Delaware Museum of Nature & Science
An interactive regional journey connects the state’s dunes, marshes, forest, and cypress swamps to wider stories of adaptation and evolution.
Artwork inspired by Edward Loper Sr.
The Delaware Museum of Nature & Science asks more than “What animal is that?”: how does life meet the demands of a habitat? A floor map in the Regional Journey Gallery connects dunes, salt marshes, forests, and bald-cypress wetlands. Find a familiar place first, then ask which organisms could survive there and why.
The Global Journey Gallery changes scale, moving through ocean layers, tundra, savanna, and rainforest. Compare recurring solutions—camouflage, temperature control, feeding structures—instead of treating each ecosystem as a separate diorama. The atrium’s Tree of Life connects that diversity to shared evolutionary history. Hands-on family spaces are useful, but their schedules may differ from the museum’s main hours.
- Regional lens
- Five Delaware habitats
- Central idea
- Tree of Life
- Family option
- Nature Nook
Quick guide
- Begin with Delaware
- Find the Bay, dunes, and cypress wetland on the regional floor map.
- Compare adaptations
- Carry one question about survival into a second global ecosystem.
Know before you go
- Stand on the map
- Locate your home area before tracing water toward coast or watershed.
- Compare habitats
- Ask what changes between salt marsh and freshwater cypress swamp.
- Read the Tree of Life
- Branches represent relationships, not a ladder from simple to superior.
- Check the Nook
- Young-child space hours can differ from general museum access.
Good to know
The official visit page and newer homepage display different Nature Nook hours. This card describes the main museum schedule and sends families to the current site for the Nook.
Notice these
- State-sized floor map
- Tree of Life atrium
- Habitat-based galleries