DNREC’s DuPont Nature Center is located in the beautiful Mispillion Harbor, part of the Milford Neck Nature Preserve, where the Mispillion River and Cedar Creek meet and flow out into the Delaware Bay. It is a science-based educational and interpretive facility with interactive exhibits designed to connect people with the Delaware Bay’s natural history and ecology.
Patrick Ruhl
302-422-1329
The DuPont Nature Center is open April through September, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Center is closed from October through March.
The DuPont Nature Center offers educational programs and events from April through September. They include field excursions, lectures and hands-on activities.
Even when the Center is closed for the fall and winter, the accessible observation deck remains open from dawn to dusk each day. The deck offers views of the Mispillion Harbor and surrounding saltmarsh and sandy beach habitat as well as a view of the Delaware Bay.
Though the nature center is recognized as one of the best vistas on the East Coast for observing the spring shorebird migration, the viewing deck also provides excellent opportunities in the fall and winter months to view shorebirds to include dunlin, sanderlings and black-bellied plovers.
The Nature Center is located within the larger Milford Neck Nature Preserve, specifically nestled where the Mispillion River and Cedar Creek meet at the Delaware Bay. This vibrant area combines human activity in Mispillion Harbor, the diverse life of a tidal marsh, and the expanse of the Bay into one unique visitor experience.
The surrounding estuary habitat includes more than 130 species of birds, fish, shellfish, and other animals.
The Nature Center hosts the Mispillion Harbor Camera, focused on the intersection of the Mispillion River and Delaware Bay. The camera is supported by funding from the DuPont Clear into the Future grant program.
The DuPont Nature Center offers field trips, tours and other educational opportunities for schools, community groups, families and the general public!
Field trip opportunities for school groups and other educational and community organizations are offered from April through September. After the summer season, the Nature Center still offers outreach programs and public activities as available.
The Nature Center’s educational programs focus on an array of topics centered around life at the Delaware Bay and Estuary, including horseshoe crabs and other aquatic species, shorebirds, local history and more.
Structured tours of the Nature Center also are offered from April through September. Visitors will learn about horseshoe crabs, shorebirds and the Delaware Bayshore region as they are guided through the Nature Center’s exhibits.
Self-Guided Programs
Nature Center staff have created a set of self-guided programs for families or groups to print out and do on their own. They are great activities for a day at a Delaware Bay beach.
To schedule a field trip, tour, or outreach program, contact Patrick Ruhl, at 302-422-1329.
The DuPont Nature Center offers a variety of volunteer opportunities. Volunteers help staff the center and interact with the public, maintain aquariums and live aquatic species, assist with educational programs and help with facility maintenance.
For more information or to volunteer, please call 302-422-1329.
Related Topics: creek, delaware bay, dupont, education, fish and wildlife, harbor, mispillion, nature center, river
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