Homeschool Programs 2024 at Virginia Living Museum
Homeschool Programming for 2024
Homeschool Opportunities
The Virginia Living Museum offers a Homeschool Day once a month with programs and discounted self-guided admission. Programs are recommended for ages 6-18. Kids 2 & under are free.
Fall 2024 Homeschool Days Events:
Habitat Engineers -September 11
Time: 10am-10:45am
Participants: Recommended for ages 6 and up
Description: Explore the engineering side of the animal world as we learn about how animals construct their homes, build defenses, and shape entire habitats. You will also get a chance to build your own animal shelter! Tickets & Info
Sun, Earth, and Moon – September 11
Time: 11am-11:45am
Participants: Recommended for ages 9 and up
Description: Explore the connections between the Earth, Moon and Sun as learn about why we see phases of the Moon. We’ll also briefly explore the tides and what causes them. Tickets & Info
Egg Drop Challenge – September 11
Time: 1pm-2:30pm
Participants: Recommended for ages 8 and up
Description: Are you ready to take on the egg drop challenge? See if you can brainstorm, design, and build the best contraption to protect your egg from getting scrambled when dropped from a height of 3 floors! Learn how kinetic and potential energy, gravity, and force all play a role in this experiment. Tickets & Info
Legends of the Night Sky: Perseus and Andromeda – October 9th
Time: 11:00am-11:30am
Participants: Recommended for ages 5 and up
Description: Come discover the amazing things you can see in the night sky. We’ll also hear a retelling of the ancient Greek legend of Perseus and Andromeda by our very special laser storyteller. Tickets & Info
Experiments and Explosions – October 9th
Time: 10:00am-10:45am
Participants: Recommended for ages 6 and up
Description: Get ready for some crazy science! You will get the chance to participate in wild experiments and explosions that explore energy, temperature, and chemical reactions. We’ll even tell you how you can recreate some of these at home! Tickets & Info
Canoes and Conservation – October 9th
Time: 1pm-2:30pm
Participants: Recommended for ages 12 and up
Description: Gain experience conducting field tests to learn more about freshwater ecosystems. Make observations about Deer Park Lake, collect mud samples, take a close look at plankton, and try your hand at catching macroinvertebrates in dip nets. Program may be modified due to weather conditions. Tickets & Info
Virginia Skies – November 13th
Time: 11am-11:30am
Participants: Recommended for ages 5 and up
Description: Explore the evening skies above Virginia in this classic planetarium presentation. A staff astronomer will discuss seasonal constellations as well as any planets visible. Additional topics may be explored depending on celestial happenings around the time of your visit. Tickets & Info
The Way of Water – November 13th
Time: 10am-10:45am
Participants: Recommended for ages 6 and up
Description: Water is always on the move! Explore the water cycle, how the ocean and freshwater systems are connected, and meet some animal ambassadors that represent these special habitats. Tickets & Info
Chesapeake Bay Ecology – November 13th
Time: 1:00pm-2:30pm
Participants: Recommended for ages 12 and up
Description: Come explore the Chesapeake Bay in our station-based lab designed to improve data collection skills, critical thinking, and understanding real-world issues as they impact our Bay. This program provides a well-rounded view on the ecology of the Bay while inspiring a sense of stewardship to protect our environment. Tickets & Info
Star of Wonder – December 11th
Time: 11am-11:30am
Participants: recommended for ages 11 and up
Description: Explore the skies of over 2000 years ago as we use our modern scientific understanding to help us identify what the Star of Bethlehem might have been. Includes a discussion of the winter evening sky. Tickets & Info
Picture This – December 11th
Time: 10am-10:45am
Participants: Recommended for ages 6 and up
Description: Is that a feather, a piece of fur, or some weird alien art display? When seen up close, items can be hard to distinguish from one another. Get ready to put your thinking caps on in this fun activity that will have you guessing the identity of some up close pictures. Explore some of our non-living biofacts, as well as some animal ambassadors, during this interactive activity time. Tickets & Info
Exploring the Non-Living – December 11th
Time: 1pm-2:30pm
Participants: recommended for ages 8 and up
Description: While the Virginia Living Museum is known for its amazing animals, we are also home to a large collection of non-living biofacts. Come explore the non-living side of the museum on this special collections tour that will introduce you to the many bones, furs, minerals, and displays that help further education on Virginia’s natural science. Tickets & Info
SELF-GUIDED VISIT
Fee: $10.00 per student; $18 per adult
Members and ages 2 and under are free.
For questions call the Reservations Office at 757-595-9135, Monday – Friday, 9 am – 4:30 pm.
Please register everyone who plans to attend.
The exhibits in the Virginia Living Museum were designed to correlate with and reinforce Virginia’s Standards of Learning for Science. While taking a tour of the geographic regions of Virginia, families can observe:
- Live animals and plants in their natural habitats
- Plant and animal life cycles, food chains and food webs
- Animal survival adaptations for finding food and shelter, rearing young, avoiding predators, defensive measures
- Animal migration, camouflage and hibernation
- Endangered and threatened species
- Vertebrates and invertebrates
- The importance of conserving Virginia’s animal, plant and mineral resources
- Pond, forest, stream, Chesapeake Bay, cypress swamp, mountain cove, cave and more habitats
- Virginia’s prehistoric past: rocks, minerals, fossils
Self-Guided Exhibit Guides
The Virginia Living Museum has developed targeted guides to help your student focus during their visit. Please come prepared with copies for your student.
Virginia Living Museum
524 J. Clyde Morris Blvd.
Newport News, VA 23601
Author
