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Self Guided Visits

Self Guided Visits

self-guided-visit-1Schedule a self-guided visit of exhibits that feature over 250 live animal and plant species, native to Virginia, in their natural settings. Trained interpreters are located throughout the exhibits to work with your students, making exhibits “hands-on” – so students learn by doing, as well, as by seeing.

Advance reservations are required for groups of ten or more students.

Follow the suggested procedures for reserving a self-guided visit. For more information or to make a reservation, call the Reservations office at 757-534-7410 Monday-Friday, 9 am – 4:30 pm, or complete the online request form.

Funded in part by Wason Realty.

Length of Visit

Allow 1.5 to 2 hours for a tour of the indoor exhibits and outdoor trails.

Fee

School groups of ten or more during the September to mid-June school year:
$10 per student
Classroom teacher and school staff are free. One chaperone is recommended for every 10 students and is admitted free. Additional chaperones are $18 each.

Exhibits

The exhibits in the Virginia Living Museum correlate with and reinforce Virginia’s Standards of Learning for Science. While taking a tour of the geographic regions of Virginia, students can observe:

  • self-guided-visit-2Live animals and plants in their natural habitats
  • Plant and animal life cycles, food chains and food webs
  • Animal survival adaptations for finding food and shelter, rearing young, avoiding predators, defensive measures
  • Animal migration, camouflage and hibernation
  • Endangered and threatened species
  • Vertebrates and invertebrates
  • The importance of conserving Virginia’s animal, plant and mineral resources
  • Pond, forest, stream, Chesapeake Bay, cypress swamp, mountain cove, cave and more habitats
  • Virginia’s prehistoric past: rocks, minerals, fossils
  • Phases of the moon, reasons for the seasons, earth’s revolution and rotation, planets in our solar system

Self-Guided Exhibit Guides

The Virginia Living Museum provides grade-level-targeted guides to its living exhibits to help students focus during their visit. All questions are correlated to SOLs. Teachers may make copies as needed.

Preschool Coloring Sheet

Exhibit Guides Answer Keys
Grades K-1 Grades K-1
Grades 2-3 Grades 2-3
Grades 4-5 Grades 4-5
Middle School Middle School
High School High School

Non-Virginia Schools

While the Museum’s science programs and exhibits are targeted to Virginia’s Standards of Learning, their topics have universal appeal. Predator and prey, plant and animal life cycles, animal survival adaptations, endangered and threatened species, geology, dinosaurs, weather and astronomy are applicable to science studies throughout the United States.