WHAT A BLAST. We came here for my birthday kind of ironically because online we saw reels saying it…read morewas the "weirdest museum ever," and thought it would be kind of funny/maybe even creepy. Little did we know it was actually FASCINATING; it was so fun to admire every last piece in the museum. The tram guide was great, the pre-recorded audio is helpful and interesting, and the collection is so varied and extensive that you can't help but love it. The pipe organs - fabulous. The walkable "toy box" collection was great after the tram. Overall, I'd recommend this to anyone - it was soooo fun.

What a fun thing to do! We didn't know what to expect and want to say we all really enjoyed the…read moreexperience! Admission was reasonable and enjoyed the self-guided part while waiting for the next tram departure time. There was everything you could imagine - except one thing! A TELEX MACHINE (which I used to operate). When I asked the staff if they had one none of them even knew what I was talking about (early 20's)! We took the tram tour and really enjoyed it. The tram moved at a nice pace so you could really take in everything. So much to see - everywhere. It was a really fun way to spend a few hours on a rainy day! But I urge you to visit rain or shine!

Wilmington, DE - we visited several du Pont estates during our stay in the beautiful Brandywine…read moreValley area, starting with the Hagley Museum, which is the place of the first du Pont family home, built by the French immigrant ancestor who started it all, Éleuthère Irénée du Pont. We toured the house (Eleutherian Mills) and garden, powder yard, saw a small antique car exhibit, a gunpowder demonstration, and strolled around the grounds, which are very walkable and well-shaded in parts, but there is also a shuttle that travels between the main areas (visitor center/museum, house, powder yards) which runs every 20 minutes. The property is impeccably maintained and gorgeous to walk around, bordered by the Brandywine River where we saw some kayakers row by (for paddlers & outdoor enthusiasts: you can do this as an activity in the area). Everything was SO well-organized, and the tour guides & staff could not have been more lovely or helpful. They helped us time-manage our tours (as we arrived late in the day and were in a bit of a rush) and were generous with answering questions and sharing information about the history of the place and of the du Pont family. ======= TIP: If you love museums and historic homes & gardens and plan to visit at least a couple, the best thing you can do is purchase a Brandywine Treasure Trail Passport ($49 for individuals, or $99 for family including 2 adults & 3 children 17yo and under), which grants you admission to 12 area attractions that you can visit once any time between May 24-October 31. (This year is almost over but you can still buy the 2025 pass or wait for 2026 to be released.) There were many enterprising du Pont descendants/cousins, and the multiple grand estates in this area were built/owned by different branches of the family: in addition to Hagley there is also Winterthur, Nemours, Mt. Cuba Center, and Longwood Gardens - all of which are included in the passport. I find these properties to be more impressive than the Newport RI mansions, and highly recommend visiting as many as you can!

We did not have this museum on our radar until we learned about it when touring the nearby Nemour…read moreEstate. It helped that with our reciprocal museum membership we got free admission! It was already 2pm when we arrived so we had limited time. We walked the road to see the machine shop demo and the powder rolling demo by Bob. Both were quite interesting especially the big bang finish of the powder rolling demo. Learned a lot! Given it was late and way too hot to walk up the hill we skipped the house tour which looked interesting. We opted for the AC in the visitor center and the very educational two floor exhibit on patent models. Nerdy. Overall a big thumbs up for this museum.

This was not on our list of museums to hit but since the weather was so darn hot we changed what we…read morewere going to do after spending the morning at Longwood Gardens. It helped that we got free admission with our reciprocal museum membership. It was 2:30pm we when we arrived so we didn't have a lot of time. We were given good advice on what to do in our limited time from the folks at the ticket office. We took the garden tram tour which was educational and got off at the house where we did the self guided tour. You only see a small fraction of this giant mansion but that was enough for me. While most of the docents had interesting facts the actual contents of the collection were not that interesting to me. If you are really into this era of American decorative furnishing supposedly they have more in-depth guided tours. We still had time to see a bit more of the grounds around the house but with big thunderstorms rolling in we headed out. I am guessing for some this place is a must... I am glad we got free admission.

I visited Winterthur for the first time with my mom on Christmas Eve for their Yuletide exhibit…read more I'd been mildly curious about the mansion over the years, and it seemed like a fun thing to do on my day off from work. The mansion is ornate, truly massive, and opulent. It's a true peek into the lifestyles of the rich. The Yuletide theme this past year was centered around Christmas and children's books, like Alice and Wonderland, Twas the Night Before Christmas, etc. When we arrived, we were a bit confused on where to park, as my mom has a handicap sticker. We ended up parking right at the visitor's center where the tram retrieves guests. We didn't have a long wait. On the tram, the driver recommended starting at the house and then walking down to the galleries. She didn't mention the enchanted woods/garden, so I didn't even realize they were there until I got home later that night -- bummer. Some of the folks working the rooms were pleasant, others felt like security guards. One chided my mom for leaning her hand against a wall at one point. Some were knowledgeable, and others clearly didn't want to be there. I appreciated the girl in the garden entry room who snapped our photo with the decorated trees before we stepped into the house! I took many pictures while in the house, and then we traipsed over to the galleries. The gallery building had a doll house, a really well-done gingerbread train station, furniture and other exhibits on the ground floor, and a rotating, very interesting exhibit on African American history on the second floor. After the galleries, we stopped by the museum store, and while most everything was dramatically overpriced, I did find a few cool items in my price range. We were on the grounds for roughly 2-3 hours I'd say before having lunch nearby. Arriving early was a good choice. They do offer reciprocal garden access with other garden memberships (I have one at home in Richmond, VA), so perhaps one day I'll use that access to see the gardens that I missed!

For a DE native, this was my first time here. I came during the day and I was the only person…read morethere. The receptionist let me know the exhibits that were on and what was scheduled to leave at the end of the month. She was so helpful! I took my time taking everything in. I loved that there was a mix of found art, sculpture, collage and film. There was even art on display for sale, which I could definitely see myself taking advantage of. They also have a store with prints, pottery, jewelry, and clothing. Honestly, such a gem of a space. They have a night market coming up in June with vendors and food trucks and they are part of the Art Loop which is every first Friday of the month. Admission is free those days, or if you go during normal hours is $7 for adults. Definitely worth it.

Interesting exhibits, but very small with no permanent collection. Many of the exhibit descriptions…read moreneeded copy editing. There was one description that referenced Palestine and included a disclaimer that seemed discriminatory.

We came on a free Sunday with family to enjoy the nice weather and learn a little history. Tickets…read moreare usually $10 to tour the museum. Even though it was a free day, both tour guides took time to introduce us to the house and answer any questions we had. It took us just shy of an hour to go through, but we could've spent longer if we had read every piece of material and took in every photo in the collection. The grounds and surrounding park were also beautiful and well maintained. There was ample free parking. A nice way to spend the day!

Place is beautiful with a wonderful Museum as well. My girlfriend and I spent some time here on our…read morelast trip. Park is huge with lots of running trails and lakes. Beautiful nature and trees to get surrounded and lost. Tickets are only $10.00 for a tour of the museum. Nice historical artifacts of the world and art. Delaware historical scenery and sculptures too. Weather was moderate at the time we were here. I love it. I will be back again.

Visited this museum during their free day (First Sunday of the month) to check out the exhibit for…read moreJerrell Gibbs: No Solace in the Shade. Such a beautiful space ! I can imagine weddings taking place in their courtyard area. The staff was helpful as it was my first time. It's a small but delightful museum, only three floors and the construction of the building itself is very compact and curved. It was great to see the river and the sun shining in through the large windows as you walk up to the top floor. The main exhibit was on the top floor and it was thoughtfully curated with black walls that made the artwork just pop! I was able to pick up a few art prints in their gift shop on the way out. Ample parking but in the free days can fill up fast. Definitely stop in if local or just visiting !

My friends and I spent a rainy afternoon at the Brandywine Museum of Art. Adult tickets were $20…read more We had no problem finding parking in their lot out front. It's a lovely space, it looks like it'd be a great spot for a wedding. There are three floors of art to explore here. Their special exhibit was on the third floor. My favorite exhibit to explore was the illustrators exhibit. I loved the storybook art. We spent over an hour exploring all the fine art here. It got packed by the end of our visit. They were also doing a tour of the grounds. They have a cafe and a huge gift shop here too.

I visit dozens of galleries up and down the east coast and Somerville Manning is one of the best by…read morefar. The art of course is absolutely excellent. They represent some of my favorite artists, Robert C. Jackson, Christine Lafuente and Bo Bartlett, just to name a few. When you move beyond the art you are greeted by a knowledgeable and pleasant staff that complement the elegance of the gallery space. Finally you have the stunning Breck's Mill that houses the gallery on the beautiful Brandywine River. Every time that I am in the Willmington area I make sure to visit Somerville Manning.

From the owner: Located in historic Breck's Mill adjacent to the Hagley Museum, Somerville Manning is unique among…read moresmall city galleries. Since 1981 the Somerville Manning Gallery has been committed to exhibiting art from the historic tradition of the Brandywine Valley, to presenting the best of regional artists, and to bringing to Wilmington artists of national and international stature.

1 star for adults and kids over 10…read more 2.5 stars for children under 10 This is a small museum. You can do the full loop in 15-20 minutes unless you have little little ones that get engrossed in one of the interactive stations. Not worthy of a field trip. If you really want a decent natural History museum, plan a day trip elsewhere.

It's considered traditional to celebrate Independence Day at a parade, or a barbecue, or a picnic,…read morefollowed by watching fireworks, right? Well, Lion and I must be non traditional folk, because we visited the Delaware Museum of Nature. It was wonderful. The museum is one of those place I've driven by so many times, thinking - hey, really should go there sometime. Just .... didn't. On a broiling hot 4th of July, when the last thing we wanted to do was barbecue or go to a parade, we saw it was open and decided this was our opportunity. Yay! We arrived to a mostly empty museum, with a group of volunteers and staff who were really great! Being in the museum without crowds was lively. I could spend as much or as little time as I wanted with an exhibit. Volunteers demonstrating various artifacts were friendly Jan helpful. We got to meet two different snakes, learn that turtles can actually move quite fast and can climb trees, and learned that after the passing of Dude, the Museum Cat, they gave a new cat in training. Rye exhibits were nicely curated. This museum is not expansive, however they use their space well, focusing on aspects of Delaware's ecology and history. There's a family/kid nature "lab" where people can explore hands in nature. Parking is free in their private lot. It's an open, airy space that is fully accessible. I think we may have started outrun own new tradition this year.