The Delaware Art Museum is an art museum located in Wilmington, Delaware. Nestled in a tree-lined block, surrounded by beautiful homes, and walking distance from Rockford Tower Park, it’s well-designed enough that it doesn’t look gaudy, but unique enough that it stands out. With an outdoor maze and sculpture garden in the back, you can easily spend a full day exploring the museum and it’s surrounding area.
When you first walk in you’re greeted by friendly front desk attendees, where you can purchase your ticket. They’ll inform you about the exhibits they have in rotation for the month and encourage you to grab a map, especially if it’s your first time.
It has all that you would anticipate at an art-museum with pre-Raphaelite art, exclusive exhibits and pieces from many amazing artists in history. However, what makes this museum a little different than one perhaps in another city is that there also feature art created by artists in the Brandywine school – in support of the area close to where the museum resides. They have rotating exhibits with everything from sculptures to magic art where you can only view it using a specific pair of glasses and your cellphone light. There’s over 10 galleries that you can browse through.
Despite the fact that we’ve been quite a few times over the years, you’re bound to see something different each time. Even the artwork you’ve probably viewed before, you may walk back into the museum later on and interpret it differently or notice something you didn’t before. There’s been a few times that we’ve gone to the museum, browsed a gallery we’ve already seen and said, “did you notice this before?”
If this is your first time going, however, there’s definitely a few things you should keep in mind as you explore the museum that we’ve learned after being frequent visitors of the museum ourselves. Here’s some things we’d recommend doing and keeping mind before you go!
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO TO THE DELAWARE ART MUSEUM
There Isn’t a Bus That Stops Directly in Front of the Museum
There doesn’t appear to be a bus or form of public transportation that stops directly in front of the museum. However, there are buses that stop on the streets closer to Trolley Square, but you will definitely have a bit of a walk to get there. We’d recommend driving or taking a rider share car there.
It’s Free on Sundays!
If you’re a student or someone hoping to explore a museum on a budget, Sundays are the day to go! You can visit any Sunday from April to December and pay whatever you can afford to pay, which can be regular price or nothing at all. If you can donate, I do recommend giving a little something just to support the museum, but otherwise, it’s completely free for you to explore and enjoy!
They Frequently Hold Events & Workshops There
In normal circumstances, they have workshops and events that you can attend. They offer everything from metal-smithing to drawing to painting and ceramics. It’s a great opportunity if you are a student, an artist looking to improve your craft, or someone looking for a fun date night to explore some of their options for classes.
Go Early
We recommend that you visit the museum early for your first time for a few reasons. The first reason is that it gives you more time to explore everything the museum has to offer from its indoor to its outdoor exhibits. The second reason is that depending on the day you go, you’ll beat the crowds and have more time exploring some of the exhibits without having to feel rushed to move to the next one. While it does depend on the day and what exhibits are being featured, I’d say most times if you go early, you’ll get the head start you need so you can enjoy the museum at the pace you desire.
There’s a Sculpture Garden & Labyrinth!
This is definitely one of the coolest features and the most unique of the museum. While quite a few museums in our area have sculpture gardens or outdoor exhibits, few of them have an outdoor labyrinth that you can walk through. It’s definitely an area we’d recommend visiting on a nice day in the spring or summer when the plants are blooming.
Those are our recommendations regarding what you should know before you visit the museum! If you haven’t been yet and are visiting the area, we think you’ll truly enjoy it! If you’re not in the area and have come across this during the pandemic, however, we encourage you to make sure that you’re frequently checking Delaware’s website for their travel restrictions and make sure you’re respecting the restrictions set by the museum. We have not gone since the pandemic began, but judging from their website, it looks like they’re hoping to reopen sometime in the summer of this year.
If you go, we’d love to know what you think!
Have you ever been to The Delaware Art Museum? If so, what did you think? If not, what’s an art museum in your area you’ve loved and would recommend?
