Click a link below to find out more information about these fantastic Museums and Galleries in and surrounding the Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown area.
The Yorktown Watermen’s Museum
Located on the shores of the scenic York River in historic Yorktown, the Watermen’s Museum was founded in 1981 for the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Yorktown. The Watermen’s Museum interprets the heritage of the Chesapeake Bay’s watermen and women who harvest the Bay’s seafood. Exhibits trace the industry from the time Native Americans fished local waters to the present.
For more information visit the Watermen’s Museum website.
The Mariners’ Museum
Dare to follow in the wake of the heroes of the great Age of Exploration. Here you’ll find one of the largest international maritime history museums filled to the crow’s nest with prized artifacts that celebrate the spirit of seafaring adventure.
Explore over 60,000 square feet of gallery space with rare figureheads, handcrafted ship models, Civil War ironclad USS Monitor artifacts, paintings, small craft from around the world, and much more. The Museum is set on a 550-acre woodland park with the five-mile Noland Trail around tranquil Lake Maury.
For more information visit the Mariners’ Museum website.
U.S. Army Transportation Museum
Since the Revolution, Army transportation has been a key to victory on the battlefield. The U.S. Army Transportation Museum celebrates the roles played by the men, women and machines that “get there first with the most.” The Transportation Museum’s six acres, inside the gates of Ft. Eustis, will take you from early mule-drawn wagons to modern HUMMVs. The museum includes films, videos, dioramas and models. The outdoor park features full-size vehicles and equipment.
For more information visit the U.S. Army Transportation Museum website.
Virginia Living Museum
This museum is a spectacular combination of native wildlife park, natural science museum, aquarium, botanical preserve, planetarium theater and observatory – all in one wooded, lakeside setting. Enjoy the touch tank with its sea stars and horseshoe crabs and learn the secrets of how plants and animals survive in the wild. The outdoor nature trail winds through the woods bringing you up close to Virginia’s wildlife in natural settings, including bald eagles, bobcats, fox, deer, wild turkeys, herons, egrets and pelicans.
For more information visit the Virginia Living Museum website.
Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe
The largest stone fort ever built in the U.S., Fort Monroe is headquarters for the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. Within the historic fort’s stone walls is the Casemate Museum, which chronicles the history of the fort and the Coast Artillery Corps.
During the Civil War, Fort Monroe was a Union-held bastion in the center of a Confederate state and helped shelter thousands of slave refugees. See the cell where Confederate President Jefferson Davis was imprisoned.
For more information visit the Casemate Museum website.
Hampton University Museum
Founded in 1868, the museum is the oldest African-American museum in the U.S. and one of the oldest museums in the state of Virginia. The collection contains examples of traditional and contemporary African, American-Indian, African-American and Pacific Island art.
For more information visit the Hampton University Museum website.
Virginia Air & Space Center
The visitor center for NASA Langley Research Center and Langley Air Force Base. This world-class facility features the Adventures in Flight gallery and more than 100 “hands-on” exhibits that tell the story of air and space exploration.
See the Apollo 12 Command Module, a Mars meteorite and a three-billion-year-old moon rock! Visit the technologically advanced 3D IMAX Theater and see an IMAX film on a giant five-story screen with 16,000 watts of digital-sound.
For more information visit the Virginia Air & Space Center website.
Chrysler Museum of Art
Stroll through 5,000 years of art history at the Chrysler Museum, home to Walter Chrysler, Jr.’s world-class collection of more than 30,000 pieces of art. In addition to its envied collection, Chrysler Museum is filled with exciting programs and activities and includes a 300-seat theatre for musical performances, children’s programs, and lectures.
For more information visit the Chrysler Museum of Art website.
Nauticus and the Battleship Wisconsin
Nauticus, The National Maritime Center, is a maritime-themed science center and museum located in Norfolk, Virginia. Opened in June 1994, Nauticus features hands-on exhibits, interactive theaters, aquaria, digital high-definition films, and an extensive variety of educational programs.
It is also the home of the USS Wisconsin, which is maintained there as part of the United States Navy’s reserve fleet. Nauticus has an IMAX theater and shows nautically-related films on a rotating basis. The USS Wisconsin is the largest and last battleship ever built by the U.S. Navy. Explore its deck through a self-guided or audiotape tour that will take you back in time to experience this majestic ship that earned five battle stars during World War II.
For more information visit the Nauticus website.
Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center
Explore more than 800,000 gallons of aquariums and take a journey of water through Virginia. Stroll through the indoor Coastal River Room where birds and turtles roam free, marvel at a 50,000 gallon aquarium with the largest collection of Chesapeake Bay fish in the world and touch gentle stingrays, horseshoe crabs and other marine life.
The aquarium also has more than 300 interactive exhibits, 1/2-acre aviary, and “larger than life” movies on an IMAX 3D movie screen. Seasonal boat trips for dolphin watching, whale watching and ocean collections are also available.
For more information visit the Virginia Aquarium website.