Tuesday, September 2, 2025
Virginia Beach, VA – Opening to the public on October 5, the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center’s newest changing exhibit, Survival of the Slowest , presented by Little Ray’s Exhibitions, will teach guests about the incredible and unexpected advantages of being slow, small, and weak.
Survival of the Slowest will feature the often-overlooked species that have used their disadvantages to help them survive and thrive in a world where large, strong, and fast animals are often the top of the food chain. This exhibit will feature live animals that display these unique and effective adaptations such as sloths, tortoises, hedgehogs, a tarantula, and more.
Guests will have the chance to meet and interact with some of these animals and experience animal programs throughout the day. Guests will learn about effective evolutionary traits such as camouflage in tortoises, nocturnal adaptations of sloths, “sit-and-wait” tactics of snakes, and many more incredible survival characteristics.
Survival of the Slowest will be open and included with Aquarium admission until January 4, 2025. Virginia Aquarium members will get first access to the exhibit with a private opening on October 4.
Little Ray’s Nature Centres is the largest exotic animal rescue organization in Canada with educational programs reaching more than one million Canadians each year. Most of the animals in this exhibition are rescues.
Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center
The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center’s mission is to connect people to the marine environment, inspiring a more sustainable future. The Aquarium aspires to be a driver in conservation, education, tourism, and sustainability, leading the charge to save wildlife and their ecosystems. Owned by the City of Virginia Beach, the Aquarium operates as a city department in partnership with the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Foundation. The Aquarium is proud to be an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports the work of the Virginia Aquarium. The Foundation procures and maintains the Aquarium's exhibits, including the animals and habitats. It is also responsible for annual and capital fundraising, administration and funding for the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Program, conservation and scientific research efforts, and the Aquarium's mission-related education programs. You can be a part of our mission by making a tax-deductible donation to support our programming.
About Little Ray’s Nature Centres
Little Rays Nature Centres was founded in 1995 as a local, family-based, reptile rescue and educational outreach program. Since then it has grown to be largest exotic animal rescue in Canada. Its outreach programs include a comprehensive set of curriculum-based workshops for schools, museum exhibits on a wide range of topics used by museums and science centres across the US and Canada, and Canada’s largest pet therapy program, among many others. Nationally accredited by the Canadian Association of Accredited Zoos and Aquariums and licensed by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, it is one of the only institutions recognized and allowed by the City of Ottawa to work with prohibited animals.
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