Montshire Museum of Science

Science museum in Vermont, US

43°42′01″N 72°18′18″W / 43.7002°N 72.305°W / 43.7002; -72.305TypeScience museumAccreditationASTCVisitors150,000^[1]FounderDr. Robert Chaffee^[1]^[2]DirectorLara Litchfield-Kimber^[1]Public transit accessAdvance Transit Green Route, plus 9-minute walkWebsitewww.montshire.org

The Montshire Museum of Science is a hands-on science museum located in Norwich, Vermont, United States.

Description

The museum, including the building and nature trails, is located on over 100 acres (40 ha) of land.^[3] It has over 150 exhibits relating to the natural and physical sciences, ecology, and technology.^[4] 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.^[5]

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),^[3] 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.^[6]^[7] Each year, the museum holds an annual igloo build.^[8]

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]^[9]

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]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Montshire Museum: History & Overview". www.montshire.org. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
^ ^a ^b Levin, Ted (June 8, 2009). "Levin: Exhibit curator retires". Retrieved August 12, 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Trail Finder: Montshire Museum trails". Trail Finder. 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
^ "Montshire Museum: Exhibits". www.montshire.org. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
^ Corriveau, David (January 27, 2017). "Montshire Museum Designs Exhibit About How Music Gets Made". Valley News. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
^ "The Musical Fence". www.paulmatisse.com. March 27, 2018.
^ "Montshire Museum: Montshire Outside". www.montshire.org. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
^ Sauchelli, Liz (February 15, 2018). "Out & About: Build an Igloo, Learn About the Science of Snow at the Montshire". Valley News. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
^ Schwartz, Gregory (1976). "'Save the zebra! Save the zebra!'". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine: 23. Retrieved August 12, 2024.