Welcome to the Delaware State Parks Nature and Interpretive Centers
Centers in Northern Delaware (New Castle County)
Blue Ball Barn
Located in Alapocas Run State Park
This extraordinary barn, progressive in its environmental design, is the home of the Delaware Folk Art Collection. Visit the permanent and rotating art exhibits, or tour our displays highlighting the history of the barn and surrounding landscape. Renovations have created a multifunctional conference, special event and gallery space featuring meeting rooms, a large banquet room and a secluded courtyard.
For more information visit Blue Ball Barn
Brandywine Creek Nature Center
Located in Brandywine Creek State Park
At the Brandywine Creek State Park Nature Center, you can meet Cornelius the corn snake, learn about the park and enjoy some of the best bird watching in the state all from the back porch, and see how you “measure up” to the birds of Brandywine Creek with a large wall display.
For more information visit Brandywine Creek Nature Center
Lums Pond Nature Center
Located in Lums Pond State Park
Surrounded by the parks nature preserve, the Whale Wallow Nature Center is an environmental education facility providing an open floor to ceiling window with gorgeous views of the parks forests and special wetland habitats. Inside you can engage with some of the local native wildlife, including a 500-gallon freshwater fish tank, reptiles, and amphibians. Stop by to speak with our naturalists about the park and hear about upcoming programs.
For more information visit Lums Pond Nature Center
Port Penn Interpretive Center
Temporarily Closed for Repairs
The Port Penn Interpretive Center was a schoolhouse from 1886 to 1961 and now serves as a museum featuring material culture from late 19th and early 20th century Port Penn. Visitors can tour the surrounding wetland via the Wetlands Trail, which features migratory wading birds in summer months, a floating fishing cabin and other natural sights and sounds.
For more information visit Port Penn Interpretive Center
Chambers House Nature Center
Located in White Clay Creek State Park
Originally built c.1820, The Chambers House serves as the nature center and office for White Clay Creek State Park’s programming staff. Staffed by volunteers who give information to park visitors, the house also serves as the main building for the park’s Discovery Camps. To learn how to get involved or volunteer to staff the nature center, call or email us.
For more information visit Chambers House Nature Center
Centers in Central Delaware (Kent County)
John Bell House Interpretive Center
Located in First State Heritage Park
The John Bell House, built in the mid-1700s, offers a rare look into everyday life in Dover's earliest days, as it witnessed generations of pivotal events: from marching Revolutionaries to determined Freedom Seekers and crusading suffragists. Offering living history programs, crafts and signature thematic walking tours, your Delaware capital experience begins at the John Bell House - where the size of a place doesn't reflect the scale of the stories waiting to be told.
For more information visit John Bell House
Killens Pond Nature Center
Located in Killens Pond State Park
Visitors to the park’s nature center experience live animal exhibits featuring native reptiles and amphibians. The Pileated Woodpecker, Prothonotary Warbler and Barred Owl can often be heard in the woods at the park - explore the surrounding wooded trails along the pond's edge or simply take in the sights and sounds from the covered deck. This facility is also available for special event rentals.
For more information visit Killens Pond Nature Center
Centers in Southern Delaware (Sussex County)
Seaside Nature Center
Located in Cape Henlopen State Park
The centerpiece of the Seaside Nature Center is a 300-gallon two-level touch tank, complete with viewing windows. The nature center also features five 1,000-gallon tanks with local fish, exhibits that explain the different habitats within the park, a live Osprey cam provided by the Friends of Cape Henlopen (April through August) and a gift shop.
For more information visit Seaside Nature Center
Fort Miles Historical Area
Located in Cape Henlopen State Park
Museum exhibits and artifacts within Battery 519, a 15,000-square-foot fortified underground chamber, bring to life Delaware’s wartime stories of submarine encounters and surrender, daring actions of civilian pilots, and hometown heroes who sacrificed for our freedom. The museum’s collection of armaments provides visitors a unique opportunity to experience first-hand how state-of-the-art technology from an earlier day was used to defend the nation.
For more information visit Fort Miles Museum and Historical Area
Indian River Life-Saving Station Museum
Located in Delaware Seashore State Park
Built in 1876 for use by the United States Life-saving Service, the full-restored station today features maritime exhibits and historic reenactors who periodically demonstrate turn-of-the-century techniques to rescue sailing ships in distress. Includes a gift shop offering unique coastal and maritime merchandise. These facilities are also available for event rentals.
For more information visit Indian River Life-Saving Station Museum
Baldcypress Nature Center
Located in Trap Pond State Park
The Baldcypress Nature Center shows our connection to water and the Chesapeake. The exhibits include an 18’ replica baldcypress tree, 500-gallon floor aquarium and waterfall feature showcasing the fish species found at Trap Pond, a virtual pontoon tour of the pond, and numerous other areas to discover. This facility is also available for special event rentals.
For more information visit Baldcypress Nature Center
