The Tidewater Children’s Museum is established as a project of the Portsmouth Service League. The first location of the museum was the Main Branch of the Portsmouth City Library system on Court Street.

At the request of the Portsmouth Service League, the city of Portsmouth takes over the operation of the Children’s Museum. The museum becomes the fourth museum in the Department of Museums.

The 1846 Courthouse at the corner of High and Court Streets was repurposed as an arts center by the City of Portsmouth. The children’s museum moves to the first floor with the second floor housing the art gallery.

The city purchases the former Leggett building on High Street with plans to relocate the Portsmouth Children’s Museum to the first floor.

The Honorable William B. Spong, Jr. and his wife Virginia founded the Portsmouth Museums Foundation, Inc. with a group of civic minded and philanthropic individuals to raise public and private support for the exhibits for the museum project, called “Phase I.” $1.8 million was raised for the exhibits. The first board, in addition to the Spong’s, included C. Randolph Hudgins, Rear Admiral W Ted Leland, Mr. Kenneth Wright, Mr. Roger Brown, Mr. Tony Brown and Mrs. Richard Fuller.

An agreement was reached between the Portsmouth Public Schools and the Department of Museums to move the school’s planetarium from Manor High School to the Children’s Museum and install a state-of-the-art planetarium that both the public and the school system could utilize. The planetarium was sponsored by the Beazley Foundation and is named in honor of the founder Fred W. Beazley.

The museum was rebranded as the Children’s Museum of Virginia and relocated to the newly renovated first floor of the former Leggett building.

Portsmouth Philanthropists Junius and Millie Lancaster donated their vast antique toy and train collection to the Portsmouth Museums Foundation, Inc. for display at the Children’s Museum of Virginia.

A second capital campaign was launched by the Portsmouth Museum Foundation, Inc. in collaboration with the city of Portsmouth for $2.4 million for expansion of the Children’s Museum of Virginia to the second floor. This expansion would showcase the Lancaster Antique Toy and Train collection.

“Phase II” of the Children’s Museum of Virginia opened in 1998.

When Coleman’s Nursery in Churchland closed and was sold, the Foundation raised private support to purchase the iconic Coleman’s Nursery’s Winter Wonderland collection. Winter Wonderland was a holiday exhibit that opened in 1965 at the nursery to the delight of thousands of visitors each year. The collection comes to life each year at the Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center.

The Portsmouth Museums Foundation, Inc. signs a Memorandum of Understanding with the city of Portsmouth for the “All Aboard for the Future” capital campaign for the renovation and expansion of the Children’s Museum of Virginia. The expansion added approximately 20,000 square feet and relocated the entrance to High Street. The campaign raised $4 million for the project.

The Hampton Roads Community Foundation awards the Portsmouth Museums Foundation, Inc. a Batten Endowment challenge grant, which established an endowment for the Children’s Museum of Virginia.