Dinosaur Quest
Step into a prehistoric adventure at the Virginia Living Museum’s immersive “Dinosaur Quest” experience! Engage with interactive displays that challenge your knowledge and skills while revealing fascinating dinosaur facts. A lifelike animatronic dinosaur stands guard nearby, its realistic movements bringing the ancient past to life. Young explorers can practice their excavation techniques at our specially […]
Touch Pool
Get up close and personal with some of the Chesapeake Bay’s coolest critters! From horseshoe crabs to hermit crabs, our Touch Pool is designed for hands-on learning and fun for all ages. With updated features and a fresh look, it’s the perfect time to come say hello to your favorite marine animals. Gently touch and […]
Collections
Explore the VLM Non-Live Collections The Virginia Living Museum’s Non-Live Collections offer a rich educational resource of over 25,000 biofacts and specimens, supporting exhibits and programs both onsite and offsite. This diverse collection represents mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates, plants, fossils, and geological specimens—highlighting biodiversity, history, and conservation efforts across Virginia and beyond. Among […]
Abbitt Planetarium & Observatory
Travel the universe in the digital Abbitt Planetarium Theater. The 71-seat planetarium theater offers a fully digital simulation of the sky, allowing us to travel anywhere in our known universe at the touch of a button. It is able to project the sky as seen from anywhere on the Earth, at any time between 99,999 […]
Wild & Well
Calling future animal keepers and vets! Come play, learn and dream in Wild and Well, the exhibit that offers hands-on exploration and learning about animal health with a secondary message about human health. Designed primarily for PreK to 3rd grade, children will be able to cook, clean and care for native wild animals that live […]
How Life Survives: Discovery Center
An interactive Discovery Center awaits your exploration. This hands-on center is brimming with specimens from the worlds of life science, space science and geology.
Appalachian Cove & Cypress Swamp
In the two-story, glass-covered walk-through habitats visitors immerse themselves in natural environments. The cool, moist Appalachian Cove features a waterfall, a swift-running mountain stream and lake filled with mountain fish, where the sounds, sights and communities of native plants and animals are like taking an instant field trip to the mountains. The Cypress Swamp is […]
Underground Gallery
In the Virginia Underground Gallery, journey back through Virginia’s ancient past by learning about fossil remains preserved beneath our feet and marvel at the beauty of rocks and minerals that formed deep under the Earth. See colorful coral and fish species that thrived in the warm, sun-drenched sea that once covered this area. Visitors walk […]
World of Darkness Gallery
In Virginia’s World of Darkness, visitors come eye-to-eye with tiny sharks, scurrying shrimp, playful flying squirrels, eerie jellyfish, and other animals that adapt to nocturnal life. Tree frogs and other nocturnal animals are active during the day in this fascinating area. Meet animals that make their living in the inky twilight of Virginia’s coastal waters.
Piedmont & Mountains Gallery
In the Piedmont and Mountains Gallery visitors are “nose-to-nose” with a captivating variety of flying, crawling, swimming and climbing animals. The gallery is anchored by a display of the fall line of the James River in Richmond, filled with smallmouth bass, catfish, wood turtles and other aquatic creatures. Engaging exhibits such as spotted turtles swimming […]
Virginia’s Coastal Plain
The Coastal Plain Gallery explores the world’s richest nursery, the Chesapeake Bay. From the forests beyond Virginia’s coastal marshes to the waters of the Chesapeake Bay and beyond, the Coastal Plain Gallery highlights animals and habitats that characterize the eastern-most region of our Commonwealth. Exhibits range from the dramatic 30,000-gallon Noland Chesapeake Bay Aquarium, with […]
Conservation Command Center
The Conservation Command Center explores global issues such as habitat loss, pollution, and declining biodiversity through a local lens. Explore how to be a champion of Conservation! Located downstairs in the main museum building next to the Virginia Underground Gallery.
