Adults

Programs for Adults

Learning can be a life-long adventure. Join Virginia Living Museum staff biologists, naturalists and scientists to explore the natural world in special adult-oriented programs. Each activity-oriented program is presented in a relaxed, hands-on format and includes classroom instruction combined with opportunities to examine specimens from the Museum’s extensive collections and up close encounters with live animals. Come and share a journey of discovery with others who have an enthusiastic desire to continue to learn about the natural world of Virginia and beyond.

Advance registration is required for many programs. For more information or to make a reservation, call the Reservations Coordinator, at 757-595-9135, Monday-Friday, 9 am-4:30 pm.

Naturally Speaking Series

The Virginia Living Museum’s Naturally Speaking Series is a regular virtual and in-person event.

Please note: Upon joining the meeting, virtual attendees will receive any extra links to presentation materials required for that program.

Adaptive Feeding Behavior in Bottlenose Dolphins

Bottlenose dolphins around the world are known for their adaptive feeding tactics, and Meghan and her team recently discovered a novel feeding behavior, coined shipside feeding, in the Charleston Harbor. The dolphins use commercial shipping vessels as a barrier to aid in catching fish. Learn more about how dolphins in Charleston, and around the world, have adapted the presence of humans in their habitats.

Meghan Weinpress-Galipeau is an educator and research scientist at the South Carolina Aquarium.

In-person event Online event

Ocean Invaders PBS NOVA: Invasive Species

An invasion is happening on Earth out of sight – and the invaders have not finished conquering. Striking and hypnotic, the invasive lionfish is believed to be one of the most successful invasive species ever, ravaging reef ecosystems all the way from Maine to Brazil. In 2022, Jeff Boedeker wrote and produced the nationally broadcasted PBS NOVA special, Ocean Invaders – a documentary that dives into the epic science of invasions through the extraordinary story of the invasive lionfish. After a screening of the film, join Jeff for a Q&A, to discuss everything from the science of invasions, to submarine dives in the Caribbean and techniques for producing nature documentaries.

Jeff Boedeker, Orange Frame Productions Film Director and Writer

In-person event Online event

Lighting Matters: An Introduction to Light Pollution

Artificial light at night is essential to our lives, communities, and society. But the routine indiscriminate use of too much badly-designed lighting degrades ecosystems, imperils wildlife, and fails to deliver on promises of improved safety and security while also eroding our own health. What do we lose when we obliterate the stars from the night sky and darkness below it? This presentation will explore the causes and consequences of light pollution, explain the basics of responsible outdoor lighting, deliver good news about nightscape conservation, and equip the audience to bring back the night beginning at home. Because every day needs a night.

In-person event Online event

Threats to Native Bird Populations & Conservation Action

Learn about the threats that birds face in Virginia, from window collisions to cats, deer, habitat loss, and invasive species. Discover what you can do to alleviate some of these in your own yard.

In-person event Online event

Plastic Pollution: Sources, Impacts & Solutions

Virginians are increasingly aware of and concerned with plastic pollution that litters neighborhoods, clogs streams and storm drains, and enters our oceans as harmful marine debris. Katie Register of Clean Virginia Waterways will provide an overview of the sources and impacts of mis-managed waste in Virginia and will focus on solutions to the growing plastic pollution problem — including single-use plastic food and beverage items. She will share solutions to address single-use consumer items (bottles, bags, cigarette butts, food wrappers), microplastics, derelict fishing gear, and abandoned watercraft.