virginia war museum

Q4082YVmarkk

don't let its modest appearance or size fool you this museum will take hours for you to experience it is a jewel it is definitely worth the visit if you are a history militaria buff I cannot say enough good things about it it is worth the visit and it is very inexpensive to visit definitely worth the while

tosl

This appeals to any war buff. An overlooked museum without crowds, they had excellent displays on all the US wars with an excellent collection of big guns and tanks (such as a German 88 and an Iraqi IED).

523augustinek

For any enthusiast of military history, this is a great place to stop and spend a few hours in the morning to go through history of the US. There are several pieces of military hardware on display in the garden, just walking around the museum looking at them can be fun. The museum itself is a little dated and probably a letdown to for any general visitors, as it is a bit gloomy inside - you might think that this is a converted warehouse or something! Still, it is worth visiting, if you are interested in military history.

rkeator1

Very professional museum. Many outstanding exhibits, and reasonable price. A great upgrade from a previous dust collector.

BigTxDaddy

I stopped by this small museum on a rainy Saturday afternoon, and was pleasantly surprised. They have an outstanding collection of firearms, uniforms and other small war artifacts from pre-Revolutionary time period up through Vietnam. If you are a history buff or are interested in military weapons, this is worth a stop. They also have a small collection of artillery and armored vehicles outside.

bendewberry

The museum building is surrounded by armor and artillery, including a 40 mm "duster" and an "atomic" cannon, capable of firing a nuclear shell. Inside the building is a gift shop with some good deals .Any one who has served in the military will find something to identify with, The little known oil portrait of Adolf Hitler seems almost lifelike. .Small arms, ammo, uniforms, etc.You name, it, its all here, It will take at least four hours to see everything! The 88 mm German artillery piece dominates an entire room, it is about twenty feet length!

happyvacationer08

Again, we spent many memorable hours visiting the extremely well documented war exhibits, showing the Military personnel, their habits, clothing, & living conditions. Also the Battlefields were very well defined. An Excellent way to spend a day!

globaltrekster

This museum goes over every major U.S. war, from the Revolutionary war up to Vietnam and it mainly focuses on the weapons used in war (firearms, cannons, tanks, missiles, etc.). What makes it stand out from other area museums is that it displays weapons and military items from other countries like Germany, Japan, Italy, Russia, Vietnam, Hungary, Finland, and Romania. It also has a piece of Dachau concentration camp wire fence and a Holocaust prisoner uniform. The outside of the museum has several weapons and tanks and is free to look at. The museum is located in Huntington Park Beach and is located right off of the James River Bridge. There is no food for purchase in the museum, but there are places to eat around the park. There are restrooms in the museum. Most of it is wheelchair and stroller accessible with one small area in the museum not being accessible. The gift shop had mostly military build it yourself models and books. The fee as of Sept. 2014 is $7 for an adult and well worth it.

RocktMan

The exhibits actually starts before you even enter the museum. Around the museum grounds were different pieces of armor, cannons etc... a little further off were various monuments to those lost during Vietnam, and a submariners monument. Once inside the place starts off looking small, as you first see a Renault light tank, but the hallways keep going on and on. It starts off with the Revolutionary war and proceeds in timeline fashion. Items were either actual time period items, or extremely accurate reproductions. People looking for glitz, and flashing lights will be disappointed but someone looking for actual history (many of the early war exhibits are centered around the Hampton/ Newport News area) stories. All of it was very interesting to see. Real history buffs could spend a number of hours reading about the battles, and looking thru the artifacts. A definite thumbs up!

mikek8

The Virginia War Museum has an extensive collection of uniforms and weapons on display. I particularly enjoy the propaganda poster exhibit. There are so many posters on display, that I spent close to an hour appreciating them. There are also several "big guns" on display outside the museum that can be seen up close and personal without paying admission to the museum. There is a lot of knowledge to be gained from within the walls of this wonderful museum.

irenes440

This musuem is amazing. It is a hidden gem. It covered the America Revolution to Viet Nam. I learned so much. They did an excellent job explaing about each war and in chronological order. It helped understand the reasoning behind every war. They displayed everyone's side of the war. They had a lot of artifacts. We saw and got to touch part of the Berlin Wall. I highly recommend visitng this museum. Oh yes, one thing I learned was the media played a negative part of even the Civil War. The media has caused a lot of problems throughout all the wars.

MamaBiasotto

Particularly liked the WW2 exhibit. A lot to see and read about. A nice size. Check out the kid's camps online. Outstanding! Finally, don't miss the stuff outside.

930leer

Our visit to the Virginia War Museum was very educational & amazing. We learned a lot of what happened during the wars around the world since World War I. Lot of artifacts were there from all the wars to give you a better understanding of really went on in the war. It's sad, because this is history and it's fact based material.

UpstateLoyalist

A large and well-displayed collection of small arms and uniforms -- US and enemies. Nice to see WWII displays for Italy, Hungary, Rumania, etc. and not just U.S. & Germany. Quite a few artillery pieces including a Gatling gun and a WWII "88" in all its sinister glory -- there are more artillery pieces outside. And inside are two tanks, a Stuart from WWII and an even smaller WWI "special tractor" tank, nicely restored.The sheer number of light weapons, from flintlocks to assault rifles, can be a bit overwhelming, but everything had good descriptions and was well-organized. There was no audio-video elements, that I recall, so after seeing the tanks & artillery, kids may tire of this fairly soon - - I wouldn't plan on more than an hour.

PamM73

While visiting my parents, we decided to visit the Virginia War Museum with my parents and kids. My youngest, who is 6, repeatedly told us that history is boring. Then again, she is 6 and doesn't really understand all of what she saw. My mom, who served in the Navy in the late 1960s, was a little disappointed at the lack of displays about the women who served. She also asked my dad (who served in the Army and Army Reserves from the late 1960s-early 2000s) how many tanks can one person really look at? My dad and my 12 year old son LOVED the museum. I thought my son was going to wet himself with all the items outside of the building. My husband enjoyed the propaganda art, and myself-I enjoyed how in-depth the information was about the Civil War as we had at least 6 different ancestors fight (some even in the Hampton Roads area).