Ice Age Festival (VA)

Festival admission is only $7 for adults ages 19-59, $5 for children and youth ages 3-18, and $5 for seniors ages 60+.  FREE for museum members and children under 3.

Mark your calendars now for the Ice Age Festival on Saturday, January 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville for a day full of incredible displays of the most iconic animals to roam the earth during the last Ice Age! The event also includes actual Ice Age fossils, presentations by Ice Age experts, as well as all of the games, crafts and activities that you’d expect at a museum festival!

• For the first time ever at VMNH, witness the incredible cast-skeleton of Stegodon, a LARGER relative of mammoths and mastodons! The display is OVER 12 FEET IN HEIGHT and OVER 26 FEET IN LENGTH…and that doesn’t even include the 10 foot long tusks!
• Meet the life-like recreation of an 8 foot tall, giant ground sloth!
• View the museum’s incredible Ice Age exhibit, featuring the cast skelton of Smilodon – commonly known as a saber-toothed cat – giant beavers and more! A new Ice Age wolf will be unveiled for the exhibit during the festival!
• Real Ice Age fossils from the museum’s collections available to view and touch!
• Amazing animal mount displays, including a polar bear, arctic fox, muskox, and more!
• Special displays, stations and presentations provided by Appalachian State University, East Tennessee State University, The York Museum and the North Carolina Fossil Club!
• A virtual reality experience provided by U.S. Cellular!
• Animal balloon artist!
• Ice Age themed games and activities for children provided by museum educators!
• Food and drinks available for purchase in the museum’s PALEO Café!
• Amazing Ice Age souvenirs available for purchase from the Museum Store!