Virginia Museum of Natural History

Address:1001 Douglas Ave.
Martinsville, Virginia
Tel: (276) 666-8600

The Virginia Museum of Natural History is jam-packed with exciting exhibits showcasing countless specimens including special fossils and bones that tell the story of Virginia's natural history from 300 million to 300 years ago. The museum was founded in 1984 and contains over 22 million items. You can find archeology, Earth Science, bryozoans, vertebrates, invertebrates, birds, plants, fossils and frozen tissues. You name it, it's here among the collection.

The Uncovering Virginia exhibit is very special and is proudly exhibited as real-life working examples of six research sites found across Virginia. You can examine the different types of land, dig for fossils and use the same tools scientists use, as well as enjoy media displays that bring the earth to life.

Two fantastic skeleton sets include a 140 million year old Allosaurus, as well as a suspended 14 million year old baleen whale, which is truly a site to see. Not to be missed, the How Nature Works gallery focuses on how energy is derived from within the Earth's core, based on the energy of the sun. The Virginia Museum of Natural History also boasts temporary exhibits which rotate a few times throughout the year. You can find exhibits such as Alien Earths, which focuses on the distant stars and planets around earth and the possibility of life in our galactic neighborhood.

The Museums store offers gifts for all ages, including plush toys, t-shirts, jewelry, and many other gift items. The museum's New Moon Cafe is an authorized purveyor of Starbucks® coffee and offers sandwiches, wraps, croissants, salads and desserts.

The Virginia Museum of Natural History can be reached from Route 68 North following through to 220 North. From the 220, you'll exit onto 220 Business into Martinsville. Cross the Smith River and go up the hill, taking a right onto Starling Avenue. You'll see the museum just past Market St.

The exciting earth awaits you in this jam-filled natural history collection. What are you waiting for?

Located in Martinsville, Virginia, the Virginia Museum of Natural History manages an outreach education program in the Charlottesville/Central Virginia region. The Museum serves nearly one million people annually through on-site and traveling exhibitions, classroom outreach programs, web site, and public events. Its mission is to increase understanding of and appreciation for the natural resources of the Commonwealth through education, research, collections, publications, and exhibits. While traveling exhibits are most often displayed in facilities accessible to a wide audience (e.g. shopping malls, state fairs, and libraries), the Museum also seeks to target specific audiences whose exposure to science and natural history is often limited. To accomplish this, the Museum sends traveling exhibits to youth correctional facilities, schools, and other sites in Virginia's depressed rural and urban areas.