Delaware Museum of Natural History

Location: Wilmington, DE (directions)

Website: http://www.delmnh.org/ 

Bathrooms: Yes

Eating area: YES, inside cafeteria and outdoor patio

Parking: Yes and free

Attractions: life-sized dinosaurs, sea-life and shell exhibit, nature trail and butterfly garden

Around the area: Winterthur Museum, Delaware Children's Museum, Brandywine Zoo

 Fee: ONE DOLLAR every Tuesday in August!!

Last Tuesday, the day of the terrible storms and possible sighting of a funnel cloud in Wilmington, I took the kids for the first time to the Delaware Museum of Natural History.  I know, that probably wasn't the best timing, but that is what you get when you don't check the weather!

Anyways, the trip to the museum was a super easy one hour drive. We arrived at the Museum just as the first drops began to fall, but were still able to find plenty of free parking in their amble parking lot.  I was able to snap this picture right outside the museum before the rain became too heavy!

You enter the Museum under a replica of a giant squid and immediately come face to face with the giant head of T Rex, everyone's favorite dinosaur, right? My son squealed in delight and ran to give the "Terrible Lizard"a great big kiss!

Our first stop was the Dinosaur Gallery and Hall of Birds. The kids were amazed to see these large dinosaurs towering above them! My computer obsessed daughter (Gee, wonder who she gets that from?) played on the computers and made her own dinosaurs and my son made friends with the  Parasaurolophus head!

Next, we ventured into the new special exhibit called "Turtle Travels" (available until Sept. 5th). The museum describes this as an interactive exhibit that, "offers a turtle’s-eye view of life in the slow lane. Follow a turtle’s footprints on a life-size board game and explore firsthand what it’s like to be a turtle facing habitat challenges" My kids really liked this part of the museum a lot! We viewed live turtles up close, read books on turtles, and pretended to be a turtle.  Kids can run, play and touch everything in this area! It was a lot of fun!

Next, we made our way to the Shell Gallery which has a unique entrance...a simulated Australian Great Barrier Reef! It was a little intimidating to walk over glass with views of coral beneath your feet so my kids just sat and stared at the display and my son even tried to "swim" the reef! In addition,  the museum boasts, "visitors can see a 500-pound Giant Clam shell, learn about scallops, nautilus, and other mollusks, and touch a variety of real shells from our collection of more than 2 million -- which ranks among the top 15 in the United States!"

Finally, our last stop was the Hall of Mammals. "Displays in this section of the Museum bring mammals together from around the world: North and South America, Antarctica, Africa – as well as animals that live in Delaware streams and marshes." Once again, my daughter loved the computers to watch videos of the animals, while my son's favorite was the dung beetle!

  I really liked that the the Museum itself is not very big, which was nice because it wasn't overwhelming. It was easy to keep an eye on the two kids as they ran from one display to another.The layout of the Museum also has a very nice flow to it making it easy to go from room to room and see all there is too see! You could plan on spending at least 2 hours or more depending on the interest level of your kids.

Unfortunately, on our visit, the rain and wind really picked up and we could not go outside on the nature trail or butterfly garden.  The thunderstorm was very big that all the lights went off  in the museum..it was pretty cool, but the museum had to close. So, we will definitely be taking advantage of another Dollar Tuesday and will further explore the museum...but this time I will check the weather!

Tips:

•  Dollar Tuesdays are in effect until the end of August, so hurry and make the trip! Regular admission is $8 for adults and $6 for kids!  So this is a great deal!
• If you have a Bank of America Credit Card, ATM and/or check card,you can get FREE admission on the first full weekend of each month with the "Museums on Us Program" 
• Pair your trip to the Delaware Museum of Natural History with a visit to the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library located, literally, right up the street! Winterthur also has a "Terrific Tuesday" with reduced admission of $5 per child with one free adult!
• Pack a lunch and eat at the cafeteria or sit outside! Vending machine is available in the cafeteria.

See you at the Museum!