Virginia Living Museum

We love VLM!I wish they would get the construction finished soon because it's messing with the vibe.We have been members for some years now. We started coming back in 2005, and after returning to Newport News rejoined almost immediately.The kids are now grown but we go as a couple because we can stroll among the animals and trees.The place feels so good and is a good way to see some animals that would likely not make it in their normal environment.

For the price you're paying I think it's pretty mediocre and pricey. I've taken my 2 year old a handful of times and it took us about an hour to walk through. The nature walk is pretty cool but I have been followed by yellow jackets. It's a nice place if your in a bind with kiddos and need a rainy day activity

A perfect way to spend the day or a few hours exploring! This museum offers so much! Inside there is plenty to see and play. There are endless trails that wind throughout the forest. The dinosaurs are a huge hit! If you're up in the air about visiting, just go already!

I signed up as a member. Its been a long time since I had been, but they have made a lot of changes since I last went. Lots more for the kids. Butterfly area, garden, dinosaur fossil area, toddler area, planetarium...and live animals...indoor and out door. They host a lot of events as well.

Very nice museum Indoor exhibits and outdoor exhibits as well Pleasant experience and nicely educational Activity area for children Museum shop in building

It's no secret, the inner kid in me comes out when I get to explore, experience and learn about novel things to me. I enjoy checking out dinosaur exhibits & fake dinosaurs alike! As long as I've lived in the Hampton Roads area I had never been to this museum until a year ago. It did not disappoint!!!They have the greatest animatronic dinosaurs that I imagine are life size ( to scale). Some indoors some outdoors!! They even make sounds!! There's a multitude of photo opportunities!! The best one for me is the T-rex outside among the picnic tables! That thing is ginormous and roars! There's another animatronic dinosaur nearby that spits water at you as you walk by.Enough of the dinosaurs, they have exhibits that cover deep sea creatures that I had no idea existed nor even seen, not even in person until now! I only wish there was more info or info at all in the museum referencing them. I had to google what I was looking at. Fortunately my young adult niece knew it was an isopod. They look like huge roly polys! My thoughts were how the heck are they surviving in a tank that's not deep underwater?!? How the heck did they obtain these creatures?!? I also had no idea what the fish was that was "swimming" vertically in circles with what looks like a suction on its belly. Was that how it normally swims? I never found out!! However, if you google isopod you will find they are deep sea scavengers that will tear up a carcass within minutes or seconds. It's insane!! The jellyfish exhibit is mesmerizing watching them float around. I believe there was even an exhibit where they had flounders with three sectional dividers with various color gradations to exhibit how they camouflage quickly to their environment when they swim from one section to another. Some were even difficult to spot!They have an upper level that houses various species of fish and from above you have a bird's eye view of some reptiles in the water and of course from the side when you reach the lower level. Another exhibit I found interesting was the underwater caves with the fish with no eyes and how they adapted to their environment. The outdoor area is fairly extensive with beautiful landscaping and fountains. There you can have a picnic among the fake dinosaurs that look real or take a stroll among the many plants and even witness otters at play.There is an aviary section that is covered and a boardwalk over the lake. An animal sanctuary is tucked among the trees housing wolves, a bob cat, and other various animals. This museum encompasses a lot and I feel is well worth the trip to the peninsula whether you live on the southside or are just visiting from out of state. (This is a year old visit/review that was finally written (-; )

I went to one of the laser light shows set to a Metallica playlist and WOW, it was fabulous! Now I'm planning to attend a few others.They also offer stargazing and planetarium shows so I'll check those out too. The Virginia Living Museum really has a lot to offer our community and at a good value. It's kind of a hidden gem, but I encourage everyone to check them out. I think you'll be surprised how many interesting things there are to see and do.

I've lived in VA for so long at this point I can't believe I haven't been here sooner. I was looking for something new to do with my nephew that was mostly indoors. We decided to see some animals at VLM. I went online and bought tickets the day before. I was a bit disappointed because the café is currently closed but that didn't stop us from going. When you first walk in you are greeted and they direct you to take pictures of the maps. There are two levels along with indoor/outdoor areas. We arrived right at 9am when they opened to beat the crowd. Naturally, some exhibits didn't have the animals in them/or they weren't active at that time. My nephew was much more into the interactive areas such as "Be a vet for a day" and the informative screens with games. We spent about 2.5 hours before he was ready to go eat. They do allow you to leave grab lunch and come back or bring a lunch since the Cafe is currently closed. I do wish they had interactive maps versus taking a picture on my phone or descriptions outside each entrance to show what animals are there. Overall, the facilities are clean, and I can see the worth in getting a membership if you have little ones or even older kids as well. I'd definitely come back in the warmer months to fully utilize the outdoor trails as it was just too cold to be out there. I spent $20 on an adult ticket, and I believe $13 on a kids' ticket. Then, $7 at the photo booth, $12 at the museum store on two items. They also carry a few snacks if you forget to bring some.

I personally was not a fan at all. I found most of the displays broken, dirty, falling apart, and non-operable.What animals they have look unhealthy!Generally poor condition over all!

Really cool museum!! We've loved bringing out-of-state visitors here so they can get the big picture of Virginia nature and wildlife. We love watching the animals they have there. Note that they are reportedly treated like pets and are there because they wouldn't be able to survive/thrive in the wild. The river otters are the highlight for us. Pricing is reasonable, but since we've been back multiple times, it would have been worth it to get the membership We've also been to a David Bowie laser light show here. It's a great spot!!