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Delaware Museum of Nature & Science Reviews

Delaware Museum of Nature & Science

Delaware Museum of Nature & Science

Wilmington, DE
4.9 out of 5 rating, 24 reviews
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4.9 out of 5 rating
4.9 out of 5 rating
24 reviews
98% recommend it
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    4.9 out of 5 rating
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    4.9 out of 5 rating
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  • G
    Gregory Sent on 07/05/2017
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    Alexis is an absolute saint. The museum provided the perfect setting for our wedding, providing interesting exhibits for not only the adults but also the children. Our wedding photos are AMAZING - Can you get better than cheezing beside a Tyrannosaurus Rex head? We loved every minute of it, and so did our guests. Toscana's partnering with the museum provided a very smooth operation. If we could afford it, we'd totally get married here again.
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    Jessica Sent on 07/10/2016
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    First of all, DMNH is an amazing museum. Second of all, it's an even more amazing place to have an event. We booked the museum for our wedding reception and it was a wonderful experience. They have both indoor and outdoor space. You can use the Great Room if it does not have an traveling exhibit at the time, which is what we did. Your guests are free to wander the museum. It is very unique. Dinner and dancing amongst the dinosaurs was exactly what we wanted for our day to stand out. Highly recommend!
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    Sara Sent on 09/06/2015
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    The venue was so unique and pretty. It was a lot of fun for the guests to be able to roam around and look at the museum. Stephanie was so incredibly helpful. She really made it a great experience. I definitely recommend this venue!
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  • User2183348 Sent on 06/16/2015
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    My daughter's wedding had to be planned within less than five months and the first thing we agreed on right away was the venue, the DNHM! It was the best decision ever! From beginning to end our special event coordinator Stephanie at the Museum was the best! Whatever I worried about along the way that had anything to do with the venue (just about everything), Stephanie was there to help and advise and really care about us and our concerns and being supportive and understanding. She was always professional, very kind and friendly and very responsive. She had a big part in making the wedding a huge success and everyone of our guests loved the venue, the staff and setting etc. It was especially wonderful as a wedding venue because the ceremony and cocktail hour were held in the beautiful outside space and the reception inside with lots of space and rooms to explore and it was flawless. I would choose the DNHM again given a chance. Thank you Stephanie!!
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    Daniel Sent on 07/09/2014
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    The Delaware Museum of Natural History is a great venue to host any small to medium sized event. Dawn, the museum's event coordinator, was very responsive to our needs and kept everyone abreast of all the details of the space as well as regulations to which we needed to adhere. With her experience and knowledge of the unique layout of the museum, she worked well with all the different players involved in creating the wedding we wanted. Our wedding went very well.
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    Nancy Sent on 07/01/2014
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    What a unique venue this was for our special day. It was fun, fascinating, engaging and quite beautiful. We enjoyed working with Dawn and her staff as well as the recommended vendors for equipment rental and catering. It was a first class affair. The staff also went above and beyond the call of duty to insure success. When the bustle came u fastened on my bridal gown, we found that one of the staff members at the museum was also a seamstress so she truly saved the day and paved the way for Lots of dancing! A fun time was had by all! Parking was a breeze and the setting is one of a kind!
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    Eileen Sent on 07/01/2014
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    Stephanie Graves was terrific, very helpful and pleasant to deal with. Great support and ideas offered.
  • User1690769 Sent on 07/02/2014
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    It was an absolutely perfect venue for our wedding. We loved the flexibility to arrange the ceremony, cocktails, dancing and dining in various parts of the museum. Dawn was wonderful to work with and made it very easy to arrange our day from abroad.
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    Betsy Sent on 01/18/2014
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    Dawn, Stephanie, and the rest of the staff at the Delaware Museum of Natural History were wonderful to work with! They are kind, caring, accommodating and understanding. They helped to make the museum the perfect venue for our wedding. If you are looking for an interesting, non-traditional, and fun location for your event, the Delaware Museum of Natural History is the right spot!
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    Joan Sent on 10/12/2013
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    We could not have been happier with how our daughter's wedding turned out! Dawn was simply amazing throughout the whole process (from preparation decisions all the way through to the day of). I'm still overwhelmed with how well everything went and how beautiful the museum looked for the event. We took every bit of advice Dawn gave us, and she was 100% correct - as everything went super smoothly and the museum looked incredibly elegant. The flow of the evening between the ceremony to reception to dancing was just perfect. Everyone who attended has been just raving that it was the best wedding ever. Dawn's guidance certainly got us there!
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    Andrea Sent on 11/26/2012
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    This is an incredible venue, and the staff is fantastic. The price for the amount of space and amount of guidance you get is a wonderful value. My family was wowed as I was wed under the dinosaurs and then danced all evening in the atrium. Absolutely amazing.
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    Martha Sent on 10/03/2012
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    This museum was a terrific wedding venue! We had the ceremony and reception there - it was a pleasure to deal with Dawn and the rest of the staff that we encountered were delightful as well! All the vendors we used were terrific. It was a wonderful experience!!
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    Molly Sent on 10/03/2012
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    I'm so glad we decided to have our wedding here! The space was great, and their events contact, Dawn Swartout, was extremely helpful and professional. We had lots of fantastic photos that could only be taken there. I highly recommend.
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    Sophia Sent on 02/01/2012
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    Amazing, amazing place for a wedding. Purely for aesthetics the space is fantastic, and despite feeling 100% like a museum it's actually really well suited for wedding events (good space for dancing, food vendor setup, cocktails/toasts, dining table setup). Nothing about the setup felt awkward or out of place - it was a perfectly natural place for wedding (excuse the pun!).

    In addition to being a really cool place with plenty of awesome exhibits to look at, the staff are exceptional. Everyone I worked with was very professional, and because of their experience and familiarity with weddings and other events they anticipated EVERYTHING. As is always the case with a big event, not everything went perfectly smoothly, but they handled everything that came their way with grace, and quickly. My contact was a wonderful woman named Dawn Swartout - if she suggests something to you logistics-wise, follow her advice, it's gold.

    I had a great experience there and can't imagine a better place to get married. It was wonderful.
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    Moira Sent on 08/04/2010
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    Dawn, the museum coordinator, was very easy to deal with and was incredibly responsive to all of my many questions! My husband and I chose to get married in the dinosaur room which had never been done before. This is a circular room so it posed a challenge when it came to set-up. Dawn was really terrific helping up us figure out the best layout so that all of our invited guests would be able to see everything. I would recommend the Museum of Natural History to anyone who is looking for a unique wedding experience for you and your guests!
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    Jessica Sent on 12/01/2009
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    The Delaware Museum of Natural History along with its coordinator and other staff were more than accomodating! They helped our reception go on without a hitch. Dawn was able to recommend a caterer who was excellent! The night was great and I wouldn't change a thing. Our guests loved the location and the pictures are something to remember! I myself am an event coordinator and would recommend the DMNH to anyone!
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    Frank Sent on 04/15/2009
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    The museum team was exceptional. They left nothing to chance. Preparation was detailed and delivery on the day of the event was meticulous. Staff went overboard to insure that our day was as perfect as it could be. They provided storage for our alcohol which we delivered in advance; they cleaned out the "fridge" so the white wine and beer would be cold; they accomodated the schedule of the tent people; they coordinated with our DJ and Caterer to adjust plans because of an extremely hot day and more, much more.

    There didn't seem to be a request that they were not willing to at least consider; most they just said OK. They even stored the left over cake for us after the wedding for me to pick up on Monday.

    Friendly, courteous, accomodating, professional, attentive, adaptive, competent are just a few of the words that describe the Musuem staff. This by the way includes everyone we dealt with at the Museum.

    A questions was asked at the beginning about the cost of the rental; I do not remember what it was but it was reasonable. The value we received against whatever the cost (even though I don't remember the cost) was exceptional. The goal of the Museum team clearly was to exceed out expectations.

    If the Museum could do something we wanted, they did it. No made up excuses from them; just exceed the customer's expectations. This included aspects of the contract to arrangements before, during and after the event, meeting times etc.

    You could not ask for a more accomodating professional staff. The facility drew wonderful comments from our guests and was truly unique. All of us were absolulely pleased.

    Finally, let me say that I had another daughter married just one year before, almost to the day. The venue we selected for her event, while elegant, did not even come remotely close to meeting the standards to which the Delaware Natural History Museum commits itself. The State run facility of the first wedding would receive no more than a two in any rating catagory above and most probably would receive ones.
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    Crystine Sent on 03/16/2012
    4.8 out of 5 rating
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    Dawn was such a pleasure to work with and very accommodating. My wedding was pretty hectic considering I was planning and trying to coordinate everything, and Dawn was super friendly and very helpful. I booked the entire museum/including the exhibit hall, and it worked out perfectly for my ceremony and reception. I would definitely consider renting the space again for another event.
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    Lindsey Sent on 08/08/2011
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    We had the most wonderful wedding at the Delaware Museum of Natural History! Dawn was extremely helpful and we found a wonderful caterer (Susan at Montrachet) and they worked together to help make this day happen. It was a lot of coordinating but definitely worth it, guests said was that it was the best wedding they'd ever been to! As for us, we loved the unique atmosphere and was definitely a fantastic day!
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    Lindsay Sent on 08/12/2010
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    Had our reception at DMNH. We both work in science, so the location fit us really well, plus the surrounding area is beautiful. When we were looking for reception halls (in West Chester and Wilmington), so many locations were on a highway with the less than scenic backdrop of car dealerships and strip malls.

    The facility fee is quite reasonable, considering that similar sites charge comparable fees but do not provide the staff that DMNH does. Dawn Swartout was a pleasure to work with, helpful at every stage of planning. Dawn and an additional staff member were at the reception which was a great help in set-up and keeping the evening running smoothly.

    We chose a date when the exhibit hall was occupied, so our dinner seating (140 guests) was split between the dinosaur and the mammal rooms. I had my doubts about how the galleries would look with tables for dinner. They looked great, and the whole arrangement (buffet in the canteen area, dance floor in the central atrium) worked really well. We even lucked out and got August weather that was cool enough to do cocktails on the patio.

    I deducted 1 star for flexibility because there are a few restrictions (no open flames, no decorations on the walls), but these were minor. I highly recommend DMNH. Everyone had fun at our wedding, and while we still would have had a great time elsewhere, the uniqueness of the location definitely contributed.
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    Alicia Sent on 06/07/2017
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    When searching for venues, my husband and I knew we didn’t want the generic country club, farmhouse, or ballroom wedding. We wanted something fun and unique, but also practical. I had been to the museum when I was younger and when it popped up on WeddingWire it looked like an awesome idea. From the start Alexis was very helpful and accommodating; she answered any questions we had through the whole planning process. We booked the venue after meeting with her at the museum for a walkthrough and knew it was our wedding location! On wedding day, everything went smoothly and Alexis coordinated with all of our vendors to make sure everything flowed smoothly. All of our guests just loved the museum and we honestly couldn’t have asked for a better day. The ceremony was held outside on the patio in front of the butterfly garden and the back field was a beautiful spot for our wedding party pictures. We chose to have dinner in the dinosaur room and dancing in the center atrium area. There was plenty of space for everything else like dancing, the guestbook, favors, card box, photobooth (in the African Watering Hole area), cake, etc. Thank you DMNH staff and especially Alexis for making our day special and memorable!
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    Tracy Sent on 08/11/2011
    4.7 out of 5 rating
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    The museum was the perfect ceremony and venue spot for my wedding. I wanted something different and interesting for my guests and they loved it! The museum was very flexible when we moved our ceremony indoors due to the rainy weather. There are many interesting photo opportunities at the museum plus the ability to really play into the nature/science theme. They even had a video nook where during cocktail hour we could show photos of my husband and I. Later we showed a movie for the kids who were at the wedding. Keep in mind a few things if booking this: choose the right caterer who is familiar with the museum (we had The Greenery), you need insurance, your dance floor space and guest count will be a bit limited due to space.
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    Rebecca Sent on 10/04/2008
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    For the longest time, I thought this museum was sort of a dumpy, fifth grade field trip kind of museum. Not one that you would have a wedding at, and certainly not one that was fabulous and chic. And that was true, up until a few years ago when the museum was completely gutted and remodeled. The museum was perfect for us. The Skylight Gallery, where we had our ceremony, was airy and full of natural light from all of the windows. The rest of the museum has interesting galleries, which was perfect for mingling during the cocktail hour, with lots of nooks and crannies, which were great for setting up bars and stations. And the Exhibit Hall was just the space we were looking for -- we wanted a raw, modern space with nothing on the walls. Really, a blank slate. It was a little hard to imagine what it would look like without an exhibit in there (we got married on one of the only weekends this year that the Exhibit Hall was empty), but once I saw it, I knew we had picked the perfect venue. Because it is a blank slate, you can do whatever you want -- any decor, any theme, any colors, it all works in there. It's really the perfect event space. It's just a shame that it's available so infrequently! (Most weddings they have are tent weddings in the back of the museum.)

    The first venue coordinator we were working with was a little flakey, but he left mid-way through the planning process. His replacement, Dawn Swartout, was phenomenal. She was quick to answer all of my questions and so helpful in providing assistance. She was very willing to meet with Erica Razze of Toscana Catering and spoke frequently with Christina Hill of cHill Weddings.

    One of the biggest perks of this venue is that they offered 3 babysitters for $180 for the entire night. They were Education staffmembers at the museum, and they really helped the kids have a ton of fun and the parents enjoy themselves. This was a great price and the fact that I didn't have to bring in yet another vendor was a huge load off my mind.

    The only downside, and this wasn't a huge downside but still one that I think I should mention, was that the museum was hypervigilant about getting us out of the museum by 11:30 because they had a museum event in the Exhibit Hall the following day. As such, they cut off the bar at 10:45 without telling my parents or I. I had clearly specified to the caterer that I wanted the bar to close at 11, but they had to listen to what the museum said. It was just a little strange that they made this decision without telling us. Like I said though, it wasn't a huge deal.
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    Denise Sent on 02/01/2012
    4.1 out of 5 rating
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    Our firm used this venue for our company holiday party and it turned out to be a quite a unique event. The staff was professional and accommodating and all of our needs were met in a timely fashion. I would recommend the Museum for anyone's special event.
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