After months of structural renovations, the museum’s exhibit trailer is set to re-open to the public during Waynesboro’s Riverfest on Saturday, May 2.
WAYNESBORO – After months of structural renovations, the Virginia Museum of Natural History (VMNH) Mobile Science Outreach trailer has returned to the site of the museum’s future downtown Waynesboro branch campus at the corner of West Main Street and Arch Avenue. The mobile exhibit unit will mark its official public return on Saturday, May 2 during Waynesboro’s Riverfest.
“We’re excited to have the VMNH Mobile Science Outreach trailer back in action just in time for Riverfest,” said VMNH Executive Director Dr. Joe Keiper. “The trailer will be open and free of charge to all Riverfest visitors this Saturday, with plans to have the trailer open during the Virginia Street Arts Festival on May 16 and 17, as well. Additionally, our local citizen volunteers will operate the trailer during the morning hours of the 2026 season of the Waynesboro Farmer’s Market. Our volunteers have been a tremendous asset over the years, and their service continues to be crucial to the museum’s success.”
While most of the updates to the trailer were structural, the museum has also refreshed the exhibits within it. Exhibits that will be on display include:
• A cast skeleton of a giant beaver, a now-extinct species from the last Ice Age
• A cast skeleton of an Ice Age wolf
• Limestone fossils of various marine life
• Cast dinosaur skulls and real gastroliths (gizzard stones) from dinosaurs
• Rock, mineral, and cave specimens
• A fossil stromatolite (one of the oldest forms of life on Earth)
• “A World of Beetles”
Additionally, the exterior of the trailer has been updated with new imagery depicting an osprey, a piscivorous bird (one that eats fish) that can sometimes be seen soaring over the South River.
The VMNH Mobile Science Outreach trailer made its debut in Waynesboro in 2023 after previously serving the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) as a traveling exhibit trailer.
“We thank Senator Emmett Hanger for making the acquisition of the trailer possible, and to Virginia Museum of Fine Arts for donating the trailer to VMNH,” said Keiper. “This mobile unit allows the museum to have a strong physical presence in downtown Waynesboro before construction of the branch campus begins.”
To be located at the corner of West Main Street and Arch Avenue in downtown Waynesboro, the permanent VMNH-Waynesboro facility will consist of approximately 28,000 square feet of space, 20,000 of which will be dedicated to exhibit galleries and children’s learning and play areas. Exhibit themes will focus on the ecology, geology, cultural history and natural history of the Blue Ridge and Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia.
Currently the branch campus is in the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Capital Outlay Plan, but timing of funding availability is uncertain. The museum completed the Commonwealth’s Detailed Design of the building in 2025.
It’s estimated that 65,000 visitors will utilize the facility with about two-thirds being from outside the area. According to Virginia Tourism, visitors seeking cultural experiences, such as museum-goers, spend on average $295 per day. This equates to over $250 million in visitor spending during the museum branch’s first 20 years of operation. It is expected to draw visitors from the nearby Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway, and complement local experiences, such as the Blue Ridge Tunnel, breweries and wineries, and nature experiences, like the South River Preserve.
“The return of the trailer reflects VMNH’s commitment to establishing a permanent educational facility in Waynesboro,” said Greg Hitchin, Director of the City of Waynesboro Economic Development and Tourism Department. “We are delighted that our citizens and visitors will have the opportunity to experience the exhibits and get a glimpse of what is to come.”
For more information about the VMNH Mobile Science Outreach trailer, visit vmnh.net/projects/mobile-science-outreach.
About the Virginia Museum of Natural History
The Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville seeks to increase understanding of, and appreciation for, the natural history of the Commonwealth through education, research, collections, publications, and exhibits. The museum, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, a distinction earned by fewer than 5 percent of museums in the United States. The museum is a member of the Association of Science and Technology Centers and the Virginia Association of Museums, and is an agency of the Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The museum is open Tuesday – Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closed all other days, including some holidays. From Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend, the museum is open on Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. General admission is $12 for ages 18-59 and $6 for children and youth ages 3-17, seniors 60+, and college students. VMNH Members and children under 3 receive free admission. Through the IMLS Museums for All initiative and additional partnerships with Hooker Furnishings, Carter Bank, and the Community Foundation Serving Western Virginia, the museum currently offers free admission to families who present their EBT card and accompanying ID at the VMNH Box Office. To learn more about the museum, visit vmnh.net.
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