Montshire Museum of Science

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The Montshire Museum of Science is a small, hands-on, self-guided science museum located in Norwich, Vermont, in the United States. It has roughly 150,000 visitors annually. The museum, including the building and nature trails, is located on over 110 acres (445,000 m²) of land. It has exhibits on anatomy, math, astronomy, mechanics, and natural history, among others. Its live animal exhibits include a hive of honeybees that is connected to the outdoors and a colony of leafcutter ants. Outside of the museum building, there is a two acre (8,000 m²) Science Park including a scaled model of the solar system (Pluto is located a two-mile walk away), and exhibits on light, sound, and motion; among the sound exhibits there are "Whisper dishes" (parabolic dishes 40 feet apart) and a musical fence built by Paul Matisse, grandson of painter Henri Matisse.

The Montshire Museum was first established in 1976 across the Connecticut River in Hanover, New Hampshire, and moved to Norwich in 1989. The name Montshire is taken from "Vermont" and "New Hampshire". It was opened after Dartmouth College's natural history museum, from which the Montshire received its original collections, was closed. In addition to its year-round exhibits the Montshire runs numerous educational programs for children, adults, and teachers.