Night(s) at The Museum: Final Project

Vistiors of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Photograph courtesy of artchitect Copleand Casati



RICHMOND—The arrival of the winter holidays makes it difficult for most Richmond-area residents to focus on much of anything but their preparation, but there are many opportunities for community involvement at Richmond’s premier museums and recreation facilities. The Children’s Museum of Richmond, the Science Museum of Virginia, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts offer many programs and activities for the entire family to enjoy.

            “This is our craziest time of year,” said Katy Holder, Director of Marketing and Operations at the Children’s Museum of Richmond. “We’re [actually preparing for] several different events [right] now.”          

When the Children’s Museum of Richmond opened its doors nearly 30 years ago, it aimed to give children a place to come to exercise their creativity and hone their problem-solving and social skills. Currently, it works closely with the Virginia Public School System to provide students with field trip programs that correlate with their curriculums, including art, reading, and professional training.

Despite the failures in the job and residential and commercial real estate markets that result from the recent economic recession, the C-MOR has held its own. It has welcomed over 225,000 visitors over the past year.

“Membership numbers have certainly increased over the past year,” said Holder. “[We’ve recently opened] a second location at Short Pump and we’ve had over 60,000 visitors [there], so it’s doing pretty well.”

            The Science Museum of Virginia, which became a national historic site in 1995, houses its own series of lectures, demonstrations and exhibits to fulfill its mission of enriching the lives of central Virginia residents through science. Most recently, it has hosted “Foundations Finest: A Celebration of Life” to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

             Benson Smallie, a senior at Benedictine High School that has been visiting the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts since childhood, is well aware the role that museums play outside of a traditional academic setting.

“It’s really important, because if you don’t learn about stuff that’s not in our schools, you know, we need to be well rounded as people, so you have to get it from an outside source,” he says. “[A] museum’s probably the best way to do it.”

            The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts serves the state’s flagship art museum and is now home to the Pauley Center, a new art education institution brought to life through the voluntary collaboration of over 350 nonprofit organizations. Established at the peak of the Great Depression on the former site of the Robert E. Lee Camp Confederate Soldiers’ Home, the unusual partnership of state funding and private donations have allowed for the museum to bode well amid economic hardship.

Within the coming winter months, it will soon be introducing “Picasso: Masterpieces from the Museé Picasso, Paris” the largest exhibition in its history. This new exhibit will bring more than 170 works by the famous twentieth-century artists to central Virginia and is the only venue on the East Coast to host them. “Dynasty and Divinity: Ife Art in Ancient Nigeria,” which enjoyed critical acclaim in London, will coincide with this exhibition.

Notably, unlike most museums that bring a wealth of artistic expression from all parts of the globe, the VMFA offers free admission to these exhibits.

“I think it’s great that it is an opportunity for people to be able to go and enjoy culture for little to no cost,” said Jamie Staples, an intern for the European Arts curator at the VMFA. Staples believed that the museum was one of the most important facilities in the city because of its ability to localize international art.

While many of these Richmond area museums appear to be in good standing, it often appears that the community fails to recognize the fact that their involvement plays a significant role in their existence. Part of what allows facilities such as the C-MOR to maintain its success is the interaction of children and families. Unlike the neighboring SMV, which was founded by the Virginia General Assembly, The C-MOR receives no direct funding from the federal, state, or local governments. The VMFA, similarly, receives the bulk of its financial support from wealthy private donors with an interest in the arts.

“Attending events and going to local attractions, that definitely helps,” said Holder.

If Richmond residents consider the wealth of educational and cultural prospects that a museum offers to them, these facilities will continue to remain afloat.

Gallery space, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Photography courtesy of the Virginia Tourism Corporation

For more information on these museums and their events, please visit the following:
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts: http://www.vmfa.state.va.us/
The Science Museum of Virginia: http://www.smv.org/
The Children's Museum of Richmond: http://www.c-mor.org/