This memorial pays tribute to the Navy sailors killed on the USS Iowa battleship (BB-61) on April…read more19, 1989. On that day, the Number Two 16-inch gun turret on the ship exploded, killing 47 sailors inside the gun room. The memorial itself, is located on Naval Station Norfolk along the waterline. Since the day of that accident, every year on April 19, the Navy holds a memorial service honoring those sailors who lost their lives that day.

I decided to stop into the Mary Pretlow library for the first time today and visited the Oceanview…read moremuseum today. It is located in a small area inside the library. Even though it is small, the museum has alot of memorabilia. It even has a cart from the roller coaster that was at the amusement park.

Great to step back into time and recall the memories of times past. There are lots of photographs,…read moreexhibits, HS yearbooks and much more to see, including "artifacts" from the old amusement park. While there say "Hi" to Charlie (Friday-Saturday volunteer) and pick up an OV cap or T-shirt...and check out all the old amusement park memorabilia.

I came to the museum after a visit to the VA Hospital located beside Hampton University's campus…read more It was very relaxing. It's FREE!! Well at least for today. The rep says it's always free but that is hard to believe because of the high quality and depth of the exhibits. This museum hosts an internationally ranked Native American collection. It was featured on a travel show as a must see location. I am a local but until the show reminded me that this museum was highly prized I did not even think about coming here. They have a decent Black History display. I enjoyed the experience. A great treasure trove of historical information that is varied in nature. A wonderful way to spend my afternoon. I went outside to view the Emancipation Oak and the site of the first school in American run by free black woman. Her home was burned to the ground because she refused to stop teaching slaves to read. The entire tour uplifted me and educated me about areas of Black and Native American history that I did not learn in school. Great experience for the enture family. This museum is a great local and national treasure. Please visit the Hampton University Museum.

A must see for anyone interested in African American, Native American, and African arts and…read morehistory. Free admission.

For those enthusiastic about war history, this is one to go to. Large space, excellent description,…read moreeven a 1:1 replica of the monitor was outside. The ironclad battle was one of the moments in the civil war.

We won tickets to the 2019 crawl and were able to attend. The event was after normal museum hours…read moreand was a 21+ event I believe. I had never been to the museum and boyfriend really likes boats and learning about boats, so this was a great experience for us to go. The process was easy enough to follow for port call stamps when you arrived and you received wine tumblers when you went to get your drink. I also liked that the wine tumblers had sliding closures so that you could go into the gallery. In the gallery, when you would go to a section to get stamps, the staff was there to give information and history on their assigned subject. There was so much about boat history that is from Hampton Roads natives that I didnt even realize. The staff was very knowledgeable and upbeat the entire night. There were pieces in the gallery that we were able to get a closer look at that I believe are usually behind glass, so that was very neat. You couldn't touch them, but you could see artifacts better. One of the things I would recommend for next year for food vendors is having more meat options as some vendors only had pork options. The cheese and fruit options were very good and had plenty for everyone. I also enjoyed the wine options, but there were soda and beer options for those who wanted it. We did miss out on the crossing the line ceremony, but I heard it was a lot of fun and participants received certificates for doing it. We will definitely buy tickets to next year's event.

The story of this house and it's series of residents makes clear that a lot of racial assumptions…read moreabout the Civil War are wrong. Neither the freededmen nor the restored land owner could sustain the farm after the war despite fertile land and roads and rail connections. The docents are knowledgeable and enthusiastic. The grounds are lovely. The house is incredible for when it was built. It would make a great mansion in the 1930s but it was built fifty years earlier.

Lee Hall is an interesting historic house museum Built in 1859, on the eve of the Civil War, it is…read moreItalianate in style on the outside, but has a Georgian interior floor plan. When built it was the most prominent house in Warwick County. It was used as aConfederate headquarters in April-May 1862. The basement contains an extensive exhibit on the 1862 Peninsula Campaign of the Civil War. The two furnished floors above are shown on the guided tour. Furnishings are arranged as they might have been in 1861. The bedrooms contain modern-looking closets. Our guide did his best to dispel the oft-repeated story that closets were taxed as though they were rooms (and that is why closets were uncommon). Lee Hall's bedrooms had them. The grounds contain a two-story brick outbuilding identified as the kitchen. It is not open and little was related about it or its configuration and use. Also on the grounds are the remains of Confederate earthworks. Troops camped one the property used it as a base to launch an observation balloon. After 1862, the Civil War largely bypassed the area and the house survived. The house was occupied into the late 20th century and divided into apartments for a time. The city of Newport News acquired it in 1996 and restored it. Definitely recommended for historic house enthusiasts.

A hidden gem! Friendly, knowledgeable staff, excellent exhibits, great kid section on the top…read morefloor, neat options in the gift shop. All with no admissions fee!

What a well done museum in an unexpected place!! We were looking for a day trip from our home in…read moreNorfolk and saw this one on TripAdvisor. Since it is only about 20 miles from the bridge tunnel up the shore (one of my favorite places on earth!), we decided to check it out. SO glad we did! And since admission is free, it made the bridge tunnel toll worth it! When you walk in you are greeted by the most friendly docent who gives you a brief background of the museum and what it's about. She told us they have several films and asked if we wanted to watch any of them. We did - "Our Island Home" gives you a terrific view of what life on Hog Island was like before it was abandoned from people who were actually born there. After whatever movie(s) you want to watch, you are "free range" to explore the museum. It is SO well done. I could have roamed around for longer than the 2 hours we were there (but I'm a museum reader - I have to check out everything!). Definitely allow yourself a couple of hours to explore. The exhibits are fantastic and laid out well. All artifacts were donated or on loan from actual island families - they don't purchase their artifacts. I like that. Shows the love for the community that these people have. Definitely check out the attic! There are hands on things for the kids - it's hot up there in the summer though! I was fascinated by the twisted chimney (not going to tell you why it was built that way - you'll have to go find out for yourself!). This is a GREAT little stop if you are looking for something cool to do on your way up or down Rt. 13 on your way to your vacation or a great day trip from the VA Beach area. With all their many activities and programs, we will definitely be back!

Lovely people with great antique fishing items, bbq, nice people and lots history, local trinkets,…read moreso come on, sit down Sams listen to some local stories.

My husband and I recently participated in the 400 years forward tour in Hampton and visited the…read moreHampton History Museum as apart of our trip (https://www.visithampton.com/400yearsforward/). One of the amazing things about this museum is that although it is small there is so much great information in this building. Although we were there for an hour we could have easily spent the day there reading everything and speaking with the educators there about 1619, the history of Hampton, and connecting to the history of Virginia. We look forward to getting back to the Museum and giving it the time and attention it deserves!

Being born and raised in this area and being away for so many years, I visited this museum as a…read more"tourist". We had the entire museum to ourselves which was exciting but sad because it shows people aren't ready to return to visiting places like this. I am glad I went. Although I've always held a bit of skepticism on how a museum will articulate slavery, I must say this museum goes into the history respectfully enough for children to understand and learn. Zero glorifying and straight historical fact. My mom has partial mobility issues so I would have liked to see more seating throughout. Navigating the museum from start to finish is like walking through history on a timeline. Easy to follow. I wasn't expecting to see them touch on NASA and how much it is connected to this area for the last few decades so there's a multitude of things to take from your trip here. Upon leaving, the staff provided friendly service to where else you can learn more about the area. They are well informed with plenty of resources right there in the main galley. Sadly due to the current health situation with covid, some recommended places were closed. Overall, it was a pleasant journey through that areas background.