Story Ideas

The Civil War in Newport News – Each spring, don’t be surprised to hear the roar of canons in Newport News, as Civil War re-enactments here are as popular as Mardi Gras is in New Orleans!  Endview Plantation is known for its annual event in April of each year, when hundreds of re-enactors converge on its grounds to re-create battles fought more than 150 years ago. Likewise, The Mariners' Museum marks the anniversary of the “Battle of  the Ironclads” every March with a day that allows families to enlist in the Confederate or Union Navy, learn about Civil War-era cooking, interact with Civil War reenactment groups, and watch artillery demonstrations. During the summer, children 8 to 13 can learn firsthand about the Civil War through camp life, drills and battles during our annual “Civil War Children’s Camp” at Endview Plantation. Lessons include America’s rich military heritage, teamwork and leadership skills – plus kids will get some exercise, to boot!

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The USS Monitor: Iconic Civil War Shipwreck and Archaeological Gem – When the revolving gun turret from the USS Monitor was brought up from the ocean floor in 2002, it had spent 140 years saturated in sea salt, making it vulnerable to rapid deterioration when exposed to air. As a result, researchers submerged the turret in a tank of fresh water at The Mariners’ Museum to gradually remove the salt; however, the tank is periodically drained so researchers can excavate artifacts and sediment from it. Part of the process includes screening and filtering tons of iron-stained, sulfur-filled, marine-life muck and sediment. As a result, small personal objects have been found: a monogrammed silver spoon, buttons, small hand tools, an unfired bullet, a bone-handled knife, and fragments of a silk handkerchief. What other treasures might they find?

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A Dazzling Holiday Light Show – Hollydazzle, held the first Saturday in December, is a one-of-a-kind holiday show that combines synchronized fireworks, theatrical lighting, ground-based pyrotechnics and special effects all choreographed to festive music, making it one of the top shows of the year. The show transforms City Center at Oyster Point into a kaleidoscope of color reflecting on the fountains’ five-acre water surface. And because it's “in-the-round,” the show looks the same no matter what side of the fountain you're standing on! Typically, this popular event draws more 30,000 people to City Center at Oyster Point.  

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 Preparing Hundreds of Meals Daily – There are more than 250 different kinds of animals at the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News, and each individual animal has its own special diet! Volunteers spend hours chopping, dicing and sorting all this food into individual containers. What is bird-of-prey chow? Which animal eats what: raisins, chicken wings, frozen and fresh mice, boiled  eggs, pecan halves, minnows, mink pellets, dog biscuits, rodent chow, croaker, sunflower seeds? And don’t forget the greens! Talk to the curatorial staff about the animals’ dietary needs, photograph volunteers preparing the food, and watch a public feeding.

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Newport News Park: Nine times larger than New York City’s Central Park – With more than 7,700 acres, Newport News Park is one of the largest municipal parks in the United States. It is also home to an incredible variety of native wildlife – deer, fox, otter, raccoon and beaver, to name a few – all found in a natural setting of lush woodlands, flowering meadows and shimmering lakes. Its natural beauty makes Newport News Park a favorite destination for campers who love the great outdoors. Rowboat, canoe and paddleboat rentals are available, and fishing is permitted in two large freshwater lakes. For history lovers, Newport News Park is the site of some of the best preserved Civil War fortifications, earthworks and redoubts in Virginia, and is a designated stop on the official Virginia Civil War Trails network. It also offers 45 miles of hiking and biking trails, an archery range, disc golf, a high-ropes course, and two 18-hole golf courses. 

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Caring for Endangered Animals

Visit the Virginia Living Museum to see and learn about the bald eagle and 11 other animals that are on federal or state endangered or threatened lists. It’s here you can visit with red wolves, the most endangered mammal in North America, and the loggerhead, the only sea turtle that nests in Virginia. Also on exhibit are animals that are not as well known: the Barking Treefrog, Blackbanded Sunfish, Eastern Chicken Turtle and the Roanoke Logperch. Did you know the Virginia Living Museum is the only place in the world that exhibits the logperch, a small darter that is native to the Roanoke River watershed? The museum participates in federal Species Survival Programs for the red wolf and seahorse, in the North Carolina Headstart Program for loggerhead sea turtles and in a shark research program with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Talk with curatorial staff about these animals and the care they receive.