exploring delaware online
It's been a slightly overcast Sunday in Delaware today, so I spent some time online looking for museums, parks and gardens to visit on another day. Some of these look like trips that could last all day, and other look like mild diversions. There are a number of other interesting looking places to visit in Delaware that don't have web sites, but this seemed like a list that could keep me busy for a while. Some of these places aren't open on Sundays, and other require advance reservations. If anyone has suggestions for other places in (or around) Delaware to visit, please leave a comment or send an email. (thanks)

Air Mobility Command Museum

"The Air Mobility Command Museum, located in Hangar 1301 on Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, houses some of the most unique and distinguished military flying machines of the past 50+ years. Stand in the bomb bay of the B-17, gape at the gargantuan C-5 transport, examine the combat scars of the C-47. An online tour will introduce you to these and others, along with the many thousands of other artifacts on display that chronicle the history of the Dover base and Military Airlift."

Biggs Museum of American Art

Presently showing an exhibit of women artists from the early twentieth century in Delaware

Brandywine River Museum

"Exhibiting American art in a 19th-century grist mill, the Brandywine River Museum is internationally known for its unparalleled collection of works by three generations of Wyeths and its fine collection of American illustration, still life and landscape painting."

Christiana Fire Company Museum

Delaware Agricultural Museum

I've driven past this place a number of times, but had no idea what was actually going on inside. Seems like a lot more than a collection of tractors and plows from days gone by, as I envisioned from the name. An exhibit going through March 23 is The Vanishing Landscape: Farmland of Central Delaware -- Artist John McGiff’s one-man project to document the vanishing agricultural landscape of central Delaware. March also includes Women's History Month Programs such as: March 9: Laura Ingalls Wilder (children's program), March 16: Fashion Through Time, and March 23: Native American Women

Delaware Archaeology Museum

12,000 years worth of archaeological history in the State of Delaware

Delaware Art Museum

Delaware Center for Horticulture

Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts

Delaware History Museum

Delaware Museum of Natural History

Delaware Nature Society

Their web site includes information about the Ashland Nature Center and Abbott's Mill Nature Center

Delaware Sports Museum & Hall of Fame

Currently under development at Frawley Stadium in Wilmington, but I'm looking forward to its opening

Delaware State Parks

There are some very nice parks in Delaware. My favorite is White Clay Creek, where you can travel along one trail and find a Mason-Dixon marker that indicates a corner where Delaware and Pennsylvania meet. Here are the other parks: Bellevue State Park, Brandywine State Park, Brandywine Zoo, Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware Seashore State Park, Fenwick Island State Park, Fort Delaware State Park, Fox Point State Park, Holts Landing State Park, Killens Pond State Park, Lums Pond State Park, Trap Pond State Park, and Wilmington State Parks.

Delaware State Police Museum

Delaware Toy & Miniature Museum

DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum

Hagley Museum and Library

There is a lot to see here. A description from one of their pages of a couple of their attractions: "Blacksmith Hill focuses on the social and family history of the workers who operated the powder mills. Interpreters in period dress reflect life of the late nineteenth century in the Gibbons House, home to powder yard foremen and their families. In the Brandywine Manufacturers' Sunday School, constructed in 1817, children of mill workers learned to read, write, and cipher before Delaware provided public education"

Historic New Castle, Delaware

One of my favorite places to visit to get a taste of long ago. Check their schedule to see when tours are available, or visit anyway, and look into places like the old courthouse. The iron rod on top of the courthouse was used as the center point for the arc that describes the top boundary of Delaware's state line.

John Dickinson Plantation

Kalmar Nyckel Shipyard

Delaware's tall ship. A reproduction of the ship that brought the first settlement to Delaware from Sweden. The ship travels around the world, and is not always in port in Wilmington. A number of programs take place at the shipyard even when the ship isn't in port, such as wood carving, sailing classes and blacksmithing.

Longwood Gardens

A great place to bring a date for a romantic afternoon. From their website: "Longwood Gardens was created by industrialist Pierre S. du Pont (and is sometimes referred to as the DuPont Gardens) and offers 1,050 acres (425 hectares) of gardens, woodlands, and meadows; 20 outdoor gardens; 20 indoor gardens within 4 acres (1.6 hectares) of heated greenhouses; 11,000 different types of plants; spectacular fountains; extensive educational programs including horticultural career training and internships; and 800 horticultural and performing arts events each year, from flower shows, gardening demonstrations, courses, and children’s programs to concerts, organ and carillon recitals, musical theatre, and fireworks displays"

Nanticoke Indian Museum

Riverfront Delaware

The Wilmington Riverfront project is an attempt to build something special that tries to follow Baltimore's success with their "Inner Harbour." With the First USA RiverFront Arts Center, and the outlet shops in place, it's an enjoyable place to visit. There are also some great places to eat in the Riverfront Market.

University of Delaware Mineralogical Museum

Winterthur

One of the best museums of its type on the east coast or anywhere. From their web site: "Explore and enjoy our museum, garden and library. See the museum's magnificent collection of American antiques celebrating the best in style and craftsmanship. Delight your senses with a stroll through the glorious 60-acre garden and surrounding landscape of hills, waterways, and rolling meadows."

Zwaanendael Museum