News Articles

June 27, 2019

It's a 2-day dinosaur extravaganza featuring life-size cast skeletons of some of the most iconic creatures of the Mesozoic Era, a large variety of dinosaur fossils, presentations by renowned paleontologists, and dino-themed activities, crafts and concessions! Don't miss the 2019 Dino Festival on Friday, July 26 and Saturday, July 27 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day! Displays and activities to be the same each day. Paying attendees on Friday will be allowed to enter on Saturday at no additional charge. Tickets available at the door. WHEN Friday, July 26 and Saturday, July 27 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. WHAT Crowds roaring into the Virginia Museum of Natural History on Friday, July 26 and Saturday, July 27 for the museum's Dino ...

June 27, 2019

Looking for your next adventure? We've got you covered! Dino Festival 2019 is Friday, July 26 and Saturday, July 27 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day!

June 27, 2019

Sometimes our exhibits need a little maintenance. Lucy Treado, a VMNH Research Technician, provides a little TLC on our Acrocanthosaurus! Don't miss Acro and all its dino friends during Dino Festival July 26-27 here at VMNH!

June 26, 2019

We're only 1 month away!!!

June 26, 2019

The Cape Fear Museum of History and Science in Wilmington, North Carolina is now hosting the Virginia Museum of Natural History's "Dinosaur Discovery" traveling exhibit!

June 24, 2019

A limited number of scholarships remain available for upcoming Summer Adventure Camps at the museum! Click to learn more!

June 24, 2019

Members of the Virginia Master Naturalists Headwaters Chapter, which is based in Rockingham and Augusta Counties, visited the museum on Saturday for tours of its exhibits, research labs, and collections areas. The members also had the opportunity to work on material from the museum's archaeological collections to earn chapter volunteer hours. The Southwestern Piedmont Chapter, based in Martinsville, hosted the visit to the museum, as well as a pot luck dinner.

June 21, 2019

Several players from the Martinsville Mustangs baseball team stopped by the museum to help out with two of the museum's Summer Adventure Camps today! Whether it was helping out with arts and crafts or pitching to future sluggers, the players were a wonderful help today!

June 20, 2019

Museum staff held a farewell reception for Dr. Elizabeth Moore this week recognizing her years of service to the museum as its curator of archaeology. Dr. Moore, who recently accepted the position of State Archaeologist for the Commonwealth of Virginia, will still be seen from time to time in the archaeology lab as she transitions into her new job. The museum will begin a search for an assistant curator of archaeology in late summer. Thank you for all you have done for the museum, Dr. Moore! We will miss you!

June 15, 2019

Bug Festival 2019 was held at the museum on Saturday, June 15, featuring a variety of live insects, a flea circus, a bug eating challenge, forensic entomology tours, dermestid colony tours, cockroach races, face painting, balloon animals, and more! Thanks to everyone who came out to the festival and all of the volunteers and vendors, who made Bug Festival 2019 a success! Special thanks the Hermes Family Foundation Carter Bank & Trust, Martinsville-Henry County Tourism, and the Charity League of Martinsville & Henry County for making this event possible!

June 15, 2019

Bug Festival 2019 is happening now until 4 p.m.! Come out and join the fun!

June 13, 2019

This Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.!

June 11, 2019

The museum hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking today for the Jean S. Adams Educational Pavilion! Upon its completion in Summer 2020, the pavilion will feature a variety of interpretive exhibits, including a life-size model recreation of Pelagornis sandersi - an extinct bird with the largest wingspan ever known - suspended from the ceiling. Construction of the pavilion will begin in October 2019.

June 10, 2019

Edward O. Wilson at 90! Today we celebrate the 90th birthday of the world's leading authority on ants! Throughout his remarkable life, E. O. Wilson has motivated researchers and children alike into understanding and taking action in preserving and protecting biodiversity on our planet. In honor of Wilson's 90th birthday, the National Geographic Society is launching a new initiative to discover new species using traditional expeditions, citizen science, and artificial intelligence. Happy Birthday E. O. Wilson! "I cannot envision a more vital task than standing for the world's biodiversity, and nobody does it better than him (E. O. Wilson)." – Dr. Kal Ivanov, assistant curator of invertebrate zoology, VMNH

June 6, 2019

Dr. Joe Keiper (center), executive director of VMNH, and several museum staff are at Natural Bridge State Park today capturing insects! ...and possibly a northern water snake...

June 5, 2019

SCORPION EATING CHALLENGE! In preparation for the 2019 Bug Festival (Saturday, June 15 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.), research staff Ben R. Williams, Battle-Ax Lucy, Kal Ivanov, and Curt Harden took the Scorpion Eating Challenge today at the museum! Feeling brave? Come out to the festival and try one for yourself!

June 5, 2019

Yummm...scorpion! Several members of the museum's research team took the Scorpion Eating Challenge in preparation for the 2019 Bug Festival on Saturday, June 15 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.!