Virginia Museum of Natural History
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Location
Martinsville, Virginia
Address
21 Starling Avenue
Focus
Natural history, research, and education
Typical visit
Exhibits, fossils, and Virginia natural history
The Virginia Museum of Natural History is a hands-on stop for families, fossil enthusiasts, and anyone curious about how Virginia’s landscape and wildlife have changed over time. Its galleries move from ancient life and Ice Age animals to the state’s geological story, while offering a look at the work of museum scientists. The museum is in Martinsville, Virginia, in Southern Virginia.[1]
Rather than treating natural history as a distant past, the museum connects specimens and research to Virginia places visitors can recognize. In Uncovering Virginia, recreated research sites pair displays with interactive activities that invite visitors to examine evidence as scientists do. Check the museum’s official visit page before setting out: hours, admission, and occasional closures can change.[2][3]
Plan a trip to Virginia Museum of Natural History
Why visit the Virginia Museum of Natural History?
This is a compact way to explore several strands of Virginia’s natural story in one visit: ancient marine life, fossils, geological change, present-day wildlife, and the science used to study them. The displays suit visitors who enjoy looking closely at specimens and making connections, not just reading labels.
The museum’s state-centered perspective is especially clear in Uncovering Virginia, which uses recreated research sites to trace natural history across a wide span of time. Its research and collections programs also extend into subjects including archaeology, geology, paleontology, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and invertebrates.[4]
Start here
Begin in the Harvest Foundation Hall of Ancient Life, where large specimens make an immediate impression and the exhibits introduce the museum’s paleontology work. Look for the suspended Pteranodon, the Allosaurus cast, and a fossil whale discovered by museum scientists in Virginia. The same gallery includes windows into scientific labs, where visitors may be able to observe work in progress.[5]
Then take time with Uncovering Virginia. Its recreated research sites span different periods of the state’s past and combine present-day site views, hands-on lab-style activities, and animation. It is a useful place to slow down and see how clues from rocks, fossils, and other evidence can tell a story about an ancient environment.[6]
What to see and do
Hall of Ancient Life
Start with the large-scale specimens: a flying reptile suspended above the gallery, an Allosaurus cast, and a fossil whale collected in Virginia. Look for views into the museum’s research labs, too.
Uncovering Virginia
Explore recreated research sites from across the Commonwealth, with interactive activities that let visitors examine evidence and consider how scientists interpret it.
How Nature Works
See how geological forces shape landscapes, then turn to displays of mounted animals from Virginia and elsewhere. The gallery is divided into sections on rocks and life.[7]
Ice Age
Encounter cast skeletons of Ice Age animals, including a saber-toothed cat, muskox, and giant beaver, arranged in scenes that evoke their former environment.[8]
Stories from Skeletons
Look at animal and human skeletal specimens as evidence: bones and shells can reveal information about relationships, movement, diet, and past life.
Fossil Overlook
See fossils found by museum scientists and other researchers, with displays that connect individual finds to the study of ancient life.
History and significance
The museum serves as Virginia’s state museum of natural history. State law describes its purpose as providing a place to house, care for, catalog, and study natural-history specimens, especially those from Virginia, and to preserve the Commonwealth’s natural heritage.[9]
That research mission is part of the visitor experience: exhibits interpret specimens and discoveries, while the museum’s research programs cover fields including archaeology, geology, paleontology, and the study of living animals. The result is a museum where Virginia’s natural history is presented both as a story to explore and as an active subject of scientific study.[10][11]
Planning a visit
The museum is at 21 Starling Avenue in Martinsville. Its published schedule generally lists Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday openings are seasonal, and the museum is normally closed on Mondays. Hours may vary for holidays, weather, and special events, so confirm the current schedule before traveling.[12]
The official visit page lists admission by age and notes free admission for certain groups, including children under three, museum members, participating ASTC Passport members, and eligible EBT cardholders. Rates and event-day arrangements can change; check the museum’s current admission information before your visit. Group tours should be arranged with the museum in advance.[13]
For a more focused visit, check the official exhibits and events listings for temporary displays and programs. The galleries cover several areas of natural history, so allow time to move between large fossil displays and the interactive exhibits rather than treating the museum as a quick photo stop.[14]
Nearby attractions
Martinsville, Virginia
Use the city as a base for exploring this Southern Virginia museum and the surrounding area.
Virginia's Southside
Explore the broader Southern Virginia region, with its communities, landscapes, and local attractions.
Virginia's Museums and Exhibits
Find more museums and interpretive sites across the Commonwealth.
Virginia Living Museum
A different Virginia natural-history experience, with exhibits focused on native wildlife and living ecosystems.
Travel books and maps: Browse related Virginia travel books and maps on Amazon
References
- ↑ About the Virginia Museum of Natural History, Virginia Museum of Natural History, Virginia Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
- ↑ Uncovering Virginia, Virginia Museum of Natural History, Virginia Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
- ↑ Plan Your Visit, Virginia Museum of Natural History, Virginia Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
- ↑ Research Areas, Virginia Museum of Natural History, Virginia Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
- ↑ Hall of Ancient Life, Virginia Museum of Natural History, Virginia Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
- ↑ Uncovering Virginia, Virginia Museum of Natural History, Virginia Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
- ↑ How Nature Works, Virginia Museum of Natural History, Virginia Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
- ↑ Ice Age, Virginia Museum of Natural History, Virginia Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
- ↑ Code of Virginia § 10.1-2001. Purposes, Virginia Law, Commonwealth of Virginia. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
- ↑ About the Virginia Museum of Natural History, Virginia Museum of Natural History, Virginia Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
- ↑ Research Areas, Virginia Museum of Natural History, Virginia Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
- ↑ Plan Your Visit, Virginia Museum of Natural History, Virginia Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
- ↑ Plan Your Visit, Virginia Museum of Natural History, Virginia Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
- ↑ Exhibits, Virginia Museum of Natural History, Virginia Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2026-10-22.