Explore Your State History Museum
"Give Me Liberty" exhibition
Commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this special exhibition highlights Virginia’s leading role in the American Revolution.

Revolution Revisited
Introducing a new VMHC podcast about the American Revolution & Virginia's rebels, rule breakers, and rabble rousers



Featured Events
Featuring award-winning speakers, tours, and family activities for all ages and interest levels. To browse all upcoming events, please click through to our calendar.

First Fridays at VMHC

Lecture: A Soldier's Life — A Black Woman's Rise from Army Brat to Six Triple Eight Champion

Tour: Visit the Vault

Mother's Day: Free Admission for Moms

Member Mondays

Member Tours: Give Me Liberty

Member Tours: Give Me Liberty

Celebrating VA's First Ladies

HistoryFest

Lecture: Always Order the Pie (and Sometimes You Should Order It First)

Member Event: Garden Party

Memorial Day: Free Admission for Active Military and Vets

Farm to Table Bus Tour

Tour: Visit the Vault

Virtual Curator Conversation: Un/Bound Preview

Member Mondays

First Fridays at VMHC

Give Me Liberty Highlight Tour

Front Lawn Fun

Themed Thursdays

Lecture: Searching for Jimmie Strother — A Tale of Music, Murder, and Memory

Give Me Liberty Highlight Tour

Tour: Visit the Vault

Father's Day: Free Admission for Dads

Front Lawn Fun

Themed Thursdays

Lecture: Lincoln’s Lady Spymaster — The Untold Story of the Abolitionist Southern Belle Who Helped Win the Civil War

Give Me Liberty Highlight Tour

Front Lawn Fun

Themed Thursdays

Lecture: Cold War Virginia

Give Me Liberty Highlight Tour

Tour: Visit the Vault

Front Lawn Fun

Themed Thursdays

First Fridays at VMHC

Give Me Liberty Highlight Tours

Front Lawn Fun

Themed Thursdays

Give Me Liberty Highlight Tours

Front Lawn Fun

Themed Thursdays

Give Me Liberty Highlight Tours

Front Lawn Fun

Themed Thursdays

VMHC Movie Mythbusting LIVE! – The Patriot

Collections Up Close: Pitch Perfect — The History of Music in Virginia

Give Me Liberty Highlight Tours

Collections Up Close: Pitch Perfect — The History of Music in Virginia

Front Lawn Fun

Themed Thursdays

First Fridays at VMHC

Give Me Liberty Highlight Tours

Front Lawn Fun

Themed Thursdays

Give Me Liberty Highlight Tours

Front Lawn Fun

Themed Thursdays

Give Me Liberty Highlight Tours

Give Me Liberty Highlight Tours

Give Me Liberty Highlight Tours

First Fridays at VMHC

First Fridays at VMHC

2025 Conrad M. Hall Symposium for Virginia History

First Fridays at VMHC

First Fridays at VMHC

Our Commonwealth
This signature exhibition provides an in-depth, multi-sensory journey through the five major regions of Virginia and features stories and artifacts from across the state to reveal that place is not only about geography, but also the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves.
Featured Collections Items
The VMHC has a collection of more than 9 million items. Here are just a few them (please note that not all of them may be on display to the public). Search the Library or Museum Objects Collections databases to learn more.

Tennis Items, Arthur Ashe
Tennis racquet,bag, and wrist band, all belonged to Arthur Ashe.

Drawing, Natural Bridge
Pastel drawing depicting Natural Bridge in Snow by George Brewerton in 1872.

Painting, George Washington
Portrait in oils of George Washington by Charles Peale Polk, nephew of Charles Willson Peale, whose 1787 portrait of the general was the basis for this image.

Bowie Knife
Bowie knife taken from John Brown at Harper's Ferry in 1859 by J.E.B. Stuart.

Desk circa 1780-1805
Chippenale slant-front desk with bracket feet, Eastern Virginia, probably Richmond, based on Williamsburg prototype.

U.S. Navy WAVES Uniform
Complete WAVES uniform from World War II worn by Nancy E. Bailey (Bon Cogsdale).

Equal Suffrage League of Richmond Photograph
1915 Photograph show a group of women gathered in Capitol Square holding large banners which read "Equal Suffrage League and Richmond, Virginia" and "Votes for Women."

Program, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, 1962
Program from the Virginia State Unit of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference meeting, includes a black and white photograph of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and five signatures (clockwise from
![Photographic print, No. 3, Pocahontas [train], barrels by Shawsville on its night run to Cincinnati, 1955 Silver gelatin photographic print. Framed. Image depicts Norfolk and Western Train No. 3, the Pocahontas, in a shroud of exhaust with 13 cars of Christmas mail and passengers.](/sites/default/files/styles/fp_landscape_590px_breakpoint_/public/Collection%20Item_Norfolk%20Western%20Train%20No%203%20Pocahontas_OWinstonLink.1990.115_H3.jpg.webp?itok=E9eIhuhm)
Photographic print, No. 3, Pocahontas [train], barrels by Shawsville on its night run to Cincinnati, 1955
Image depicting Norfolk and Western Train No. 3, the Pocahontas, in a shroud of exhaust with 13 cars of Christmas mail and passengers.

Tintype Portrait of Robert Thaxton
Tintype portrait of Pvt. Robert Thaxton, a Confederate soldier killed at the battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia, in May 1863.