News Articles

June 30, 2016

Exciting changes to the How Nature Works: Life gallery are beginning to take place. Stay tuned this summer for updates on all of the progress!

June 30, 2016

Jessica Clark is a graduate student from Ball State University who is interning in the archaeology lab this summer. We peeked inside the lab to see what she's working on this week.

June 29, 2016

VMNH Curator of Invertebrate Zoology Dr. Kal Ivanov talks about the ants & fossils project in northern Wyoming. Watch the little workers do their thing. #VMNHDinoDig #AntsandFossils

June 29, 2016

We're open July 4 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.! If you are looking for a great way to escape the heat and have fun before the evening fireworks, bring the family to the museum to experience life-size dinosaur casts, real dino fossils, and interactive exhibits!

June 29, 2016

Researchers from the Virginia Museum of Natural History and Lynchburg College are currently on a 3-week dinosaur excavation in Wyoming. The joint effort aims to bring back as many dinosaur fossils to Virginia as possible for future study and public exhibit. In this video, Dr. Alex Hastings, assistant curator of paleontology at VMNH, explains the delicate process of unearthing fossils in order to keep them intact as they are transported back to the east coast.

June 28, 2016

VMNH/Lynchburg Dino Dig from the camp site. #VMNHDinoDig

June 28, 2016

Dino Dig Day 6: Dr. Alex Hastings introduces Dr. Brooke Haiar of Lynchburg College and Dr. Kal Ivanov making a plaster jacket for a long-necked dinosaur bone at the Wyoming dinosaur dig. #vmnhdinodig

June 28, 2016

VMNH staff and volunteers are working hard on a variety of exciting exhibit updates throughout the museum. We are happy to introduce our newest resident, a Nile crocodile that is part of a large private collection recently donated to the museum. More updates to come!

June 28, 2016

We have curators all over the country this week! In addition to our crew in Wyoming, Dr. Nancy Moncrief is attending the 96th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists at the University of Minnesota, where she is presenting posters describing two of her research projects.

June 28, 2016

VMNH Summer Camp participants recently enjoyed the week-long "Spy Kids" camp for ages 6-8, where they completed spy training and solved the mystery of the missing Stegosaurus bone at the museum (after investigating, the campers found out that it wasn't stolen; instead it was taken off the floor to be cleaned!). We have 8 remaining camps for ages 6-8 and 9-11, with scholarships made possible by VMNH Corporate Partners. Don't wait - sign up today! Learn more at http://www.vmnh.net/summer-adventure-camps.

June 28, 2016

Wyoming Update: Day 5 of the Dino Dig - The VMNH and Lynchburg crews drove over to nearby Yellowstone National Park yesterday, home of many great geological phenomena. Amazing place for anyone interested in the natural world! #vmnhdinodig

June 27, 2016

Thank you to WSLS10 for stopping by today to get a sneak-peak of the new displays to be installed in the coming weeks!

June 27, 2016

Wyoming fieldwork comes with some nice views! #VMNHDinoDig

June 27, 2016

Wyoming Update: Dr. Kal Ivanov took temperature readings on ant mounds in northern Wyoming, as part of the ants & fossils project during Day 5 of the Dino Dig yesterday. #vmnhdinodig

June 26, 2016

Ants and their tiny fossils! Fossil sharks and invertebrates are picked up by Harvester Ants in northern Wyoming. Part of our project is to figure out where they're finding them. Both of these fossils are on a 1 cm square, very tiny! Sharks are really rare at this site, but thanks to the ants, they're easier to find on their mounds. Hopefully this project will lead to far more Jurassic Sharks (Hexanchidae) and Star Lillies (Pentacrinoides)!

June 25, 2016

Day 4 of the Dino Dig! Dr. Brooke Haiar of Lynchburg College introduces recent Lynchburg College graduate Jessie Farinholt and her two year reunion with a sauropod tibia (long-necked dinosaur). #vmnhdinodig

June 24, 2016

Wyoming Update: It's Day 3 of the Dino Dig! In this picture, Dr. Kal Ivanov is photographing a mound of harvester ants that collect small fossils and pebbles to coat their hill. Dr. Ivanov, who studies modern insects at the museum, is interested in gaining a better understanding of the "how" and "why" of this peculiar habit of harvester ants. #vmnhdinodig

June 24, 2016

Short intro to our ants & fossils project with Dr. Alex Hastings and Dr. Kal Ivanov of the VMNH. It's pretty windy there, so we apologize that the audio is a bit rough. #vmnhdinodig

June 24, 2016

Here's a short intro to our dinosaur dig site in northern Wyoming, with Dr. Alex Hastings of the VMNH and Dr. Brooke Haiar of Lynchburg College. #vmnhdinodig

June 24, 2016

Wyoming Update: Day 2 of the Dino Dig took place yesterday and it was another success! VMNH preparatory, Ray Vodden, jacketed out a sauropod (long-neck dinosaur). This bone looks to be the toe bone found by Lynchburg College student, Gage Carrol! Pics to come soon! #vmnhdinodig

June 24, 2016

Thanks to the donation of this amazing collection, significant exhibit updates will begin in the coming weeks/months! Are you a VMNH Member? Membership provides unlimited free admission, sneak previews of new exhibits, reciprocal free admission to other museums and science centers across the region and beyond, and much more. Learn more at https://www.vmnh.net/membership/new. More to come!

June 23, 2016

Two groups enjoy the outdoors!

June 23, 2016

#VMNHDinoDig

June 23, 2016

Wyoming Update: Day 1 of the dig was a success! We were able to start uncovering a sauropod leg bone, as seen in these two pictures. Sauropods are dinosaurs characterized by their long-necks and include familiar dinosaurs, such as Brontosaurus and Brachiosaurus. #vmnhdinodig

June 22, 2016

Big changes are in store for our permanent exhibit galleries! We have recently received a collection that will play a pivotal role in the first comprehensive update to the museum's permanent exhibit galleries since the opening of the current facility in March 2007! Click the link below to learn more about it! http://www.vmnh.net/news/details/id/347/vmnh-receives-extraordinary-collection-t

June 22, 2016

Wyoming Update: Made it to base camp in Greybull, Wyoming yesterday with our crew! "The Great Wyoming Dinosaur Dig" in partnership with Lynchburg College is about to get underway! #vmnhdinodig

June 21, 2016

Wyoming Update: Quick stop in Ranchester, Wyoming #VMNHDinoDig

June 21, 2016

Wyoming Update: Devil's Tower...so cool! #vmnhdinodig

June 21, 2016

Wyoming Update: Made it to Sundance, Wyoming and finishing the drive to Greybull today to set up camp for the big Dino Dig in partnership with Lynchburg College! #vmnhdinodig

June 21, 2016

Early summer in Martinsville: This video shows 4 Carolina Wren chicks in a nest in a hanging plant. Wrens love to nest in hanging plants. If you are lucky enough to have a nest, don't touch the chicks or eggs. You can still water the plant, but don't flood the nest or pour water directly on the nest or chicks. Thanks to Ruth Easley for supplying this video!

June 20, 2016

Wyoming Update: Badlands National Park in South Dakota #vmnhdinodig

June 20, 2016

Wyoming Update: T. rex skeleton statue in South Dakota. Hard to see, but it's on a leash getting walked by a human skeleton. #vmnhdinodig

June 20, 2016

Mark your calendars for a variety of upcoming exhibits, festivals, events and programs at VMNH in 2016-2017. We look forward to seeing you at the museum!

June 20, 2016

Wyoming Update: All set for Day 2 of the drive from Martinsville, Virginia to the Two Sisters dig site in Wyoming. The drive out got us to Davenport, Iowa last night and it's Rapid City, South Dakota or bust today. #vmnhdinodig

June 19, 2016

Researchers from the Virginia Museum of Natural History in partnership with Lynchburg College are now on their way to Wyoming to begin a 3-week-long, dinosaur fossil dig! Many of the specimens unearthed will be added to the museum collections and put on display. Follow the link below to learn more about the adventure and be sure to keep checking the VMNH Facebook page for frequent updates from the field! #vmnhdinodig http://www.vmnh.net/news/details/id/346/vmnh-sets-out-on-the-great-wyoming-dinos

June 17, 2016

Several new tenants moved into the museum today! They are only the beginning. Stay tuned for an exciting announcement along with additional images/videos next week!

June 16, 2016

Dr. Nancy Moncrief, curator of mammalogy, recently presented a special science talk titled "Virginia's Mammals: More than Deer and Squirrels" at the historic Wayne Theatre in Waynesboro. The talk was part of the museum's "A Museum without Walls" campaign to bring the museum's research and education programs to locations throughout the Commonwealth.

June 14, 2016

Dr. Alex Hastings, assistant curator of paleontology, provides a brief introduction to the Elster Foundation Vertebrate Paleontology Lab at VMNH.

June 8, 2016

Our summer camp, "Cooking Up Some Scrumptious Science!", lived up to its name today, when campers succeeded in making the entire museum smell delicious with the tiny loaves of bread and butter they made! All week long, campers are experimenting with recipes and learning the science involved from cooking everything from bread to candy. We still have spaces and scholarships available for several of our upcoming camps for ages 6-11. If you would like to learn more about these fun and exciting, week-long camps, please visit www.vmnh.net/summer-adventure-camps.

June 3, 2016

The deadlines for our June Summer Adventure Camps are quickly approaching! While some camps have filled-up fast, others have several spaces available, as well as scholarships to cover the cost of registration. Spaces remain available for DRAGONBREATH ACADEMY, from June 20-24 for ages 9-11! Wizards in training will attend the Academy at the "VMNH Castle" to experience the creativity, history, mythology, and science inspired by the Harry Potter series! On "graduation" day, campers will attend a magical feast and the "House Cup" will be awarded. The registration deadline is this coming Monday, June 6. All camps require pre-registration 2 weeks in advance of the camp start date. For a full list of upcoming camps, visit ...