Explore nature and science with us
Discovery Tours and Mobile Museum outreach programs for schools, early childhood centers, and community organizations. In addition to the formal programs below, we also offer Walk-by Mobile Museum Booths, a unique opportunity to bring engaging and interactive nature and science experiences directly to your community, corporate or school event.
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- View our educator emails: September 2025 | July 2025
NEW: School Overnights
Looking for a unique incentive for your students? Book an unforgettable overnight experience! Enjoy an evening of exploring exhibits, hands-on activities, live animal encounters, and a movie before going to sleep. An energy bar and apple juice is provided in the morning. Pre-registration required. Available Monday-Thursday, 7 p.m.-8 a.m. $55 per student, one adult is required for every 10 students (free), $45 for additional adults after the 10:1 ratio. Minimum $1,250.
Discovery Tours
Programs are NGSS-aligned and led by trained and knowledgeable museum educators with experience in a variety of areas including working with ELL’s, ESL’s, special education groups and behavioral supports.
Additional programs are available to meet your curriculum needs or can be designed and implemented for you and your organization.
Discovery Tour Information & FAQ's
School Year Pricing (ends June 12, 2026) – $10 per participant/student
Summer Pricing (runs June 15, 2026 through September 4, 2026) – $12 per participant/student
Adults are covered at a 10:1 participant to adult ratio; Paraprofessionals/Nurses/Aides are covered at a 1:1 ratio
$15.50 per additional adult not covered under these ratios
1-1.5 hours (unless otherwise stated)
Minimum 15 paid participants per Discovery Tour or $150. (If your group does not meet this minimum, you can choose to pay the balance remaining in order to meet this minimum and run the program.)
Participants will be split into groups of approximately 25 for the various activities during the tour.
Your group is welcome to explore the museum’s galleries and outdoor areas before or after your tour (depending on the tour start time). Allow for at least an hour for free exploration. Museum hours are 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. The outdoor areas and back patio are open for all museum guests to use for snack and lunch on a first-come, first-served basis. *PLEASE NOTE – DelMNS cannot guarantee indoor lunch seating to visiting groups.
To schedule a Discovery Tour, please fill out a registration form.
Programs must be scheduled at least three weeks in advance. We will do our best to accommodate any requests within that time period based on availability. You will hear back from the DelMNS Education Team within two weeks of completing and submitting your registration form. If you do not hear back from DelMNS by three weeks out, please feel free to follow up, and check your spam folder in case your email ended up there. In order to ensure a smooth process, please add “@delmns.org” domains to your safe contact list.
Any questions? Please contact the Registration Coordinator at education@delmns.org or 302-658-9111, ext. 331.
Cancellations must be made at least 48 hours prior to your scheduled program. If you cancel less than 48 hours prior to your program start time, you will not receive a refund for your program.
Due to COVID-19, the following health and safety measures will be in effect until further notice for all Discovery Tour programming:
All participants over the age of 2 years old are required to maintain adequate social distancing. Masks are optional but recommended for all participants.
Programs and activities are engaging and educational while following best practice guidelines from the State of DE and the CDC regarding social distancing procedures and hands-on activities.
All scheduled programs are subject to change at the behest of DelMNS staff based on new or increased concerns over Covid-19.
If you have any questions regarding protocols, please contact us.
Museum Rules
When school groups arrive for a Discovery Tour, we go over a few rules with the students. Here's a PDF to share in advance of your visit!
Testimonials
"Christina was professional, friendly, accommodating, and amazing with camper interaction. Matt was beyond helpful in planning and booking our trip. He was quick to respond to my MANY questions and adjustments. The staff and volunteers during our trip were attentive and engaging with the campers and chaperones to answer questions and streamline our visit. We all had a blast!"
- Group Leader
"A hands-on educational day. Some members of our group didn’t even want to leave when it was closing time! Our educator for the day was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the topic we were studying (geology) and he was really great with answering student questions."
- Group Leader
Mobile Museum and Virtual Outreach Programs
These programs are for the school year (September-May).
Outreach Programs bring the fun of a field trip to you! We offer exciting, hands-on programs for camps, schools, daycares, community organizations, libraries, and more. Through engaging discussion, live animal presentations, relevant specimens, and props, our programs complement what you are teaching in the classroom. Additional programs are available to meet your curriculum needs or can be designed and implemented for you and your organization. Virtual options are available by request!
Mobile Museum Information & FAQ's
$195 for first program (per program date); $175 for additional programs;
For destinations more than 25 miles away from the Museum one-way, an additional cost will be incurred (see below).
Each program consists of a 45 minute in-person program.
Outreach Programs are currently limited to 25 participants maximum. For larger groups, multiple programs can be scheduled in a day (provided timeslots are available).
Several Outreach Programs include live animals. Please have a reliable staff member available to help with loading and unloading of the live animals, if needed.
Destinations more than 25 miles from the museum one-way will be charged a travel fee.
0-25 miles: included in program fee
26-35 miles: $15
36-45 miles: $30
46-55 miles: $45
56-65 miles: $60
66-75 miles: $75
76-85 miles: $90
86-95 miles: $105
96-105 miles: $120
To schedule a Mobile Museum, please fill out a registration form.
Programs must be scheduled at least three weeks in advance. We will do our best to accommodate any requests within that time period based on availability. You will hear back from the DelMNS Education Team within two weeks of completing your registration form. If you do not hear back from DelMNS by three weeks out, please feel free to follow up, and check your spam folder in case your email ended up there. In order to ensure a smooth process, please add “@delmns.org” domains to your safe contact list.
Any questions? Please contact the Registration Coordinator at education@delmns.org or 302-658-9111, ext. 331.
Due to COVID-19, the following health and safety measures will be in effect until further notice for ALL Mobile Museum programming:
All outreach program locations must be held in an indoor area that allows for social distancing or outdoors.
All participants over the age of 2 years old are required to maintain adequate social distancing. DelMNS will follow the host organization’s policies regarding masking.
Programs and activities are engaging and educational while following best practice guidelines from the State of DE and the CDC regarding social distancing procedures and hands-on activities.
All scheduled programs are subject to change at the behest of museum staff based on new or increased concerns over Covid-19.
If you have any questions regarding protocols, please contact us.
Testimonials
"This was an excellent experience for our students. Your staff was very knowledgeable and did an excellent job of keeping our students engaged. 50% of our student population have special needs including Autism and the staff were able to keep those kiddos engaged. It was wonderful and we are grateful that you were able to come all the way to Sussex County."
- Administrator
"I thought Brittley was very informative and patient with our 4-year-olds! I enjoyed the program and thought our children learned and had a lot of fun!"
- Teacher
Design your own
Can’t find exactly what you are looking for? Design your own Discovery Tour or Mobile Museum program with themes such as behind the scenes, museum careers, live animal care, specialized biology subjects and many more.
Financial Aid
Grant funding is limited and based on financial need. Proof of qualification of free/reduced lunch recipients may be requested. Decisions about disbursements are made based upon the following:
| Indicator of Financial Need | % of funding for Discovery Tours | Busing | % of funding for Mobile Museums |
| 60 to 100% of students eligible for Free & Reduced Lunch | Up to 100% | Up to 100% IF funding available | Up to 100% |
| 50% of students eligible for Free & Reduced Lunch | Up to 50% | Up to 50% IF funding available | Up to 50% |
| 40% of students eligible for Free & Reduced Lunch | Up to 40% | Up to 40% IF funding available | Up to 40% |
| 30% of students eligible for Free & Reduced Lunch | Up to 30% | Not available | Up to 30% |
| 20% of students eligible for Free & Reduced Lunch | Up to 20% | Not available | Up to 20% |
| Below 20% of students eligible for Free & Reduced Lunch | Not eligible for scholarship funds | Not available | Not available |