Virginia Living Museum
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (May 2015) |
| Virginia Living Museum | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Outdoor exhibits around the lake at the Virginia Living Museum | |
 | |
| Date opened | 1966 (founded)[1] 1987 (as Virginia Living Museum) |
| Location | Newport News, Virginia, United States |
| No. of species | 254+ |
| Memberships | Association of Zoos and Aquariums American Alliance of Museums |
| Website | http://www.thevlm.org/ Virginia Living Museum |
The Virginia Living Museum is an
indigenous species
. The exhibits include aspects of an aquarium, science center, aviary, botanical preserve and planetarium.
History
The first incarnation of what is now the Virginia Living Museum was the Junior Nature Museum and Planetarium, opened in 1966 under Virginia Governor
Rotary Club
. In 1976, the facility was expanded and a new focus on physical and applied sciences was added to the existing natural sciences; at this time it was renamed the Peninsula Nature and Science Center.
The museum began its transformation to a "living museum", incorporating living exhibits and preservation land together with traditional exhibits, in 1983, following the example of the
Gerald L. Baliles. The museum expanded throughout the 1990s, opening the Coastal Plain Aviary in 2001 and a 62,000-square-foot (5,800 m2) museum building in 2004.[1]
Exhibits
.jpg)
The main building features animals living in several exhibits that depict the many environments of Virginia, including the
nocturnal
life.
Outdoors, the museum features a 5,500-square-foot (510 m2)
butterfly garden, and a 3/4 mile boardwalk with animals living in their natural habitats, including bobcats, river otters, beavers, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, deer and red wolves.[2]
References
- ^ a b "About Us: History". The Virginia Living Museum. Archived from the original on 2008-04-13. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
- ^ "The Virginia Living Museum | A Family-Friendly Place to Visit - ZuzuForKids". zuzuforkids.com. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
External links
37°03′17″N 76°29′19″W / 37.0546°N 76.4887°W
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
 | This Virginia museum–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |