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Starting From Scratch

A Museum Metamorphosis

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How this session will work

Pat Wittwer

Senior Guest Experience Manager, DelMNS

VP & Communications Chair, VEX Group

@wittwering

pwittwer@delmns.org

Live in Cleveland!

Prerecorded from Delaware!

Delaware Museum of Nature and Science staff

@delmnh

delmns.org

Live on the internet!

Q&A with the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science staff

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Questions

Through the magic of Twitter

Tweet your question to @delmnh and include the hashtag #VEX22

Via Email

Send an email to Communications Director Jennifer Acord at jacord@delmns.org

with the subject “VEX22 Question”

@delmnh jacord@delmns.org @wittwering @vexgroup #VEX22

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A Little Background

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The Museum was founded by John E. du Pont, and was incorporated in December of 1957, 15 years prior to opening to visitors.
In 1958, then-Director John du Pont reported that the Museum’s collection consisted of 96 bird skins, 92 egg clutches, 307 eggs, 2 books and several photographs. The cash balance on hand was $100.
In June 1969, a detailed report was given on “plans for the construction of the Museum to be located on the property acquired from the late H. F. du Pont across the Kennett Pike from the Winterthur Museum.”
In April 1970, the Board of Trustees was hosting meetings at the Museum, which was still under construction at the time. The Board expanded from 5 members to 11.
The Museum opened to the public in 1972. The price of admission was set at $1.25 for adults and 75 cents for children. The Junior League was enlisted to handle the sale of items in the gift shop.
When the Museum opened in 1972, it adopted a logo featuring a triptych illustration of a shell, bird and lion, which reflected the scope of exhibits at the time. In the mid- to late 1990s, a nautilus shell became the defining image of the Museum.
The Museum adopted its current Mission and Vision in 2014.
In 2014, leadership embarked on a multi-faceted process for long-term planning, resulting in a roadmap for the Museum. 2018 marked the culmination of the strategic planning for the capital campaign.
The “Museum Metamorphosis: Connecting Delaware to Our World” capital campaign took place from 2018 to 2021.
Today, the Museum has 77,000 bird skins, 36,000 clutches of eggs, 2 million mollusks and 6,000 mammals.
In 2021, the Museum adopted a Service Philosophy to guide a service-centric approach and strategy.
In December of 2020, the Delaware Museum of Natural History closed for the last time. After an extensive $10.8 million, 17-month renovation project, the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science reopened to the public on Monday, May 23. All of the exhibits – many in place since 1972 – were removed and the walls were taken down to the studs.

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Natural History to Nature & Science

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Required a specific interest in the subject
Did we mention dark?

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Planning a Metamorphosis

Jennifer Acord

Director of Communications

Halsey Spruance

Executive Director

Liz Shea, Ph.D.

Director of Collections and Curator of Mollusks

Rick Cairns

Board Member

Cathy Perrotto

Sr. Manager of Public Engagement

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Closing

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Closing

Closing and deconstruction video

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Guest Experience

OUR SERVICE PHILOSOPHY

We strive to communicate the exciting impact of nature and science in our daily lives, inspiring connections to the natural world through equitable, respectful interactions that meet the unique needs of each guest and team member.

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Deliver a Welcoming Experience

Nurture Connections

Act with Empowerment

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Guest Experience

GE video

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