Virginia Museum of Natural History

11/04/2026

VMNH Curator of Recent Invertebrates Dr. Kal Ivanov is back in Vietnam to continue his ongoing research in one of the most biodiverse countries on Earth. Below is the third update from Kal!

After another productive day of fieldwork at Ba Be National Park, followed by a lengthy 17-hour drive and an overnight stop in the town of Bắc Yên, we arrived at the last destination of our trip: the beautiful Pá Khoang Lake (Hồ Pá Khoang) on Thursday afternoon.

Located approximately 20 km northeast of Điện Biên Phủ, the Mường Phăng and Pá Khoang Special-Use Forest is an important protected area encompassing more than 4,400 hectares, including Pá Khoang Lake, the largest freshwater reservoir in Điện Biên Province. This high-altitude mountain ecosystem is characterized by pristine tropical montane monsoon forests and supports a remarkable diversity of flora and wildlife, including numerous orchid species, forest birds, small mammals, herpetofauna, and a variety of rare insects and other arthropods, many of which are highly localized or endemic.

The surrounding landscape is also shaped by the presence of nearby ethnic minority communities, primarily the Thái and Khơ Mú, whose traditional livelihoods include agroforestry, fruit tree cultivation, and, increasingly, eco-tourism.

Over the next week, we will be surveying the area, exploring its remarkable biodiversity, and learning more about this unique tropical ecosystem.

11/04/2026

We love bringing our education programs to schools locally and throughout the Commonwealth!

10/31/2026

VMNH Curator of Recent Invertebrates Dr. Kal Ivanov is back in Vietnam to continue his ongoing research in one of the most biodiverse countries on Earth. Below is the second update from Kal!

Over the past three days, we (Kal and a team of international researchers) have continued our exploration of the remarkable karst landscape of Ba Be National Park. Formed nearly 200 million years ago through immense tectonic forces, these ancient limestone formations are characterized by an extensive network of cave systems and provide a rich habitat for lush evergreen tropical rainforests.

Our recent explorations have taken us into several of these fascinating cave systems, including Puong Cave (Động Puông), a 300-meter-long natural tunnel carved through the heart of Lung Nham Mountain by the Nang River. Its impressive ceilings, rising approximately 30 meters overhead, shelter enormous colonies of roosting bats. Sharing this unique subterranean environment is a diverse community of cave-dwelling organisms, including specialized insects, spiders, and myriapods, each adapted to life in this remarkable underground ecosystem.

Our experience has been nothing short of outstanding and we eagerly look to the next day where new discoveries undoubtedly await.

10/30/2026

🤝 🎟️ What an awesome partnership we have with Brightspeed!

As a proud sponsor of last Saturday’s Bonez & Booz 2026, Brightspeed generously provided a lucky family of four with FREE admission through a randomly selected giveaway! There’s nothing quite like surprising our guests with an unexpected treat and making their event experience even more special.

Thank you, Brightspeed, for helping us create another memorable moment for our visitors!

10/28/2026

🇺🇸 🇻🇳 🇧🇬 VMNH Curator of Recent Invertebrates Dr. Kal Ivanov is back in Vietnam, continuing his ongoing research in one of the most biodiverse countries on Earth!

This year, Dr. Ivanov and an international team of researchers are exploring the remarkable natural landscapes of Ba Be National Park in northern Vietnam, with plans to return to the incredibly diverse — but still largely unexplored — Pa Khoang Lake in the northeastern part of the country, near the border with Laos.

This exciting collaboration brings together researchers from across institutions and countries, all working to better understand Vietnam’s extraordinary biodiversity. Joining Dr. Ivanov this year are researchers from the Bulgarian National Museum of Natural History, including Drs. R. Bekchiev, N. Simov, M. Langourov, S. Kazandzhieva, and I. Acosta; colleagues K. Vladov and T. Petrova from the Plovdiv Museum of Natural History in Bulgaria; and their hosts and collaborators from the Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology, Dr. Vuong Tan Tu, Dr. Quang Tuan, and Vũ Thành Trung.

After a four-hour drive from Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi, the team arrived at Ba Be National Park (Vườn Quốc Gia Ba Bể) on Monday evening. Over the coming week, the team will survey the park’s diverse habitats, investigate its bat and invertebrate diversity, and document the incredible life found throughout this unique ecosystem.

Spanning 10,048 hectares, Ba Be National Park is a spectacular landscape of towering limestone karsts, dense tropical evergreen forests, and Ba Be Lake, the largest natural freshwater lake in Vietnam. Recognized as both an ASEAN Heritage Park and a Ramsar wetland site, the park is not only a place of breathtaking natural beauty, but also an area of tremendous ecological and conservation importance.

Stay tuned as we follow Dr. Ivanov and the team’s work in Vietnam! 🌿 🕷️ 🦇

10/25/2026

💀 🎃 That’s a wrap on another spooktacular Bonez & Booz!

Bonez & Booz 2026 was filled with frightful fun, wicked entertainment, and Halloween magic that included an incredible lineup of fire performances, magic shows, carnival games, stilt walkers, costume contests, food trucks, a b**r garden and more!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who came out to celebrate with us! Your fang-tastic energy, festive spirit, and incredible costumes made this year’s Bonez & Booz one to remember! 👻

Of course, an event this amazing wouldn’t be possible without an exceptional team behind the scenes. We’re sending a spooky big shout-out to all of our volunteers, presenters, performers, vendors, and staff who helped bring this monster to life.

A massive THANK YOU to our Bonez & Booz sponsors! Your support helped make all of this frightful fun possible.

Bassett Furniture
Brightspeed
Community Foundation Serving Western Virginia
Renewal by Andersen of Roanoke
Virginia is for Lovers

We’re also incredibly grateful to The Helen S. and Charles G. Patterson, Jr. Charitable Foundation Trust for its continued and loyal support of Bonez & Booz and so many other museum events.

Be sure to mark your calendars and join us for another round of Halloween thrills at Bonez & Booz 2027 on Saturday, October 23!

10/23/2026

💀🎃 We CAN'T WAIT to see what costumes you all have in store for us at Bonez & Booz 2026 tomorrow!!

From shockingly scary to painfully cute, you’ve blown us away with your costume creativity year after year… and we have a feeling THIS SATURDAY is going to be frighteningly fabulous! 👻

10/22/2026

💀 🅿️ Because the museum's parking lot will be filled with awesome activities, performances, displays and food trucks this Saturday during Bonez & Booz 2026, all general parking will take place off-site within nearby parking lots. ADA accessible parking, however, will be available within the museum's parking lot closest to the YMCA. All parking is free!

All designated parking lots will be marked with "Festival Parking" signage with arrows to help visitors locate available lots.

Follow the link to learn more about parking and to access an interactive map of nearby lots!

** Please note that the YMCA parking lot directly next door to the museum will only be available after 6 p.m. ** 👻

Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville Virginia has award-winning exhibits, ground-breaking scientific research and collections, transformational educational programs for all ages, statewide outreach education and distance learning programs.

10/21/2026

We hope you've chosen your costume wisely!

Bonez & Booz 2026 is this Saturday from 4 to 10pm!!

🔥 Mind-blowing Fire & LED Performances
✨ Jaw-dropping Magic Shows
🎪 Carnival Games & Family Fun
🤹 Towering Stilt Walkers
🏆 Costume Contests & Prizes
🌮 Food Trucks & Delicious Eats
🍺 B**r Garden
🎃 And SO much more!

Many thanks to our amazing event sponsors!!

* Bassett Furniture
* Brightspeed
* Community Foundation Serving Western Virginia
* Renewal by Andersen of Roanoke
* Virginia is for Lovers

Special thanks to The Helen S. and Charles G. Patterson, Jr. Charitable Foundation Trust for its continued and loyal support of this and many other museum events!

10/20/2026

The VMNH education team is currently in Richmond, where they are collaborating with the Science Museum of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University to engage ESL students in a special fossil collection and identification session focused on Westmoreland State Park and its remarkable fossil record!

The collaboration is just one example of how agencies within the Virginia Department of Education - VDOE can work together in an effort to provide Virginia's school children with unique and memorable educational opportunities!