Changing Exhibits
Very Eric Carle: A Very Hungry, Quiet, Lonely, Clumsy, Busy Exhibit
January 26, 2020- May 10, 2020
Special Aquarium Member Opening: January 25, 2020
A new exhibit is inching its way into the Virginia Aquarium! Join us for Very Eric Carle: A Very Hungry, Quiet, Lonely, Clumsy, Busy Exhibit. Explore activities inspired by five of Eric Carle’s classic books - The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Quiet Cricket, The Very Lonely Firefly, The Very Clumsy Click Beetle, and The Very Busy Spider. In this play-and-learn exhibit visitors become the Very Hungry Caterpillar as they follow his path; weave a web with the Very Busy Spider; find their light with the Very Lonely Firefly; make the Very Clumsy Click Beetle flip and jump; and compose a night symphony with the Very Quiet Cricket. This changing exhibit will open to the public on January 26.
Very Eric Carle: A Very Hungry, Quiet, Lonely, Clumsy, Busy Exhibit was coorganized by the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh and The Eric Carle Museum of Picture
Book Art.
Major Exhibits
Main Building
- Harbor Seals
- Restless Planet:
- Komodo Dragons
- Red Sea Tunnel
- Tomistoma Crocodiles
- Light Tower Aquarium with sea turtles
- Norfolk Canyon Aquarium featuring sharks
- Ray Touch Pool
- Chesapeake Bay Aquarium
South Building*
*The South Building is currently closed for renovations. To learn more about what you can expect when the building reopens, please visit our blog here.
Nature Trail
Enjoy this 1/3 mile walk along scenic Owls Creek. With outlook posts and sweeping views of the protected salt marsh, the Nature Trail is a beautiful walk through the woods.
Oyster Reef
Oysters provide a valuable resource to the marine environment, improving the water quality and serving as a protective habitat for juvenile fish and other animals.
In mid-2015, a demonstration oyster reef was created at the Aquarium and stocked with over 18,000 juvenile oysters raised by Old Donation Center School, Princess Anne Middle School, and New Castle Elementary School. The oyster reef includes an intertidal section with 30 feet of natural oyster shell, 30 feet of oyster castles, and 30 feet of undisturbed mud flat, as well as a large subtidal section of natural shell bounded by a fringing reef of mounded shells.
You can see our oyster reef, which also offers a unique educational experience, from the scenic overlook on the Nature Trail.
Special thanks to the
Rudee Inlet Foundation for funding the oyster reef project, and to
Lynnhaven River Now and the Crystal Club for their help and support with design and installation.
