STEM and Play the Virginia Beach Way

Here is an insightful look into every STEM academic discipline, while providing diverse fun activities

Duration: 3 Days

There’s plenty to do in Virginia Beach from its incredible boardwalk to its myriad of attractions. Students will also find a variety of fun and educational attractions that will keep them entertained and enlightened.

DAY 1

Arrive at Cape Henry Lighthouse, the first federally funded lighthouse. The project was authorized by George Washington and overseen by Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury. For more than 100 years, the lighthouses guided ships through waterways including the Chesapeake Bay. Learn how mariners used lighthouses to navigate. Cape Henry Lighthouse is surrounded by the Joint Expeditionary Base Fort Story. Check the guidelines for entering the military base before your visit. Allow time to visit the nearby Cape Henry Memorial, the National Park service site where the first English colonists landed April 1607.

It’s on to the Virginia Beach Surf & Rescue Museum for a docent-led tour. Discover the power of wind , waves and the science involved.

Enjoy lunch at Top Golf. If you know anything about golf, you know the game dwells in science, technology, engineering and math. The club’s loft, your swing plane and other elements are all worthy of study, but today lunch is just fun.

It’s on to iFly Virginia Beach where students work with highly trained STEM educators to see physics and math come to life in a state-of-the-art wind tunnel. Enriching and fun there are program levels for Elementary School, Middle school and High School.

Next, stop is Lynnhaven Mall. With more than 180 stories this super shopping mall is one of the largest on the East Coast. Nearby, Dave and Buster’s Virginia Beach is great for dinner with a menu sure to please even the pickiest palate. There’s plenty of games to enjoy too, including the classic D&B Core Games and Hot New Games.

Get your land legs back and head to the **Military Aviation Museum**, home to one of the largest private collections of World War I and World War II aircraft.

DAY 2

Begin your day at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center. Each exhibit and habitat are beautifully designed. You’ll discover Offshore Gallery, Shark Exhibits, Sea Turtle Exhibits, Chesapeake Bay, Harbor Seal Exhibit, Stranding Response Exhibit, Wetlands & Watershed and Restless Planet. There are a half dozen Aquarium Experiences to take discover.

Play while learning life skills at the Adventure Park at Virginia Aquarium. Picnic tables and catering are available for school groups.

Depart for the harbor and a Dolphin Watching Boat Tour. Make some memories on an excursion in search of the bottlenose dolphin.

Get your land legs back and head to the Military Aviation Museum, home to one of the largest private collections of World War I and World War II aircraft. Science and Math applications regarding motion, gravity and energies address STEM and Standards of Learning requirements.

Enjoy dinner tonight at any of Town Center’s restaurants. After dinner try some miniature golf at Safari Golf, or Jungle Golf.

Play while learning life skills at the **Adventure Park at Virginia Aquarium**.

DAY 3

After breakfast and check out, it’s on to the banks of the Lynnhaven River and the Brock Environmental Center-Chesapeake Bay Foundations located at Pleasure House Point. Built by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Brock Center is the regional home for its award-winning environmental education programs. The house itself is an example of environmentally sensitive and smart building. Outside take a tram on a nature trail and watch for signs of animals that inhabit the Center’s 10-acre parcel. Visit the Oyster Restoration Center. Enjoy a catered lunch on the grounds before departing for home with knowledge and fun memories of Virginia Beach.