Delaware Museum Guide - Discover the History of Delaware

Even though Delaware is a small state in terms of physical area, it is huge in history and culture. Delaware boasts over 70 museums, historic sites, and parks that display and explain Delaware’s unique place in American history and the significance of its cultural and natural heritage.

The museums in Delaware are as varied as the pebbles found on Delaware’s lovely beaches. The various museums cover such areas of studies as military aircraft, historical homes and public buildings, transportation history, art, agriculture, archeology, natural history, sports, railroads, shipwrecks and lighthouses, Native American history, geology, and the opportunity to understand the importance of Delaware’s heritage.
 

Operation of Delaware Museums

The museums are operated by a number of different organizations. The State of Delaware oversees many of the museums. Also cities and Delaware’s three counties operate some museums, along with private businesses and nonprofit organizations. All of these entities work together to showcase what Delaware has to offer and the significance of its past and the brightness of its future.

These museums focus on collecting, preserving and displaying buildings and objects that are of artistic, cultural, historical or scientific importance. These exhibits are then made available to the public so they can understand and learn of the diversity of Delaware’s history and legacy.

All of Delaware’s museums are committed to showcasing the historic legacy of Delaware, whether it is related to cultural history or natural history. The museums are actively engaged in preserving history and promoting educational experiences.

One way many of the museums educate visitors is by offering live reenactments of history. For example, Fort Delaware has historic demonstrations of how Delawareans lived over 300 years ago. However, not all of the museums focus on human living conditions, some focus on the more creative part of human history such as exhibiting arts and crafts, toys, libraries, and even gardens.

Visit a Delaware Museum Today

The Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs believes that by visiting these museums visitors can connect to the past, understand natural resources better, and promote a desire to preserve our history and resources, and thereby enhance the quality of life to be enjoyed today in Delaware.

Because it’s not just Delaware’s history, it’s America’s history.  From the U.S.’s oldest standing court house in New Castle to preserved plantations that remind of us a turbulent past, visitors can take a step back in history at the museums of Delaware.

Please explore the rest of the site to learn more about visiting many of the most famous museums in the great state of Delaware including Fort Delaware State Park, the Delaware Art Museum and the Delaware Museum of Natural History.