Virginia Discovery Museum

Parents, need a night out? Date Night Drop-Off is back on Friday, January 19th 🌟 Drop the kids off at the Museum for some after-hours fun from 5:30-7:30pm 🌙 Ages 4-10, registration closes on the 17th or when we hit capacity, click the link in our bio to learn more!

Learning doesn’t have to stop just because it’s a day off! Join us Friday, January 26th for our Day Off Camp - Stone Age Secrets 🪨 We will travel back in time to use tools, make art, and walk in the footsteps of our early human ancestors in this engaging exploration of our ancient past! Ages 4-8, availability is limited, click the link in our bio to register!

The last Baby Buds of 2023 has arrived! Join us TODAY in Creation Station from 10:30-11am to ring in the holiday season with sensory activities and play 🫧 FREE with Admission!

VDM is committed to accessibility and inclusivity, ensuring ALL children have access to a vibrant, diverse, clean, and safe space filled with opportunities to learn and discover! How exactly can you help this mission?

Whether you are giving time or money, Sponsored Admission, weekly drop-in programs, camps, field trips, and exhibit maintenance are all possible thanks to the generosity of community members just like you! Learn more about how funds are utilized with the link in our bio!

Join us Monday at 10:30am in Creation Station for the last storytime of 2023 📚🪱 Please note the Museum will be closed December 25th, 26th, and January 1st ❄️

2023 has been a year of record growth at VDM! With the help of our community, the Museum has worked hard to meet the growing demands for learning, joy, and family bonding. But there’s still a lot more to do! With donations both big and small, we hope to expand capacity, outreach, and community services in 2024! To learn more about supporting VDM click the link in our bio!

Still searching for the perfect gift this season? Give the gift of play! Between memberships, gift vouchers, and stamp cards, there’s something perfect for every young family in your life!
To learn more click the link in our bio, or give us a call!

What a happy Holly Days! Thank you to everyone that joined us at last Saturday to ring in the holidays 🌲❄️ There is still plenty of fun to be had back in our galleries this winter, we look forward to celebrating the season with your family soon 🎉

Join us for a cozy morning, and check out the beautiful views that James Monroe's Highland has to offer, this Saturday, December 2nd, from 9:30 - 11:30am!

Registration for Holly Days closes TOMORROW! We are so excited to ease into the holidays with a chill morning of cozy crafts, foraging, and storytelling, set against the gorgeous backdrop of 🌲✨ REGISTER TODAY at the link in our bio to join us on December 2, from 9:30 - 11:30am ❄️

Giving Tuesday has arrived! No matter how big or small, your gift makes a difference - the support of donors like you is critical to VDM’s ability to push ourselves to grow! This year the Museum is focusing specifically on expanding accessibility to our space, and increasing projects aimed at upper elementary. We have seen an increased demand for such services in our community and, with your help, we can meet those needs 🫶 Click the link in our bio to donate today ❤️

Giving Tuesday is fast approaching! The Museum has seen a huge increase in demand this past year, almost doubling admission and continuing to expand our Sponsored Admission Program, and we need your help to keep up! With gifts both big and small, we can continue to grow and alleviate financial barriers, ensuring all children have access to learning and play 🎉 To make a donation today, or learn more about how we utilize your contribution, follow the link in our bio!

To wrap up this week of gratitude we want to give a HUGE THANK YOU to all 193 of our volunteers from the past year ❤️ As a small, local non-profit, volunteers play an invaluable role in helping the Museum fulfill its mission through their time and talents!
Want to see our amazing volunteers in action? Join us next Saturday for Holly Days! Click the link in our bio to REGISTER ⛄️

Continuing to give thanks this week by highlighting VDM’s Staff & Board! Thank you all for working so hard to make the Museum a fun and safe space for every child to explore 🧠💡 From our little family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

As we’re gearing up to Giving Tuesday and our Annual Fund, we want to continue to give thanks by highlighting our donors and member families!
The backing provided by you all allows us to mediate financial instability faced by many families in our community through Sponsored Admission, Scholarships, and Field Trips. As a small, local nonprofit, the financial support of our community also allows us to deliver the best quality of services possible through - exhibit maintenance, increased staff and program capacity, and museum development! With your help we hope to grow with your family and provide opportunities for ALL children to explore, play, and discover ❤️ To learn more about donating and other forms of support follow the links in our bio!

The Museum will be closed on select dates during the holidays ⛄️ We look forward to celebrating the holidays with everyone Monday-Saturday, 9:30 am - 5:00 pm!

In this season of gratitude we want to take the time to thank all of our wonderful community partners and corporate sponsors! Community partnerships help connect people to resources and experiences for their families, while our sponsors help mediate financial barriers. Thank you all for your time, energy, and collaborative spirits!

Miss Lara has been hard at work prepping festive fun for Holly Days at Highland! Here's a sneak peek at some of the whimsical winter crafts we'll have this year. Is your favorite the snow gnome, the button tree, or the twinkly winter lantern? (Good news -- you don't have to choose!)

Don't miss this cozy event ushering the winter season among the rolling hills at ! Tickets are live now at vadm.org/holly-days. 🎀❄️🎀❄️🎀

Starting to plan for the holidays? Give the gift that keeps on giving with an annual Museum Membership! Perfect for any young family in your life, a membership gets free entry for six people, 10% off any camps, programs, and rentals, as well as free or discounted admission to hundreds of other museums across the country! Follow the link in our bio to learn more about gifting a membership 🎁

Boo Bash wouldn’t be such an amazing event without the help of all of our wonderful community partners! Thank you to , , and for sponsoring, UVA LEAD and Living Lab for concocting spooky science experiments, for helping us dream up some weird and wacky robots, and and for volunteering their time and energy to bringing magic to the Museum ✨👻

Walk-Ins may be available for Boo Bash for $18 per-person tonight and tomorrow!

The Museum will close early Thursday, October 26th at 3PM

The Museum will be closed on Friday, October 27th, all day

We'll see everyone at Boo Bash!

Still figuring out what to be for Halloween? Marketing and Outreach Manager, Anna, has put together a for ✨inspiration✨ Comment down below if there’s a costume you’re hoping to see this year ⬇️

Join us TOMORROW, Saturday, October 21st, at 10AM for a pop-up program hosted by UpLevel Martial Arts! will be helping us practice our gross motor skills, concentration, and get our energy out with a series of games 🤸

With Friday, October 27th already being SOLD OUT, Education Manager, Lara, wants to make sure everyone gets to join us for Boo Bash this year! Limited tickets are still available for Thursday, October 26th 🎟️
Follow the link in our bio to register today!

Walk-ins may be available for $18 per person, space permitting, please call ahead to check availability the night-of 📞🧟‍♀️

Did you know there are some fungi that can take over the minds of certain insects?! Happy Halloween👻🎃

In the spirit of Halloween, sign up for our upcoming Discovery Workshop, “Spooky Spores”, to learn more about the spooky things spores can do! Register by October 23rd, follow the link in our bio to learn more!

Halloween might be known for candy but Sabrina, our Gallery Manager & Program Assistant, can’t stop thinking about all the other goodies she’ll be bringing home from Boo Bash! Play games to win tickets that you can trade in for prizes, while collecting crafts along the way 🎃
Follow the link in our bio to register today!

Boo Bash is only a few weeks away 😱 Thankfully our Director of Operations, Lindsay, is a SUPER-planner! She and her squad of ghoulish ghosts, scary skeletons, and mysterious monsters are quickly getting the Museum ready for the spookiest time of year 👻

Register at the link in our bio 🎟️

Did you know that microbes live all around us, even in our food? One example being bacillus, which can turn milk into yogurt🔬🦠

In our Discovery Workshops this fall you can learn about the tiny microorganisms that live all around us - including Bacillus, rod-shaped bacterium!

Register for our upcoming Discovery Workshop, ‘Going Viral’, by Monday October 9th, follow the link in our bio to learn more!

We had such a fun time this past Sunday hosting ‘s PLAY! Event 🙌 Thank you to all the families that joined us and made it such a wonderful day!