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March 24 to Nov. 25, 2007 “Survivor: Jamestown”

It’s 1607 and you are among 104 colonists arriving in the New World. Your goal? To survive for one year. Taking on the role of an actual colonist, you will wind your way through a maze facing engaging challenges that prompt you to make your own decisions to “survive” the perils and pitfalls facing the English settlers in their first year at Jamestown.

“Better than a video game, better than reading facts, you will step off a ship’s gangplank into a three dimensional game where you make decisions and face the luck of fate under the conditions facing the early colonists,” explains Virginia Living Museum Deputy Director Fred Farris.

The Newport News museum will have the premiere of this challenging exhibit from March 24 through Nov. 25, 2007.

To add to the realism, each participant will grab a life chart of an actual colonist. You may start the game wealthy or poor, in good health or poor, but through good decisions, hard work and lots of luck you may be one of the few colonists to survive the first year at Jamestown. As you exit the exhibit, you can compare the actual fate of your colonist in real life and then choose to try again as another colonist. Less than 40 of the original 105 colonists survived into the second year at Jamestown!

Search for gold, climb over rocky waterfalls in search of a water passageway to the Far East, slide down a zip-line as you struggle to capture a 14-foot sturgeon, meet unusual wildlife never seen by European colonists, crawl through a cypress log, search for resources to make a profit back in London, experience these activities and many more in “Survivor: Jamestown.”

Come experience the natural side of Jamestown! What types of massive trees lined the shores of Virginia, what types of wildlife filled the dense woodlands around the fort, what wild plants were used for food or medicine, what water sources were available for the colonists, what pests and diseases plagued them, what abundant types of marine life filled the clear waters of the Chesapeake Bay as the colonists arrived? Enjoy the blending of history, science and nature in the a-“maze”ing experience of “Survivor: Jamestown.”

Supporting exhibit materials include a 14’ model of a sturgeon, mounts of the extinct Passenger Pigeon and Carolina Parakeet (birds the colonists saw), plus actual items from the 1607-08 colony such as fishing gear and turtle shells on loan from the Jamestown Rediscovery dig. In the museum’s permanent galleries and along its outdoor boardwalk, visitors will also come face-to-face with many of the wild animals the colonists encountered.

 “Survivor: Jamestown” is being created by Minotaur Maze Exhibits of Seattle, Wash., in collaboration with the Virginia Living Museum, with financial and technical support from the National Park Service’s Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network. After its premiere at the Virginia Living Museum, it will begin a national tour of nature, science and history centers.

The Virginia Garden

A new permanent garden will highlight Virginia’s botanical history from 1607 to the present. See native plant species, such as seaside perennials and wax myrtle that were present when the first settlers arrived at Jamestown.  Explore flora that was introduced to Virginia by Native Americans and the plants that helped the settlers to survive those first critical years, including corn, blueberries and timber trees.

The garden will display plants the colonists introduced to Virginia’s flora (Queen Ann’s lace, dandelion and grasses for grazing) and some native flowering trees and shrubs that were exported to England to be used in gardens there.  The garden will also showcase a few of Virginia’s early colonial botanists, including John Clayton, who were key to identifying and naming Virginia’s flora. 

And it will emphasize some plants that have been introduced to Virginia, such as kudzu and purple loostrife, which have become invasive and threaten native plant populations.

The garden is partially funded by The Common Wealth Award from The Garden Club of Virginia, Lancaster Farms Wholesale Nursery and Custom Gardens, Inc.

The Virginia Garden is scheduled to open March 24 and will have its official dedication on April 21 as part of a weekend celebration of Earth Day.

The museum is located at 524 J. Clyde Morris Blvd., Newport News, Va. (I64, exit 258A). Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. From Memorial Day to Labor Day the museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Admission is $13 adults and $10 children (ages 3-12). Group rates are available for groups of ten or more.

For more information call 757-595-1900 or visit the web site at www.thevlm.org. Call 757-595-9135 for group reservations.

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