History of the Montshire Museum of Science

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 in support of 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. 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.