Homeschool Opportunities

The Virginia Living Museum offers a Homeschool Day once a month with programs and discounted self-guided admission. Programs are recommended for ages 6-18. Read the options below and click the Homeschool Day Ticket button to register for each program.

Fall 2023 Homeschool Days:

October 11

Noisy Nature
Time: 10am-10:45am

Participants: Recommended for ages 6 and up

Description: Did you hear that? Listen carefully and discover the sounds of different habitats while meeting the unique animals that live there.

Child classroom program and museum admission: $10.50 (M)/$15.00 (NM)

Adult museum admission: Free (M)/$18.00 (NM)

Beyond the Night
Time: 11am-11:30am

Participants: Recommended for ages 8 and up

Description: Explore the hidden wonders of the night sky with this multimedia planetarium presentation. We’ll take a look at what our eyes can show us, and then expand our view to include objects not usually visible to the unaided human eye.

Child planetarium show and museum admission: $10.50 (M)/$15.00 (NM)

Adult planetarium show and museum admission: Free (M)/$18.00 (NM)

Light and Lenses
Time: 1pm-2:30pm

Participants: Recommended for ages 12 and up

Description: The invention of the telescope was a critical part of the development of astronomy. Investigate how lenses and light interact in order to demonstrate how a telescope works.

Child lab program and admission: $12.50 (M)/$17.00 (NM)

Adult museum admission: Free (M)/$18.00 (NM)

November 8

Build It Up
Time: 10am-10:45am

Participants: Recommended for ages 6 and up

Description: Explore the way animals build in nature. You’ll then be challenged to build your own structure with limited materials. Can you measure up?

Child classroom program and museum admission: $10.50 (M)/$15.00 (NM)

Adult museum admission: Free (M)/$18.00 (NM)

Stacey Stromtracker

Time: 11am-11:30am

Participants: Recommended for ages 8 and up

Description: Explore weather on all of the planets in the solar system – and even on the Sun! Join up with the Solar System Weather Service as Lt. Stacey Stormtracker takes you on a tour through the planets and discovers just how wild interplanetary weather can be!

Child planetarium show and museum admission: $10.50 (M)/$15.00 (NM)

Adult planetarium show and museum admission: Free (M)/$18.00 (NM)

Spectroscopy
Time: 1pm-2:30pm

Participants: Recommended for ages 12 and up

Description: How do astronomers use light to get information about objects in space? We’ll discuss how atoms generate light and learn how to use a spectrometer to make observations about objects in space.

Child lab program and admission: $12.50 (M)/$17.00 (NM)

Adult museum admission: Free (M)/$18.00 (NM)

December 13

Wild Stories
Time: 10am-10:45am

Participants: Recommended for ages 6 and up

Description: Listen to a story with one of our animal ambassadors. We’ll then explore some animal artifacts and create a craft relating to the animal and our story.

Child classroom program and museum admission: $10.50 (M)/$15.00 (NM)

Adult museum admission: Free (M)/$18.00 (NM)

Star of Wonder
Time: 11am-11:30am

Participants: Ages 8 and up

Description: Was the Star of Bethlehem an astronomical event? If so, what was it? Join us as we explore the skies of over 2000 years ago to see what the Magi might have seen in their skies which inspired them to take a perilous journey to greet a newborn king.

Child planetarium show and museum admission: $10.50 (M)/$15.00 (NM)

Adult planetarium show and museum admission: Free (M)/$18.00 (NM)

The Microscope Lab

Time: 1pm-2:30pm

Participants: Recommended for ages 12 and up

Description: This lab will guide you through the parts of the microscope and how to successfully use one. Discover the world on a whole other level.

Child lab program and admission: $12.50 (M)/$17.00 (NM)

Adult museum admission: Free (M)/$18.00 (NM)

SELF-GUIDED VISIT

Fee: $10.00 per student; $18 per adult

Members and ages 2 and under are free.

For questions call the Reservations Office at 757-595-9135, Monday – Friday, 9 am – 4:30 pm.

Please register everyone who plans to attend.

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

• Live 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

Self-Guided Exhibit Guides

The Virginia Living Museum has developed targeted guides to help your student focus during their visit. Please come prepared with copies for your student.