Montshire Museum of Science
Science museum in Vermont, US
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Montshire Museum of Science is a hands-on science museum located in Norwich, Vermont, United States.
Science Park area of the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich Vermont | |
 | |
| Established | 1976 |
|---|---|
| Location | 1 Montshire Road Norwich, Vermont, US |
| Coordinates | 43.7002°N 72.305°W |
| Type | Science museum |
| Accreditation | ASTC |
| Visitors | 150,000[1] |
| Founder | Dr. Robert Chaffee[1][2] |
| Director | Lara Litchfield-Kimber[1] |
| Public transit access | Advance Transit Green Route, plus 9-minute walk |
| Website | www |
History
The name "Montshire" is a portmanteau of "Vermont" and "New Hampshire".[1] It was cofounded in 1974 by Dr. Robert Chaffee, former Museum Director of the Dartmouth College Museum.
When the college museum closed, Chaffee and Walter Paine devised a community museum and education center, incorporating it as the Montshire. In 1976, Dartmouth College donated the collection of biological and geological collections to the new museum.[1][3]
The Montshire Museum was first located in a former bowling alley building in 1976 in Hanover, New Hampshire, and was later moved across the Connecticut River to a purpose-built building in Norwich in 1989.[1] [2]
Description
The museum, including the building and nature trails, is located on over 100 acres (40 ha) of land.[4] It has over 150 exhibits relating to the natural and physical sciences, ecology, and technology.[5] Its live animal exhibits include a hive of honeybees that is connected to the outdoors, a colony of leafcutter ants, and aquariums that feature life in local waters.[6]
Outside the museum building, there is a 3-acre (1.2 ha) Science Park including a scale model of the Solar System (Pluto is located 2 miles (3.2 km) away),[4] and interactive exhibits on water, light, sound, and motion. Among the sound exhibits there are "whisper dishes" (parabolic dishes 40 feet (12 m) apart) and a musical fence built by Paul Matisse, grandson of painter Henri Matisse.[7][8] Each year, the museum holds an annual igloo build.[9]
