The Virginia Marine Science Museum

The Virginia Marine Science Museum holds the state’s largest aquarium as well as two buildings with more than 700,000 gallons of other aquariums and live animal habitats. It’s also an enjoyable and educational science museum of Virginia, perfect for a family outing. The Virginia Science Museum also maintains three touch tanks for those curious about sea cucumbers and starfish, and more than 300 other hands-on exhibits, an outdoor aviary, a 10 acre marsh habitat and a three mile nature trail. This museum is second to none when it comes to family fun Virginia museums.

For Virginia Marine Science Museum visitors interested in whale watching, contact the museum to set up a dolphin or whale watching ocean excursion, or to take a trip on the Miss Virginia Beach, a science museum of Virginia special excursions craft that allows visitors the chance to trawl for fish and marine invertebrates that you can then examine in the on-board aquaria. If you’re interested in a Virginia Marine Science Museum boat trip excursion, book early as these trips tend to fill up quickly. The cost per person ranges from $16 - $18.

Other highlights of this science museum of Virginia include habitats for sharks and sea turtles, where Virginia Science Museum visitors can learn about shark social habits and watch sea turtles swim majestically through the water, a treat you can‘t experience at any other Virginia museums. You can also see many other Virginia Science Museum habitats featuring harbor seals, river otters, stingrays, and a variety of other sea creatures such as starfish, tropical fish, and more.

This marine-based science museum of Virginia also offers visitors the chance to see a Virginia Aquarium 3-D IMAX show in the Virginia Marine Science Museum 300-seat theater. See larger than life versions of your favorite sea creatures and be amazed at the feeling of being encapsulated in a virtual aquarium. Check with the Virginia Marine Science Museum directly for movie show times and ticket prices.

Besides offering visitors the chance to view sea life up close and personal, the Science Museum of Virginia also maintains a staff of marine science experts trained in animal rescue and stranding along the Virginia coastline. Since its inception in 1991, the Virginia Marine Science Museum Stranding Team has responded to more than 500 marine mammals and over 600 sea turtles. Other stranded animals have included harbor seals, harbor porpoises, bottlenose dolphins, humpback whales, loggerhead sea turtles and kemp's ridley sea turtles. Visitors can make tax-deductible donations to the museum and aid in the Stranding Team efforts to save Virginia sea life, ask at the museum ticket booth or call the museum directly to inquire about donation.

There are no other Virginia museums exactly like the Virginia Marine Science Museum, so take the time during your visit to Virginia and spend a day learning about the creatures living in our oceans and rivers. Admission to the museum ranges from $8 - $12. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily, from September 6, 2005, to May 28, 2006.