A wealth of experience and wonder is just a short trip away by visiting the many museums located in Newport News and its region. From the arts to science and technology, our museums let you explore the wide world beyond everyday experience. In Newport News, the Mariners’ Museum holds one of the most complete representations of maritime history in the world, including artifacts from the Civil War ironclad ship, the Monitor, as well as a full-scale replica of the vessel. The Virginia Living Museum in Newport News is one of the nation’s first nature museums to display regional plants and animals in their natural habitat. The Living Museum also has a planetareum with regularly scheduled shows. The Virginia Air and Space Museum in nearby Hampton has the region’s only IMAX theater. The Chrysler Museum, in Norfolk, houses one of the finest art collections in the Southeast. Nauticus and the Virginia Marine Science Museum are only some of the special places to enrich your quality of life in Newport News. And, of course, the museums of the Smithsonian are less than three hours away by Interstate.

Fine Arts Museums
--Chrysler Museum
--Contemporary Art Center of Virginia
--Hampton University Museum
--Hermitage Foundation Museum
--Muscarelle Museum
--Peninsula Fine Arts Museum

Nautical Museums
--Mariners’ Museum
--Nauticus

Science and Technology Museums
--Virginia Air and Space Center
--Virginia Living Museum
--Virginia Marine Science Museum

Special Interest Museums
--MacArthur Memorial
--Portsmouth Children’s Museum
--U.S. Army Transportation Museum
--Virginia War Museum