Delaware Museum of Nature & Science in Wilmington is a small but well-done museum focusing on animals and their natural environments.
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We began our time in the Regional Journey area, which includes a bald cypress swamp, Bayshore dunes, salt marshes, deciduous forests, and the Delaware Bay. Each section is a small replica of that ecosystem, with the plants and animals that would be found there. Marie enjoyed the touch screen information centers that allow you to read about each plant or animal in the section.
We peeked into the Nature Nook area, where young children can learn and explore. This area looked nice for toddlers, as it provided a more hands-on experience than the rest of the museum.
The special exhibit space housed “Permian Monsters: Life Before the Dinosaurs”. This area had some signage, fossils, and several animatronic sculptures. There were also two “fossil dig” areas that kids could use paint brushes to brush little rubber pellets off of “fossils”. Unless you have a child that is really into this time period there isn’t much to hold a child’s interest.
The Discovery Gallery is supposed to be a hands-on area for elementary age kids but looked rather empty. I think maybe this area is used more for classes and group activities.
The Global Journey area includes oceans, African savanna, artic tundra, and the tropical rainforest. The exhibits include animals and terrain to replicate that ecosystem. Marie enjoyed seeing and reading about the animals featured in the exhibits.
The last area is the PaleoZone, featuring skeletons of animals that lived in the local region during the Cretaceous Period.
There is an outdoor area featuring some short (1/4 mile) nature trails and picnic tables. Scattered around the parking area are several bronze animal statues. The museum also has a small café and gift shop.
Museum admission is $15.50 (ages 3+) and $5.50 (ages 1-2), with a small discount if you pay with cash. There are numerous discounts available including Blue Star Museums and Museums for All, as well as several smaller discount programs listed on their website.
My Takeaway
If you live nearby or are in the Wilmington, DE area and your young children are into wildlife and nature, Delaware Museum of Nature & Science is a well-done museum that is worth visiting for an hour or two. However, due to its small size and lack of hands-on activities to hold a child’s interest this is not a museum that warrants multiple visits.