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Virginia Living Museum Facility Rental General Information

The Virginia Living Museum is a private, non-profit institution, whose mission is to connect people to nature through educational experiences that promote conservation. The building and collections are an important part of the Museum’s mission and their care is the responsibility of the Museum staff. The use of the Museum’s facilities is made available under the specific conditions outlined below for the purpose of making the Museum and its programs more widely known to the public.

Some rental areas are only available after 5:00pm
Fees are based on a 4-hour minimum
Each additional hour over the 4 hours will be billed at $200 per hour

  • All uses of the facility require prior approval by the Museum’s Executive Director and are available on a first come first served basis. All requests must be made at least eight weeks in advance.
  • All food must be prepared by a licensed caterer.
  • The Virginia Living Museum does not provide staff to service buffet lines, set-up or breakdown of catering equipment. This is the responsibility of the caterer. Food and rental of equipment should be arranged through the caterer at client’s expense. The Museum has available for use twenty 60” round tables, 200 chairs, ten 6-foot rectangular tables (no linens available) and can provide a list of caterers, event planners and rental companies to assist in additional needs. Museum staff will only set up our own tables and chairs.
  • Use of designated staging areas for set-up beginning at 3:00pm on the day of the event and 2 hours of takedown at the conclusion of the event are permitted. Set-up within the Museum will not occur until the Museum closes. Any additional time needed for takedown, rehearsal, & any activity related to the event will be billed at the $200 per hour rate. We cannot provide storage for items before the day of the event.
  • Confirmed reservations are made by presenting the following: signed Facility Rental Letter of Agreement; copy of Certificate of Insurance (if required), a $1000 security deposit check and 50% of rental fee (remaining 50% rental fee is due 2 weeks prior to the event); and Alcoholic Beverage Permit, if applicable. We allow two weeks for contract review and to make the deposit.
  • The Museum has the right to cancel a tentative phone reservation.
  • Security deposit is refundable upon inspection of facility after event, but is forfeited if event is cancelled.
  • Cancellation less than 2 weeks prior to the event will result in a loss of all deposits and security deposits.
  • Guided tours, animal programs or planetarium shows during your event can be arranged by request, additional charges may apply and are based on availability of staff.

Contact Info

Sara Hirschberg
Event Coordinator
Direct Line: 757-534-7429
Email: rentals@thevlm.org
Address- 524 J. Clyde Morris Boulevard
Newport News, VA 23601

Policies and Guidelines

The following policies and guidelines govern the use of the facility:

  1. The department of Exhibit Production is solely responsible for the exhibition schedule. Moving an exhibit to accommodate a private event is against Museum policy. The Museum reserves the right to make changes to the exhibit calendar at any given time.
  2. Events may not be advertised or opened to the public. Admission fees, raffles, contributions, or tickets are not permitted. The VLM reserves the right to reject any rental request that it believes is not in keeping with its mission statement.
  3. All fees relating to the event must be paid in a timely manner. Final payment must be received prior to the scheduled event date, otherwise the event will not be permitted to take place and previous payment and security deposit are forfeited. The security deposit will be refunded once all payments have been received and the client and caterer have adhered to the policies stated herein at the conclusion of the event.
  4. A certificate of insurance indicating amount of liability coverage for the event and naming the Virginia Living Museum as additional insured for the event is required.
  5. Use of the facility must be consistent with the goals of the Museum. All aspects of the event including invitations, decorations, signs and banners, entertainment, and furniture arrangement must be approved by the Museum in advance.
  6. Smoking is prohibited in all areas of the Museum.
  7. Food and drink are restricted to designated areas within the rental space.
  8. Arrangements for the event, including set up of equipment, scheduling of delivery and removal of rental items must be cleared in advance with the Museum contact person.
  9. The event sponsor must arrange a meeting at the Museum between the sponsor, caterer, and the Museum contact person at least two weeks prior to the event.
  10. The client may wish to arrange for parking attendants depending on the type of event and its size.
  11. Attached and hanging Museum signage must remain in place.
  12. All plants, cut material and decorations must be clean and free of pests.
  13. All deliveries and staff involved in the event must report to the security office upon arrival unless other arrangements have been made.
  14. Caterers must be licensed and the user is responsible for seeing that the caterer follows the Museum’s Operating Policies for Caterers.
  15. An alcoholic beverage permit is required. The client or caterer must obtain the permits. Alcohol may not be delivered more than one day prior to the event.
  16. The Museum is not responsible for any equipment delivered to, or picked up from the Museum for the event. All such equipment must be removed from the Museum by 9:00am the first business day after the event unless other arrangements have been made.
  17. Clean up and removal of all trash, decorations, and floral arrangements is the responsibility of the user and/or the vendors. The Museum staff will assist with emptying the trash containers.
  18. The Virginia Living Museum (VLM) does not promote events held by outside organizations/businesses, etc. at the museum. Outside organizations/businesses (or their representatives) holding an event at the VLM are not entitled to promotion in any Museum marketing materials, including (but not limited to) the Museum web site, Facebook page, road sign, newsletter or in the Museum. Nor are they permitted to market the event in any way that would imply the event is sponsored by, endorsed by or benefits the Virginia Living Museum.
Connecting people to nature through educational experiences that promote conservation.