Children’s wing set to open at Lewes History Museum

“There’s nothing like this south of Wilmington,” said Lewes Historical Society Executive Director Mike DiPaolo. 

Officials say the new interactive Children’s Discovery Center at the Lewes History Museum is one of a kind in southern Delaware. 

The long-awaited children’s wing at the museum is set to open to the public at noon, Saturday, Dec. 8, offering an interactive learning experience for children of all ages.

It has been in the works since planning for the Lewes History Museum began several years ago, and a committee comprising parents, teachers, daycare workers and others fleshed out the plan.

The most noticeable feature of the room is a large replica of the Cape Henlopen Lighthouse with a lighthouse keeper’s house. Lewes historian Hazel Brittingham donated a piece of the lighthouse lens, DiPaolo said, and it will be used to teach children the importance of a lens in a lighthouse.

Lewes’ history is connected to the sea, and several areas allow children to explore just that. Kids will learn about a breakwater and how it is constructed, and they will be able to build their own with foam blocks.

In another area, kids can tie knots and build boats using small wooden pieces. On an accompanying touch screen, users can build ships, choose cargo and pick a destination. The boat will then take a journey, and the success of the trip will depend on the chosen cargo, length of trip and how long it took to build the boat.

“A load of peaches to Milton in the summer may not be too tough, but taking a load of bricks in to New York in the winter may be a bit of a challenge,” DiPaolo said.

Likely the highlight of the Discovery Center is a state-of-the-art river boat simulator, made possible by Capt. James S. Roberts. With six large computer screens placed in a semicircle, the user is transported right into the captain’s chair of a large cargo ship, a small patrol boat or other common vessels using the Delaware Bay and Delaware River. Equipped with a captain’s wheel and throttle controls, kids and adults have four minutes to navigate five different locations in the bay and river in various ships.

The simulator is the exact program Delaware River pilots use in training, DiPaolo said.

The children’s wing also has a general store identical to the one sitting on the historical society’s Shipcarpenter campus and an open area where children can do various activities.

The open area will have a smart board, allowing schools from across the state to virtually visit the museum.

“That’s something we’re really, really excited about,” DiPaolo said. “In Delaware, we’re one of a few museums able to do it.”

DiPaolo expects the museum and children’s wing to attract students visiting with their classmates, but he said he’s hoping it will also be an attraction for families. It is free and open during regular museum hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., daily. It’s perfect for families that do not feel like traveling to Washington, D.C., or Philadelphia for an interactive learning experience.

“To have an option like this here is amazing,” he said. “There’s going to be more people as the region continues to grow. It’s not just retirees. It’s younger people too. We want to make sure they feel included and have something to do, and hopefully they’ll see the value in what we do too.”

The Lewes History Museum is part of the Margaret H. Rollins Community Center, which opened in July 2017 in the former library on Adams Avenue. For more information about the museum and the historical society, go to www.historiclewes.org.