Montshire Fact Sheets

Montshire Profile

Montshire is a hands-on Museum with over 60 exhibits on the natural and physical sciences. The Museum's modern facilities include some of the most exciting exhibit spaces in this region. Located on the banks of the Connecticut River in Norwich, Vermont, the building is surrounded by 110 acres of woodland and a network of nature trails, offering opportunities for outdoor activities while still "at the Museum." Montshire opened to the public in 1976 in its original home, Hanover, N.H. The Museum moved to Norwich, Vt., in 1989. While located in a rural area, Montshire has over 4,000 members, the largest Museum membership in any of the three northern New England states.

• Annual public participation is approximately 150,000 visitors.

• Approximately eighty percent of Montshire's $2.25 million in annual revenue comes from earned sources including admission, membership fees, and program fees, a reflection of active public participation and support.

• Montshire has developed educational programs including large-scale outreach activities to serve small, rural schools. Montshire education staff provide leadership in teacher training and science curriculum development, and present programs to 20,000 students and teachers annually.

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Recent Highlights

• In 1999, Montshire was awarded a two-year General Operating Support grant of $112,500 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The grant is made to museums that have demonstrated excellence in various areas of museum operations. IMS awarded grants to just 186 museums nationwide from a pool of 973 applicants.

• In the fall of 1999, Montshire received a $1.8 million National Science Foundation grant. As the lead organization of TEAMS (Traveling Exhibits at Museums of Science), a collaboration of four small science centers, the grant will result in a series of original exhibits to be shared among the participants.

• In the summer of 2002, Montshire opened its new $4.5 million outdoor Science Park, and the Leonard M. Rieser Learning Center, a 10,000 square foot building expansion.

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History

After the closing of Dartmouth College's natural history museum, a group of area educators persuaded the college to donate specimens and other resources in support of a new community science center. The new organization was incorporated in 1974, taking its name from a combination of the words "Vermont" and "New Hampshire." Originally housed in a former bowling alley 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, the Montshire opened its new building on the other side of the Connecticut River in November 18, 1989. Nearly all the funds were raised from local sources.

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 provides 10,000 square feet of new exhibit space. Montshire is a visitor center for the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge.

 

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