Museum FAQs

The Montshire is open 7 days a week, 10am to 5pm.

Summer Admission

June through September

• $19 for adults
• $16 for children 2–17
• Free for members and children under 2 years of age.

General Admission

September through May

• $18 for adults
• $15 for children 2–17
• $3 for Warm Welcome visitors (See guidelines for Warm Welcome)
• Discount for active or retired military with ID
• Free for members and children under 2 years of age.

Student Admission

• Check out our Visit with Students page for this information.

Museum admission can be paid on the day of the visit. Advanced registration is no longer being offered. All visitors, including those walking the trails, need to purchase admission.

To limit the potential spread of infection, cashless transactions are encouraged. However, cash may be used to purchase tickets at the Admissions Desk.

In case of severe weather conditions (such as electrical storms) or the threat of severe weather (such as thunder), visitors must take shelter in the museum building or their personal vehicles.

The Museum grounds must close if there is thunder or lightning and cannot reopen until 30 minutes after the last thunderclap.

Please check the weather forecast before your visit to help you plan accordingly.

Children under age 13 must be accompanied by an adult when on museum property. Issues with unaccompanied children will result in the children being asked to leave the museum property.

The Montshire has no reciprocity with other museums or institutions.

No. The Montshire’s grounds and gate close at 5pm.

It can be exciting to visit the museum, but please be mindful of your personal safety as well as the safety of others. The museum is hands on, and everyone wants to explore and experience all aspects of the museum.

Please be considerate of all visitors and share museum exhibits—taking turns is where it’s at. Treat all Museum exhibits with respect. Refrain from running inside the museum. Help us keep the Museum neat by cleaning up any messes that you make, and let Museum staff know if a mess requires assistance. Accidents happen, so please let us know if you damage an exhibit, or if you are injured. We are here to help.

The following Museum policies and visitor guidelines are in place to help ensure a safe, engaging, and flexible learning environment.

• Visit Only If Healthy — Museum visitors must show no symptoms of illness. Visitors must not enter the Montshire building or grounds if they are unwell or experiencing any symptoms of illness.

• Face Coverings and Masks — Masks are encouraged but not required.

• Practice Healthy Hand Hygiene — We ask that all visitors wash their hands or use hand sanitizer upon entry and frequently throughout their visit. The Montshire has upgraded our restrooms with touchless features and increased the availability of hand-washing and hand-sanitizing stations throughout our building and grounds.

• Maintain Social Distance — Social distancing has proven to be an effective measure in decreasing the risk of infection. We encourage one visitor group per exhibit and for visitor groups to stay together (all children must stay with adults at all times).

• Stay Together with Your Group — Visitor groups should stay together in the Museum. One visitor group per exhibit. Children must stay with their adults at all times.

No. The Montshire’s trails and museum grounds all close at 5pm.

Our Wonder Woods exhibit is restricted to very small children, ages 0-5.

Grown ups whose children span 0 to 5+ are welcome to bring older sibs into Wonder Woods, but the bigs must play gently and make sure the littles have priority use of the space. If older children are not respectful of the littles, the whole family will be asked to leave Wonder Woods.

The museum can be a very busy, exciting place. Feel free to ask your children to return to the front desk if they lose you so staff can reunite you quickly. Alternatively, pick a favorite exhibit in the museum and ask them to meet you there if you get separated.

If you lose your child, the fastest way to find them is to let a person in a red apron or the front desk staff know immediately. They can mobilize the rest of the team to help find the child. If we find a child who has lost their grown up, we use our public address system to reunite them.

The elevator is available for all guests who would like to use it. All children must be accompanied when in the elevator. Any children using the elevator by themselves will be asked to get their grown up to accompany them.

If visitors are verbally or physically threatening to staff or other visitors, brandishing weapons, physically harming themselves or others, sexually harassing, or otherwise intentionally damaging visitor experience, personal property and/or museum property, they will be asked to leave.

Unaccompanied children under age 13 will be asked to sit by the front door, and staff will do their best to call a grown up to come pick them up.

Social distancing has proven to be an effective measure in decreasing the risk of infection. We encourage one visitor group per exhibit and for visitor groups to stay together (all children must stay with adults at all times).

Several nature trails on the Quinn Nature Preserve are wheelchair accessible with assistance. The paths in Science Park consist of loose gravel; some areas are wheelchair accessible with assistance.

Generally, the first floor exhibit spaces and bathrooms are entirely wheelchair accessible. Second floor exhibit spaces can be reached by elevator.

Those are the Montshire’s Explainers. A mixture of volunteers and Education staff, Explainers help answer visitor questions, engage with and maintain exhibits, and provide activities in the Science Discovery Lab. Please feel free to ask them anything, including if you need any help throughout your visit.

No food and drink except water are allowed in the museum galleries. In the spring, summer and early fall, picnic tables are located in the Pavilion, Mertz Meadow, and along the east and south side of the parking lot. The Snack Zone provides four tables for eating indoors year round.

Picnic food and beverages may be stored in the coat room until needed. Coffee, smoothies and other beverages are not allowed in the galleries and may be stored in the coat room, consumed outdoors or in the Snack Zone.

Vending machines are available, but there is no cafe or food for sale on site. Museum staff are happy to direct you to a local cafe or restaurant, and you are welcome to bring your own provisions for a day at the museum.

The Museum Store is open the same hours as the museum. Admission is not required to shop, but please check in at the front desk. Children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult when in the store.

​There is free parking available at the Museum parking lot.

Only service dogs are permitted on museum grounds. Staff may ask ADA approved questions to ensure the dog is trained to do work.

Dogs and other pets are prohibited in the building and on the grounds. They are allowed in the parking lot, but must not be left in vehicles on warm (70+) or cold (40 and below) days.

If an animal in a vehicle is consistently barking or showing other signs of stress, the visitor will be contacted by Museum staff and may be asked to leave. If the owner cannot assist, Museum staff may utilize Vermont Statute 13 V.S.A. § 386 to address the situation.

Please check in at the desk and pay admission (free for members). Our trails are not open to the public, as they are part of the museum. The nearest public trail is the Hazen Trail, accessible from the top of our driveway, just to the south.

There is no swimming or boating allowed off the Montshire property. The water in Science Park is turned on from May-September.

No. Dogs are not allowed on any Montshire trails unless they are a service dog. Please check in at the front desk before hiking with your service dog.