Newport News Virginia Tourism

Since 1930, The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News has celebrated the spirit of seafaring adventure with an international collection of handcrafted ship models, scrimshaw, figureheads, paintings, working steam engines and vintage small craft.

The new USS Monitor Center is home to the priceless artifacts recovered from the historic ship and a worldwide resource for exhibitions, conservation, research, and education related to the Monitor and the larger story of the naval history of the Civil War. The Monitor Center is a collaboration between the Museum and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

In 1987, The Mariners’ Museum was designated by NOAA as the custodian of the artifacts and archives of the Civil War ironclad. The Mariners’ Museum is uniquely qualified to conserve the historic vessel and tell the story of her epic battle in nearby Hampton Roads.
The Mariners’ Museum additionally features the museum film Mariner. Visitors are encouraged to stroll through the 550-acre Mariners’ Museum Park and explore the five-mile Noland Trail, complete with 14 bridges and several scenic overlooks.

A fascinating age of military history unfolds in the galleries of the War Memorial Museum of Virginia, where more than 50,000 artifacts document America’s wars from 1775 to the present. The museum also houses one of the nation’s largest collections of military posters.

The Newsome House and Cultural Center, a restored 1899 Victorian landmark, was once the home of Joseph Thomas Newsome, a respected Newport News business leader. For years, his elegant Queen Anne residence served as the hub of the local black community from which Newsome led the fight for social justice within the commonwealth. Today, visitors can learn more of this fascinating history by touring the museum and cultural center.

The Virginia Living Museum is a spectacular combination of native wildlife park, science museum, aquarium, botanical preserve and planetarium - all in one beautiful setting. Carefully protected natural environments for living animals and plants create an exciting opportunity for visitors to explore plant and animal life native to America’s eastern Coastal Plains Region.