We have the amazing Montshire Musuem in Norwich, VT. Here’s an overview of the experience!
Hours:
Daily 10 am to 5 pm.
Admission:
$15 for adults $12 for kids 2-17. During the summer the price goes up two dollars.
The Museum:
Four flours of interactive exhibits, walking trails (with educational features), plus an outdoor science water park to explore how things work. You can see a map of the exhbits and grounds here.
Activities for Two and Under:
Once I had a child I was wondering what my little one would be able to do there. Turns out a lot -even for a one year old. Here’s what we enjoyed the most…
Andy’s Place is a place for toddlers (ages five and under). Balance the beach ball in the air stream, feel the furry pelts, crawl through the cave, watch the golf balls roll down the tubes, and more.
The Bubbles Exhibit is one of my favorites. Have your little one blow a bubble, pop a bubble, stick their hands in foam, and watch bubbles float in the air. So many different ways to interact with bubbles! The best part is there’s a hand washing station at this exhibit!
Build it with Big Blue Blocks was I think my son’s favorite place to be. He would’ve stayed forever playing with the blue blocks. He wasn’t at the age of putting them together and building things but he loved to pick them up, roll them around, and climb all over them. Definitely a must!
Watching the fish in the Aquarium Area was also a lot of fun. We counted them, tried to find them all, and just were entertained by their movement. Seeing the turtles come up close was cute too. Watching the insects was cool too; I particularly liked seeing inside the working beehive.
We liked to touch the Fog on the fourth floor.
At Any Exhibit pressing buttons and turning handles was fun. Seeing what happened when mommy or daddy made something move or play was even better! People watching and saying hi to others was also a highlight of my son’s day.
Activities for Two and Up:
Turn the handle and watch the metal balls ride along the obstacle course.
Any exhibit would be fun for this age group. Just trying and exploring would be fun for younger kids. You should also check out the science discovery lab on the second floor where museum workers give demonstrations and allow kids to interact with different materials like mirrors and such.
As they get older challenging them to do something with the exhibit like making something, figuring something out, or understanding how it worked would make an exhibit they’re been to multiple times more engaging.
I’ve created activity cards to mix things up a bit: challenge a sibling, earn a reward, or make your own. They are a list of things kids can do in the museum based on their age. Montshire Museum Activity Cards little ones and Montshire Museum Activity Cards elementary. Here’s a picture of part of one.
I even made one to promote kind and considerate behavior: Montshire Museum Activity Cards social emotional.
The museum also offers frequent opportunities for hands on activities throughout the year like straw rockets, building igloos in the winter and more. See their calendar here. Walking the trails and playing in the outdoor science park would be a lot of fun too in the summer months. I did a post about walking the trails here.
View from the Blood Brook Trail
More Fun:
The Montshire also offers classes for adults and special events opening the museum to adults with live music, treats, and more. Read more at Montshire Unleashed.
For kids they offer summer camps, and opportunities for groups to camp in the museum. They also offer special programs for homeschoolers and different age groups and after school programs as well.
