Free Art Museums In Hampton Roads

I actually love taking my kids to art museums. We always plan to visit the museums in small doses, doing only one or two galleries. Sometimes I make a little scavenger hunt list for us to do, and sometimes we just talk about how some of the pieces relate to things they are learning about in school. One thing that I always do is to set expectations before we enter the museum. We talk about noise levels, running, and never touching the art. 

One reason we love these museums is because they are a great free thing to do on a rainy or super hot day. Here are six free museums in Hampton Roads: 

01. Chrysler Museum of Art: We love the Chrysler not only because they have so many galleries, many of which  correlate to topics from school, but also because they have an ever changing exhibit just for kids called The Wonder Studio.  It's engaging for kids as they can make their own art and move their bodies. For younger kids, check out their free monthly program, Tickle My Ears, with a story time and art activity. 

02. MOCA: Keep MOCA on your radar not just for their always free art museum, but also because they do monthly family days with activities geared towards children. 

03. Barry Art Museum: Located on ODU's campus, the Barry Art Museum has a large collection of antique dolls which might interest kids. We like to visit here and then walk over to get cookies and Insomnia Cookies as a treat. 

04. Hampton University Museum: Composed of the first collection of African American fine art, this museum is a great place to form conversations around equality and standing up for what is right. There is also a room dedicated to Native American art. 

05. The Hermitage Museum: We love the outdoor space of The Hermitage, but the gardens surround the home, which is a free art museum with both permanent and rotating exhibits. We always visit in December for their Gingerbread Competition. 

06. Torggler Fine Arts Center: Celebrating their second year, the Torggler Fine Arts Center is a relatively new museum that is on our list to visit this summer. Be sure to follow their social media for updates, as they do have family fun days and other free events! 

Four Free Art Museums in Hampton Roads

Art museums are typically quiet places with stark white walls and "no touch" signs. Babies and toddlers are the complete opposite, with loud, stomping feet, and sticky fingers. But art museums allow kids to experience things outside of their own lives, to see colors, shapes, and creativity. Discuss high contrast images, portraits of the human face, animals, the sun and moon, and challenge your kids with new vocabulary based on what they see. Bring something for your kids to hold to keep their hands busy, and scope out a place for them to create their own art in a sketchbook. Here's some of our favorite art museums around Hampton Roads. The best part is, with these museums all being free, you can go for an hour at a time and return whenever you'd like! 

• Chrysler Museum: It's no surprise that Chrysler is at the top of our list. I love that they mix in exhibits that kids love like one on Eric Carle and another on video games. Precovid they had a monthly story time with crafts. The Wonder Studio is closed currently, but it is a hands-on changing art room for kids. 

• Barry Art Museum: On O.D.U.'s campus, the Barry Art Museum has free designated spaces in the garage behind it. Show kids the doll exhibit and compare to dolls today. We like taking a stroll through the museum before getting a cookie at Insomnia Cookies. 

• Museum Of Contemporary Art: The Oceanfront's M.O.C.A. has regular family days as well as classes and camps for kids. Be sure to check out the room where kids can draw. 

• Hermitage Museum: We absolutely love the Hermitage Museum. The outside of the museum is something dreamed up from a story book. The water overlooks the Norfolk Terminal, and kids can look out and watch the cranes taking the containers off the ships. Inside, the museum has a section of rotating exhibits (we loved the gingerbread houses in December), as well as permanent exhibits. Ask for a scavenger hunt at the desk. 

Rainy Days in Hampton Roads

Weather in Hampton Roads is unpredictable, but when we know it's going to rain, we head to one of these places.  This list is long, but scroll through to find something to do this week! **All of these are open as of Feb. 17, 2021. Please follow Covid procedures. 

Go try a free class at My Gym. The first class is always free and they run classes for different age groups all throughout the week. They offer classes in gymnastics, art, stem, dance, sports, and more. There are locations in Virginia Beach and Newport News. 

The Virginia Air and Space Museum just reopened with their brand new Space Explorer Gallery as well as renovations to their Imax theater. One thing I love about here is that Imax movies are included in your ticket price. Book your tickets in advance and pick a movie time. There is also a small play area downstairs for kids. 

Odu's Barry Art Museum is free to visit and no advance tickets are needed. 

Check our daily event calendar to see if Ikea is having an event for kids. If so, they are free and will keep kids busy while you browse. 

If it is a Monday, Cova Brewing offers free mini muffins, juice, and a craft to your kids when you buy a beverage. Check out the details and head out there! 

Glow Golf currently has two locations, and both are indoors. Go during the day and you're likely to be the only ones there, which is perfect for social distancing. 

The Military Aviation Museum is mostly indoors, with multiple buildings that you can walk or drive to. 

Book a reservation to the Hampton History Museum and check out their exhibits about local history. Our favorite room was the replica of the Native American Longhouse.

Clearly we need skating practice, and Haygood Skating Rink is a great place to get it. They are open with limited capacity, although the playground is still closed.

Both of Funville's locations are open with limited capacity. It's best to book in advance, as tickets are for specific time slots. 

Jump! Trampoline Park is open, and their Jumping Beans program is just for ages 6 and under. 

The Pink Roller is open for very affordable private rentals. Check out the details and then call for bookings of up to ten people. 

Spend the night at Great Wolf Lodge to take advantage of all they have to offer. They have deals during the week which make it more affordable and they also offer day passes. 

Cinema Cafe has reopened with distancing. Support this local chain and grab lunch or dinner while checking out one of their $3 classic movies. 

Right now thanks to sponsor PNC, MOCA is free. With free parking and free admission, this is the time to check it out. 

We love Chrysler Museum and visit a few times a year. Right now the Tickle My Ears program is virtual, and the Wonder Studio is closed, but you can still reserve a free ticket and visit the museum. 

The third floor of Nauticus is open, and right now they have a new exhibit about plastic in the oceans. We haven't been to the brand new exhibit yet, but we love Nauticus in general. 

Get some energy out at The Bounce House in Virginia Beach. Pay once and get in free all week. 

 

Sky Zone offers toddler times several times a week during the morning.

e

While only one building at the Virginia Aquarium is open, it is a great place to get some energy out. 

With locations in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, The Little Gym offers classes starting with babies and going all the way to teens. 

Free Places to Visit In Hampton Roads Now

These eight spots are open during Covid with mitigation strategies in place. The best part is... they are free! Check them out today!  

Odu's Barry Art Museum is open and free. Challenge your kids to new experiences by taking them to an art museum. 

The Neon District is full of street art, and we planned out the perfect morning for you downtown. Selden's train display isn't there currently, but there is still plenty to do on this list! 

Head to the Virginia Tech Display Gardens on a nice day soon. Little kids will love walking over the bridge, climbing on the benches, and checking out the foliage. 

Dinosaur lovers rejoice! Jerrassic Park is completely free! Take the drive to Pungo and discover all the area has to offer after spending an hour here in the morning. 

Hampton's Bluebird Gap Farm is a local favorite, and for good reason. It's free, fun, and educational. 

The always free Chrysler Museum's programing for kids has moved online and the Wonder Studio is closed, but the museum is still open. Reservations are required and are free to make online. 

Check out Norfolk's Railroad District and the NFK Street Museum- Mural Walk. Trains pass often, which my train loving little guy loved. 

Reservations required to visit Air Power Park's inside museum, but the outside is still open and free. Make the reservations online ahead of time.

**Note, right now MOCA is free due to a sponsorship from PNC. Go check it out.

Looking for more? Don't forget to check our favorite nature spots in Hampton Roads. Most of them are free! 

At Last Pass: NorfolkVB

Norfolk and Virginia Beach have teamed up to bring us the At Last Pass. This free downloadable pass has coupons and discounts for more than 60 businesses as a response to the need for "staycations" in our area right now. Just because we are social distancing doesn't mean we can't take advantage of some of what our area has to offer and support our local businesses! Included in the pass are things for adults, such as discounts at local breweries and for families like boat rides and the adventure park. Also included are no cost options such as free stickers for posting photos from spots around town. Check it out and download the pass for free here. We used our pass yesterday for 10% off at the Chrysler Museum gift shop, which is open with reservations (Wonder Studio is closed), and always free!


Once you download it, share some of your pictures and benefits on our facebook group. We're always eager to see what you find and enjoy. And look for us at these great places in the 757.

Eric Carle: Moonlight Nights & Other Illustrations

Eric Carle is a staple in the children's literature world even though he didn't start publishing until he was 40.  Although Hungry, Hungry, Caterpillar is his most famous work, Carle has illustrated more than 70 books. His artwork typically has vivid pictures on either plain white or deep black and blue backgrounds. He creates his look by using hand painted tissue paper in a collage.

Another note about Carle's books. If you look closely, he has done an excellent job of weaving in so many educational ways to use them. Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar is something I use even in second grade when teaching life cycles.  I use The Grouchy Ladybug when we teach telling time.  I read  Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me to third graders when we talk about moon phases. These books captivate children young and old. (For the record - older kids totally love being read to, even if they pretend they are too cool!)

Norfolk's always free and beautiful Chrysler Museum welcomes the Eric Carle Moonlight Nights & Other Exhibits from June 14th to September 8th. The exhibit is great for all ages. It has original art work of Eric Carle, showing how he creates his books. It also has interactive games for the kids and a puppet show experience that is also great for taking pictures. Several of Carle's books are available for the kids to read or for you to read to them. There is a magnetic board, activity bags, and peg boards to play on.

Want to check out the exhibit for yourself? Tomorrow, June 15th is a Family Day. They will have moonlit night crafts, visits from zoo animals which are featured in the artwork, stories, and local librarians around. At 10:30 and 2:30 a screening of the Eric Carle documentary will be shown and Astro will be entertaining.all day long  NASA will be in attendance, the Norfolk Public Library Bookmobile will be ready for checkout, and Applewood Book Party will have custom books available. Be sure to check out the Rainbow Puppet presentation at 11:30 and 1:30 also.

On July 11th and August 22nd from 5-8 you can come down to the museum in your pajamas and enjoy Moonlight Nights Pajama Party with s'mores and astronomy activities. Stuffed animal friends are welcome too. Chrysler's Tickle My Ears program, which hosts a monthly story time (we wrote about it here!), will meet June 20th, July 11th, August 1st and 15th all with Eric Carle stories. Tickle My Ears is open to ages 2-5 and meets at 10:30.

As a reminder, the museum is free and open to the public Tuesday-Sunday. Strollers are available free of charge. Also, don't forget to check out the Wonder Studio which has art that's safe for kids! You can see our write up on that here!

If anything, Carle's exhibit should be a reminder to read a ton this summer. Read to your kids; have your kids "read" to you. Ask questions. Just fifteen minutes a day can make a huge difference in their future. What a great way to start off the summer by mixing art, fun, and a little education! (Hey- just because this teacher is officially on summer vacation, doesn't mean I stop trying to force everyone to read!)