morning and afternoon snack, as well as all activities such as take-home crafts, engineer designs, group projects, and experiments. All camps are from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Before and after camp care is available upon request. To register, please submit the forms below before the registration deadline along with a $25 non-refundable deposit. The $25 will be deducted from the cost of camp and the ...

May 16, 2018

VMNH paleo was back out today at the Carmel Church Quarry fossil site. Managed a half day before the heavy rain set in. Got some of the whale out plus another piece of crocodile bone (!), thanks to our great volunteers for helping us cover the site in the rain! Made a stop at the Caroline County Visitor Center to see their whale skeleton 'Spouticus'. Fingers crossed for tomorrow!

May 16, 2018

We celebrated another amazing school year of Homeschool programming at the museum today! Dozens of homeschoolers took part in our annual homeschool graduation ceremony, celebrating their participation in our series of bi-weekly homeschool programming throughout the year! We're already planning our programming for next school year and we're accepting new homeschool students! If you are interested, be sure to visit www.vmnh.net/homeschool-education or contact us at discover@vmnh.virginia.gov today!

May 15, 2018

Had a great first day back at the Carmel Church Quarry fossil site today in sunny Ruther Glen. Hauled through some serious dirt on the whale excavation and got some nice fish fossils. Thanks to Lucy Treado for the pictures!

May 15, 2018

We had an awesome time hosting a museum sleepover for Boy Scouts Troop 368 out of Newport News this past weekend! The Scouts took part in a number of activities and earned their environmental science merit badge (a requirement for being an Eagle Scout) along the way! Of course, they also slept among the dinosaurs and other massive creatures inside the Harvest Foundation Hall of Ancient Life! Want to schedule a group sleepover of your own? We've got you covered! Be sure to visit www.vmnh.net/sleepovers or contact us at discover@vmnh.virginia.gov! Sleepovers aren't just for Scouts!

May 15, 2018

Did you know that law enforcement agencies frequently consult with VMNH scientists on a variety of investigations? Over the past two weeks, Dr. Elizabeth Moore, curator of archaeology, has consulted twice with investigators from the local sheriff's office to help identify bones that authorities have found in the area. Fortunately, in both cases, these were deer bones. Dr. Moore was able to identify these bones using a collection of animal skeletons maintained for identifying animal bones from archaeological sites. If you would like to learn more about skeletons, visit the museum's "Stories from Skeletons" exhibit inside the Harvest Foundation Hall of Ancient Life!

May 10, 2018

Dr. Elizabeth Moore, curator of archaeology, presented "Eyreville: Archaeology on Virginia's Eastern Shore" on Thursday, May 10, as part of the museum' 2nd Thursday Science Talks series. Check-out the entire presentation here!

May 10, 2018

Please note that this evening's 2nd Thursday Science Talk is at 6 p.m. "Eyreville: Archaeology on Virginia's Eastern Shore"! Presented by Dr. Elizabeth Moore, curator of archaeology Located on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, an early component at the Eyreville site is allowing archaeologists to examine Virginia's colonial settlement and adaptation in the early 17th century. Discovered during stump removal after a tree fall, parts of this site contain Dutch yellow brick, elaborately decorated Dutch pipes, and several early coins among a wide variety of artifacts. Features include a foundation, a buried hearth, and many features with oyster shell and animal bone including pig and cow. An examination of the animal ...

May 10, 2018

Students from Faith Christian School in Roanoke vistied the museum today and were given the opportunity to interact with the museum's sceintists, as well as go behind the scenes to learn about the millions of specimens inside the museum's collection vaults! Dr. Joe Keiper, executive director of the museum and expert forensic entomologist, started the students' visit by giving them an introduction to the how law enforcement uses insects to help piece together criminal investigations.

May 9, 2018

Tonight VMNH Curator of Archaeology, Dr. Elizabeth Moore had the pleasure of serving as a reviewer for senior presentations at the Piedmont Governor's School for Math, Science, and Technology. The students did a wonderful job and we congratulate them and Dr. Nina Huff, their research teacher.

May 9, 2018

Join us tomorrow at 6 p.m. for the final edition of the 2017-18 season of 2nd Thursday Science Talks, when Dr. Elizabeth Moore, curator of archaeology, presents "Eyreville: Archaeology on Virginia's Eastern Shore"! Admission is free! Located on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, an early component at the Eyreville site is allowing archaeologists to examine Virginia's colonial settlement and adaptation in the early 17th century. Discovered during stump removal after a tree fall, parts of this site contain Dutch yellow brick, elaborately decorated Dutch pipes, and several early coins among a wide variety of artifacts. Features include a foundation, a buried hearth, and many features with oyster shell and animal bone ...

May 8, 2018

Earlier today the VMNH paleo team was at Luck Stone's quarry in sunny Culpeper, Virginia. This quarry has an amazingly large rock bed loaded with #dinosaur tracks from about 225 million years ago. We were there to cut out an interesting block (more on that later) but also ran into a rare phytosaur tooth (extinct crocodile-like animal). Great day for #paleontology in Virginia!

May 8, 2018

Students from Union Hall Elementary School's kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade classes visited the museum yesterday and enjoyed a guided tour of the museum's exhibits! The students also got to meet some of the museum's live animals, as the students explored the life needs, characteristics, adaptations, and habitats of animals during the "Animal Needs"classroom program led by VMNH educators!

May 8, 2018

Say hello to Boy Scouts of America Troop 2 from Clifton Forge, Virginia! These scouts were the latest group to take advantage of a Virginia Museum of Natural History sleepover. The troop spent this past Saturday evening exploring the museum, participating in a variety of activities, and earning their archaeology badge along the way! Of course, the evening was capped-off by spending the night among the dinosaurs and other creatures inside the Harvest Foundation Hall of Ancient Life! Sleepovers are available to Scouts, school groups, church groups...practically any group that would like the unique opportunity of a real-life Night at the Museum! Visit https://www.vmnh.net/sleepovers for more information, or contact us at ...

May 7, 2018

Thanks to the generosity of Bill and Mary Jane Henika, the museum is now in position to offer scientific research grants to researchers at other museums and universities in an effort to advance scientific knowledge! During last Friday's reception to celebrate the founding of the endowment fund, the museum announced it has awarded Kirkland Broadwell, a Ph.D. candidate in the field of geology at Virginia Tech, a research grant to support his research into the age and geologic history of the southern Appalachians.

May 5, 2018

We're celebrating Salamander Saturday until 3 p.m. with a special display of live salamanders and specimens from the museum collections for museum patrons to check-out!

May 5, 2018

The museum, along with Patrick Henry Community College, hosted the "Salamander Search" on Saturday, May 5, as part of "Salamander Saturday". The public field trip allowed people of all ages to join professional herpetologists and scientists on a search for salamanders and other amphibians (and reptiles). The search was held on the campus of the college.

May 4, 2018

This cutie and its friends are waiting to see you during tomorrow's Salamander Saturday!

May 2, 2018

Looking for a fun way to spend this Saturday morning outdoors? Join us for a salamander search led by expert herpetologists!

May 1, 2018

We had a blast hosting teachers, educators and administrators throughout the region at this year's Teacher Appreciation Night presented by El Norteño Mexican Restaurant! The museum hosted the free event in conjunction with with the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce as our way of saying "Thanks!!" to the amazing and dedicated teachers throughout Virginia and elsewhere. Special thanks to El Norteño for providing free food and drinks, as well as all of the local businesses and organizations for providing door prizes!