News Articles

August 30, 2019

Dragon Festival 2019 Science, history and myth collide during Dragon Festival on Saturday, October 19, 2019 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.! Explore the lore of dragons, the impact these creatures have had on societies across the globe, and the science behind the growth and dissemination of their myth! All of the sights and sounds that make the myth of dragons so alluring will be in full-force throughout the day! EXPERIENCES INCLUDE... Dragon Exhibits A Life-Size Dragon Sculpture Fire Performances Blacksmith Presentations Vikings Stilt Walkers Sci-Fi and Fantasy Authors Live music Beer Garden (11 a.m. to 6 p.m.) Ren Faire Marketplace Games, Crafts and Activities Food Trucks Much, much more! ADMISSION IS ONLY... $10 for ages 3+ $3 ...

August 27, 2019

VMNH thanks Senator Mark Warner for visiting Martinsville!

August 26, 2019

Are you attending this year's Dragon Festival? Of course you are! Be sure to meet Tiffany Trent, author of eight young adult fantasy books, including the Hallowmere series and the award-winning The Unnaturalists duology! Most recently, she is the co-editor with Stephanie Burgis of the Locus Award Finalist for Best Anthology, The Underwater Ballroom Society. Her short work has been published in After the Fall, Willful Impropriety, Corsets & Clockwork, and Subterranean Magazine. She is adjunct faculty at Southern New Hampshire University in the online creative writing MFA program. When not writing or teaching, she can usually be found in her jungle of a garden or contemplating pie. Learn more at www.tiffanytrent.com!

August 23, 2019

Edgar Allan Poe literary classics meet modern day forensic science! Dr. Joe Keiper, executive director of VMNH and expert forensic entomologist, explores Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Black Cat" through the lens of forensic entomology at the Poe Museum in Richmond. Readings from the stories provided by Dean Knight of the Poe Museum.

August 22, 2019

The layout of the Fossil Overlook exhibit was starting to get a little long in the tooth, so museum staff are now busy rearranging specimens, including the always popular megalodon jaw!

August 21, 2019

Things might look a bit bare right now, but don't fret! We're in the midst of reshuffling the Fossil Overlook to facilitate the installation of new elements around the museum!

August 13, 2019

Myth. Science. Lore. Dragon Festival 2019

August 13, 2019

Before attending a meeting in Waynesboro today, Dr. Joe Keiper, executive director of VMNH, and Jonathan Martin, CFO, were in Charlottesville retrieving multiple marine biology specimens and display skeletons that UVA recently donated to the museum!

August 12, 2019

What an amazing summer! The museum's Summer Adventure Camps ran the gamut of themes, from "Super You!", where campers found out first-hand how nutrition, exercise, and play could make them healthy heroes, to "Let's Experiment", where campers became scientists for the week to explore the world around them through a variety exciting and messy experiments! Thanks to all of our campers for making this summer so much fun! We hope you enjoyed the camps as much as we did!

August 9, 2019

FROM THE VMNH DIRECTOR I've looked at this display of Chesepecten shells and dolphin bones from Virginia's Miocene for years. Just today, I noticed for the first time this tiny bore hole indicated by the blue arrow. This scallop was the victim of a snail predator! Some snails bore a hole through mollusk shells to attack the soft innards...a neat bit of paleo-pathology! Stop by our galleries and look for details you may have never noticed before. - Joe Keiper

August 8, 2019

Free open house for homeschool parents and teachers! Meet the museum's education team, learn about homeschool-specific programs, and tour the exhibit galleries!

August 5, 2019

Longtime museum volunteer, Patrick Wright, showed his creative side today at the museum with this welcome message he created outside of the VMNH paleo lab! Thanks for being a part of the museum team, Patrick!