English
Chinese (Simplified)
Chinese (Traditional)
German
Hindi
Japanese
Korean
Russian
Spanish
Welcome to the Virginia Living Museum
Virginia’s Animal Attraction & Dino Destination
The Virginia Living Museum is a successful public-private partnership, since 1966, between the City of Newport News and the Virginia Living Museum, a public non-profit 501(c)(3) organization (54-6055922). Together we connect people to nature through educational experiences that promote conservation.
BUILT by the Community, BELOVED by the Community and SUSTAINED by the Community, the Museum depends on private donations to succeed. We appreciate your financial contribution to support engaging education, animal welfare and conservation experiences for you and your family. Please consider a gift to our Annual Fund or a planned gift to our Endowment for future sustainability.
What You’ll See
Animals in Action
The Virginia Living Museum is home to more than 250 species of animals found in Virginia including reptiles, mammals, birds and fish. We provide a sanctuary for orphaned, non-releasable or injured animals.
Plants in Action
The Virginia Living Museum has one of the largest displays of native plants in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Geology in Action
The Virginia Living Museum’s Underground Gallery is a journey back through Virginia’s ancient past, a past that has created a rich and colorful present.
Planetarium in Action
Travel the universe in the digital state-of-the-art Abbitt Planetarium Theater. The 71-seat planetarium theater, renovated and upgraded in 2008, offers a fully digital simulation of the sky.
Conservation in Action
The Virginia Living Museum is a certified Virginia Green attraction committed to minimizing its environmental impacts by preventing pollution wherever feasible in its operations.
Happening Now on Social Media
🐢 Where do our turtles go during the winter?
🐢 If you visit the Museum from now through springtime, you may notice that the Eastern Box turtle and Common Snapping turtle may not be in their enclosures. While both these species are adapted to the Virginia climate, Animal Welfare Staff can more effectively monitor their health and wellbeing inside the main building, where they will still experience their seasonal cycles of decreased activity during colder months while indoors. Bowser, the common snapping turtle, is among the animals cared for at the Museum that is a non-releasable rescue due to having special care requirements. He has limited mobility due to an improperly formed shell, so moving indoors allows the Herpetology Team to provide the unique care he needs.
🐢 Over the next few months, during warmer days, these wonderful reptiles will return outdoors to bask in the sunshine. Next Spring both will return to their outdoor habitats! For now, the turtles wish you a happy fall and say "see you next spring!"
Did you know that leaving the leaves in your yard or garden not only saves you time and energy but also benefits wildlife?
Here are a few good reasons to put down the rake:
🦎 Many wildlife species use the leaf layer as their primary habitat: salamanders, chipmunks, wood frogs, box turtles, toads, shrews, earthworms, millipedes, and thousands of insect species
🦎 Provide food for wildlife: creatures like earthworms and millipedes reside in and decompose leaf litter, and also are themselves a source of food for bigger wildlife like birds and toads
🦎 Increase fertility of your soil: as the leaves decompose, nutrients are added to your soil, and also allows for greater water retention
It never made sense to me to rake a natural fertilizing, decomposing, beneficial thing into a plastic bag that won't decompose and fill a dump with them, for the sake of a yard that would be better in the spring anyway if you left it.
An excuse not to have to rake, yay! 😂
the only downfall where I live, the city will give you a warning and fine you if you don't rake them up
Halsey Beldon
Rob Stallings
Zachary Huff