Recent News Releases
Butterfly Station and Garden Opening
Have your camera ready when this year’s first butterflies are released into their new home. Keep an eye out for those butterflies as you walk through a garden designed to meet the small creatures’ every need. Explore Native American plants and the Westbrook Garden. It’s all at the opening of the Danville Science Center’s Butterfly Station and Garden on Saturday, April 19, 11:00 am–3:00 pm. The butterfly release is at noon. Full News Release (PDF 17kB)
Let It Snow
What do you mean they are too small to see? Every snowflake’s detail is clearly visible through the lenses of Kenneth Libbrecht’s microscope. Check out his snow crystal photomicrographs which capture intricate details and the individuality of each crystal. The Snow Crystal Photomicrographs are on display at the Danville Science Center now through May 31. Full News Release (PDF 13kB)
Lunar Eclipse Sky Watchers
Keep an eye on the moon on Wednesday, Feb. 20. As long as the sky is clear, you should see the moon turn a reddish color part way through the evening. That’s what the moon looks like during a total eclipse. Get a closer look at the eclipse through Science Center telescopes at a special Lunar Eclipse Sky Watchers at the Danville Science Center, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 8:30-11 p.m. Full News Release (pdf 12kB)
Too Small To See
Visit a world of the very small - the nano-world. See atoms 100 million times their actual size. Pull apart the ends of a virtual RNA molecule. Arrange moving atoms into a pattern. How does that work when the atoms keep moving? Walk through a huge model crystal where the atoms seem to go on forever. Climb on carbon tubes. Build molecules. Use the same tools that scientists do to make nano-sized structures. It’s all in the visiting exhibition Too Small to See at the Danville Science Center, Saturday, Jan. 26-Sunday, May 4.
- Full News Release (pdf 15kB)
- Contact Sheet of available press images (pdf 178kB)
Science of Giving
Make your own telescope. Identify stars. Explore the history of astronomy. Discover different telescope types. It's all at the Science of Giving - Seeing Stars at the Danville Science Center, Saturday, Dec. 8, 10 a.m.-noon. Full News Release
New Science Museum of Virginia Director Is Chosen
The Science Museum of Virginia Board of Trustees has selected Richard Conti to become the next Science Museum director. Conti is currently executive director at Nauticus in Norfolk. Full News Release
Fall Fest
Join in a Dan River cleanup. Help prepare the Butterfly Station and Garden for winter. Investigate plant pigments as you create a leaf rubbing. Discover animals able to adapt to cooler temperatures and see examples of these animals in the Womack Natural History. It’s all at Fall Fest at the Danville Science Center, Saturday, Oct. 27, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Full News Release
Butterfly Station and Garden Closes for the Season
Spend one last day of the season with butterflies enjoying their favorite plants. Gather garden seeds you can plant in your yard to attract butterflies next year. Explore the art of butterfly symmetry. Tour a Norfolk and Western caboose. Make ancient animals and birds come to life. It’s all at the Danville Science Center’s Butterfly Station and Garden last day of the season, Sunday, Oct. 14, 1-4 p.m. Full News Release
Celebrate Museum Day
Make ancient animals and birds come to life. You’re at the controls guiding huge metal skeleton sculptures. Meet live creatures. Test your balance. Go on safari without leaving Danville. Visit a small-scale town perfectly sized for your little ones. It’s all at the Danville Science Center when it celebrates Museum Day on Saturday, Sept. 29, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Full News Release
Danville's Old 97 Rail Days
It’s 1903. An express mail train called Old 97 careens off a Danville trestle. The engine and cars hurdle 75 feet into a rocky creek bed below. Eleven men lose their lives. Six men are injured. Only one man escapes unharmed. Witness a piece of Danville's history as you check out the crash site of Old 97. Examine N-scale trains traveling through scale-model towns and rural areas. Visit a fully restored Norfolk and Western Caboose. Trigger ancient animals to come to life. Everywhere you look there's something to see and do when the Danville Science Center co-hosts Danville's Old 97 Rail Days on Saturday, Sept. 22, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 23, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Full News Release
Corks and Forks
Catch up with friends. Listen to music. Sample roast beef, smoked turkey and other heavy hors d’oeuvres. Try out a science experiment or two. And help raise money for the Danville Science Center. It’s all at Corks and Forks under the Science Station’s covered shelter on Friday, Sept. 21, 6-10 p.m. You must be 21 or older to attend. Full News Release
Discover the Deep Blue Sea
Dive into an underwater sea experience. Listen to whales talk. Climb through a turtle shell. Reach into an octopus cave. Explore a maze presenting the sea, its creatures and current conservation issues. It's all at the visiting exhibition A-Mazing Sea at the Danville Science Center Saturday, May 19,-Monday, September 3. Full News Release (PDF 54 kB)