Agency Details:

The purpose of the Montshire Museum is to create, awaken, foster, and nurture an interest in and curiosity about the physical and natural world by providing programs, experiences, and exhibits emphasizing real objects and phenomena.

Description:
The Montshire Museum of Science, located on 110 acres in Norwich, Vermont, offers visitors of all ages more than 100 exciting interactive exhibits relating to the natural sciences, physical sciences, technology, and more!

The impressive post-and-beam building holds two floors of learning stations, including aquariums and a see-through beehive. Its theater regularly features current and ever-changing images of the universe with ViewSpace. The building itself is an exhibition, with color-coded mechanical systems, a “see-through” elevator shaft, and exposed timbers displaying construction techniques. The Montshire regularly houses traveling exhibitions, ensuring that there is always something new to see and do.

Outdoors in Science Park—a beautiful, two-acre area overlooking the Connecticut River—dozens of exhibits await exploration. Prominent among them is The Rill, a 250-foot long watercourse. Science Park is also the gateway to the Quinn Nature Preserve and several nature trails, including a walking tour of the solar system.

The Montshire Museum offers educational programs and special events throughout the year. It is an official visitor center for the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge.

History:
After the closing of Dartmouth College's natural history museum in the early 1970s, a group of area educators persuaded the college to donate specimens and other resources to support a new community science center. The organization was incorporated in 1974, taking its name from a combination of the words "Vermont" and "New Hampshire." Originally housed in the former Golfside Bowling Lanes on Lyme Road in Hanover, N.H., the Montshire opened its doors to the public on January 10, 1976.

Following a $3.8 million capital campaign, a new building in Vermont opened on November 18, 1989. The Museum building was designed by the late Maury Childs, co-founder of the Boston architectural firm CBT/Childs Bertman Tseckares, Inc. The facility incorporated features of traditional New England architecture and the surrounding landscape. The Museum is situated on a 110 acres property adjacent to the Connecticut River, and three miles of walking trails surrounding the building are an important part of the visitor experience.

In 2002, the Museum opened the new outdoor Science Park as the result of a $4.2 million capital campaign. Also in 2002, the Museum opened the Leonard M. Rieser Learning Center, which provided 10,000 square feet of new exhibit space. The Montshire is a visitor center for the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge.

In 2004, the Museum's Board of Trustees approved the Montshire Access Project (MAP), the final phase of the Museum's long-term site master plan. This $1.9 million project was completed in early 2006 and provided a paved access road and parking lot and improved visitor access to the Museum building.

The Montshire is now one of the busiest museums in northern New England, typically attracting over 150,000 visitors annually. Included in that total are approximately 25,000 school children from Vermont and New Hampshire.

Contact person: Jen Hallmartel, Volunteer Coordinator, (phone), (email)

Address:

One Montshire Road Norwich, VT 05055 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.montshire.org

Last updated on July 6, 2009