Barrier Islands Center — Attraction in Virginia

Hear ye hear ye come one, come all to this hidden treasure. I have been in a couple times and each time I learn and see something new. Staff are super friendly and knowledgeable. You can tell they love what they do and love to share their knowledge and stories. I find myself wanting to learn more and more about the history in Virginia the older I get and I start feeling like a historic artifact myself. Bring the kids or the kid in you and learn about fossils, Native Americans, and pirates of the past in the displays in the attic. Look for your own pirate booty if you dare. Most of the displays are on the second floor and are well organized. Along with some short videos worth watching. Plan on a good 2 hours to get the most out of the...

It doesn't look like much when you drive up, but it tells a fascinating story about the area and particularly about the barrier islands. A number of large hotels or boarding houses had been built there for upper crust vacationers from New York and Philadelphia. They did a lot of bird hunting. Very much a late 1800s, early 1900s kind of experience. But because barrier islands move, many of these places are now in ruins or have been claimed by the sea.

They have several films that give you a feel for a time gone by. We thoroughly enjoyed it and spent a lot more time than we thought we would when we first walked in. The photo is a painting of one of these buildings, one of the few...

This was a great stop. I really enjoyed the fact that they are interpreting both the history of the barrier islands abs the history of the location as an Alms house. There is a short video on the history of the barrier islands.

I was really disappointed because as a person who walks with a walker with limited mobility, I could not see the exhibits upstairs. There were some smaller exhibits on the first floor along with a small gift shop. I didn’t see it when I entered the building but along side the house they do have ramp to enter the building. I wish they had better accommodations inside...