Over are the days of stuffy museums. Now these pillars of knowledge are hands-on and happening. In Hampton Roads, a montage of living and vibrant museum experiences await, inviting you to tickle a stingray, step inside a bubble, or marvel at a Monet.
Virginia Living Museum
Welcome to Appalachian Cove, where free-flying songbirds dart about and a mountain stream flows to a trout-filled lake two stories below. This is one of the two massive glassed-in habitats show- casing the diverse mountains-to-the-sea environs of the Old Dominion state.
Stroll over to the Cypress Swamp exhibit where alligators and snapping turtles cruise among massive cypress trunks. The Coastal Plain Gallery explores the great Chesapeake Bay: A convex aquarium is home to loggerhead sea turtles, nurse sharks, black drum, and cobia. Outside, there’s a three-quarter-mile elevated boardwalk that crosses Deer Park Lake and winds around “natural” settings where bobcats, river otters, beavers, and wild turkeys await.
Unique sights: Take a walk through the Virginia Underground Gallery, a re- created limestone cave, just like the ones in the northwestern part of the state. Inside lurk cave-dwelling creatures such as tiny blind cave fish and packrats.
Don’t miss: The highlight of the museum’s newest outdoor exhibit is a pair of endangered red wolves.
Special exhibits: At the Robot Zoo, try taking aim with the “Tongue Gun” to see how a real chameleon shoots out its long, sticky tongue to lasso its lunch. Through Jan. 8, 2006.
Visit: 524 J. Clyde Morris Blvd., Newport News. Mon.-Sat. 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.; Sun. noon-5 p.m. 757- 595-1900 or http://www.thevlm.org.
Mariners’ Museum
From stem to stern, this international maritime museum is filled with a fine collection of everything related to boats, from military memorabilia and shipbuilding ephemera to an extraordinary collection of boat models and historic navigation tools (including some used on Capt. James Cook’s voyages). There’s even a life vest from the Titanic.
Unique sights: Check out the world’s largest collection of figureheads (ninety-two), including the 1874 polar bear used on Admiral Byrd’s famed expedition and the Jenny Lind figurehead, believed to be from the 1851 schooner, Nightingale. The Swedish soprano’s charity work with disabled sailors made her beloved by seamen.
Don’t miss: More than seventy-five boats from thirty-six countries flood the international Small Craft Center, housing everything from Native American dugout canoes to sleek yachts—as well as a gondola straight from the canals of Venice.
Special exhibit: Civil War buffs will enjoy “Ironclad Evidence: Stories from the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia.” See the cannon and anchor that belonged to these famous ironclad warships, the first ever to battle—and right here in Hampton Roads in 1862. The Monitor’s turret, raised in 2002, will be on display in a new center soon.
Visit: 100 Museum Dr., Newport News. Daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 757- 596-2222 or http://www.mariner.org.
Hampton University Museum
Founded in 1894, the Hampton University Museum is the oldest African-American museum in the United States and one of the oldest museums in the state of Virginia. Its 9,000-item collection ranges from traditional African art to works by African- and Native Americans to Pacific Islanders. You’ll find works by contemporary artists such as John Biggers, Elizabeth Catlett, and Jacob Lawrence, as well as pioneering African-American artists like Joshua Johnson and Henry Ossawa Tanner, whose seminal oil painting, The Banjo Lesson, was among the museum’s first acquisitions.
Unique sights: Between 1890 and 1910, a Hampton University alumnus acquired an extremely rare seventeenth-century Kuba sword while working as a missionary among the central African people. The inlaid iron blade is among the finest and earliest examples of Kuba art.
Don’t miss: The amazing American Indian art and artifacts of the permanent exhibition, “Enduring Legacy: Native Peoples, Native Arts at Hampton.” Early in its history, the university opened its doors to Native American students. The exhibit celebrates their contribution to the university and includes a large display of beaded moccasins and baskets from many different tribal groups.
Special exhibit: “The Art of Elizabeth Catlett.” These paintings and sculptures by Catlett, a Washington, D.C.-native and granddaughter of North Carolina slaves, were completed between 1944 and 1994 and capture the emotions of society’s downtrodden. February through July 2006.
Visit: Hampton University, 100 E. Queen St., Hampton. Open Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sat. noon-4 p.m. 757-727-5308 or http://www.hamptonu.edu/museum.
Chrysler Museum of Art
You almost expect Prince Charming to emerge from the ball when you enter the opulent surroundings of this classical Italian Renaissance art palace, full of columned arcades, ornate courtyards, and massive skylights. The stunning classical architecture explains why the museum is such a popular wedding site.
Located on the picturesque Hague (the western arm of Norfolk’s Smith’s Creek), the Chrysler was founded in 1933 but was raised to prominence in 1971 when automobile heir and art collector Walter Chrysler, Jr., donated his world-class personal collection. It’s now home to 30,000 works of classic and modern art, including pieces by Henri Matisse, Alexander Calder, and Georgia O’Keeffe.
Unique sights: If you like the museum’s colorful walls—in shades such as Elizabethan Umber and Baroque Blue—take note: The same colors are available at any Sherwin Williams store as part of the Chrysler Museum Colors Collection.
Don’t miss: Within the ten glass galleries, you’ll find more than forty-five pieces of Tiffany glass on display, including: lamps, blown glass, and full-size stained-glass windows. Check out the rare flower form vase, one of two known to exist.
Special exhibit: “Behind the Seen: The Chrysler’s Hidden Museum.” Museum curators have raided storage vaults to assemble a rich exhibit of 150 American and European paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings dating from the seventeenth century to present day. Through Feb. 19, 2006.
Visit: 245 West Olney Rd., Norfolk. Open Sun. 1-5 p.m.; Wed. 10 a.m.- 9 p.m.; Thurs.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. 757-664-6200 or http://www.chrysler.org.
Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center
This museum celebrates the undersea world via oceans of aquariums and re-created aquatic habitats. At the Bay & Ocean Pavilion, visitors can watch the graceful movements of the unlikely ballerinas of the Bay, 200-pound, endangered loggerhead sea turtles, then get touchy-feely with the stingrays and sea stars at the touch tanks. Outside, a nature trail runs along Owls Creek to the Marsh Pavilion, where aquariums and terrariums showcase river otters, seahorses, fiddler crabs and a macro-marsh where animals and plants are magnified ten times their normal size.
Unique sights: While you’re exploring the Atlantic Ocean Pavilion, check out the eighteen-foot-deep Norfolk Canyon Aquarium, a model of an underwater canyon located about sixty miles off the Virginia coast.
Don’t miss: The two-hour-plus Winter Whale Watching Boat Trips off Virginia Beach. An interpreter points out seabirds and local landmarks (like the old Seatack Coast Guard Station), and, if you’re lucky, you’ll spot humpback, fin, and sometimes the rare northern right whale. Adults, $25; kids eleven and under, $23. For reservations, call 757-437-BOAT.
Special exhibit: “CSI: Crime Scene Insects” explores one of the most fascinating areas of criminal investigation, forensic entomology, the use of insects such as flies, maggots and beetles to reveal critical details of a crime scene. Through Jan. 8, 2006.
Visit: 717 General Booth Blvd., Virginia Beach. Daily, 9-5. 757- 425-FISH or http://www.virginiaaquairum.com.
Children’s Museum of Virginia
Like a scene from Candyland, the cheerfully inviting building with its Crayola colors welcomes kids and their parents to explore two floors of more than ninety “please touch” exhibits. Kids can check out a planetarium show, toy with big sounds on a King Kong-size drum, and step inside a massive walk-in computer.
Unique sights: The Lancaster Antique Toy and Train Collection is a million- dollar display with 5,000 train engines and cars, most of which were collected by one couple. The four layouts, which include a seashore setting and a village, take up one-third of the second floor, along with the glassed-in displays of the rarest pieces, dating from the early twentieth century.
Don’t miss: In the Bubble Room, kids can experiment with different tools and techniques to make the biggest bubble possible—and then step inside.
Special exhibits: Check out “Dolls Around the World,” a collection of nearly forty dolls from the likes of Israel, Spain, and Portugal. The cloth, plastic, and porcelain creations are smartly dressed in their native costumes.
Visit: 221 High St., Portsmouth. Winter hours: Tues.-Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. 757-393-5258 or http://www.childrensmuseumva.com.
Cousteau Gallery
At the Cousteau Gallery, exhibits include underwater photographs and film footage of Jacques Cousteau, the legendary ocean explorer. Take a peak at his original diving equipment as well as replicas of his famed research vessels Calypso and the Alcyone.
Unique sights: Check out Cousteau’s decompression chamber from the 1950s. It looks like you couldn’t have been over 125 pounds and fit inside.
Don’t miss: The French explorer’s shark cage, made out of half-inch-thick plastic (sharks can sense metal in the water). Continuously running videos show footage of the Cousteau team inside the cage amongst a swarm of maneaters.
Special exhibits: Although there are no changing exhibits, piece are added from storage periodically, such as the compass stand and ship’s telegraph from the Calypso.
Visit: 710 Settlers Landing Rd., Hampton. Winter hours: Nov. 1-April 14, Wed.-Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sun. noon-3 p.m. 757-722-9300 or cousteau.org.
More to Explore
If time permits, check out these other museums nearby.
Virginia Air & Space Center
Experience the wonders of flight—from the days of the Wright Brothers to present-day space adventures—at this hands-on museum, created with NASA’s nearby Langley Reserach Center/Air Force Base. More than thirty historic aircraft are on-site, including a Jenny biplane, a replica 1903 Wright Flyer, a F/A-22 fighter jet, and the Apollo 12 command module. The museum includes an IMAX theater and restored carousel. 600 Settlers Landing Road, Hamton. 757-727-0900 or http://www.vasc.org.
The Old Coast Guard Station Museum
Housed in a 1903 life saving/Coast Guard station, this museum depicts the history of U.S. Coast Guard services, rescues at sea, and covers shipwrecks off the Virginia Coast. Exhibits include rescue equipment, ship models, and movies of rescue re-enactments. 24th St., Virginia Beach. 757-422-1587 or http://www.oldcoastguardstation.com.
Hermitage Foundation Museum
Located on the twelve-acre estate built by William and Florence Sloane in 1907, the forty-two room museum houses Asian and Western Art, secret passageways within the house, and the Finley rose garden. 7637 North Shore Rd., Norfolk. 757-423-2052 or http://www.thfm.org.
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum
There’s even more nautica for lovers of the sea on this former shipyard site (a dry dock still exists), where ironclads and aircraft carriers were built in World War II. 2 High St.; 757-393-8591 or http://www.portsnavalmuseums.com.
The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame
Interactive exhibits and the history of all the Virginia sports greats from all walks of sport, from tennis to NASCAR and basketball and beyond. 206 High St., Portsmouth. 757-393-8091 or http://www.virginiasportshalloffame.com.
