Highest-rated specialty museums in Delaware by visitors

Written by:
September 3, 2025
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Highest-rated specialty museums in Delaware by visitors

In 1683, Elias Ashmole, an Oxford graduate and true polymath, founded the Ashmolean, the modern world's first public museum. Stocked with his private collection of artifacts, curios, and special scientific equipment, the goal of the museum was to create a center for practical research and the advancement of knowledge. This, Ashmole felt, was a goal "very necessary to humaine life, health [and] the conveniences thereof."

According to figures from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, there are more than 35,000 museums in the United States today. Their collections encompass everything from modern art, like at the MoMA in New York City, to mustard, like at the National Mustard Museum in Middleton, Wisconsin, and everything in between.

Museums are anchors of our communities. The American Alliance of Museums reports that museums support more than 725,000 jobs and contribute upwards of $50 billion to the U.S. economy each year. Three-quarters of Americans agree that museums are an important part of our civil society and have an important role in promoting knowledge and civic engagement.

Beyond their educational and economic significance, museums are just plain fun. Whether you have a developed interest in natural history or just want to learn a little bit more about funerary history (the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston), there's sure to be a museum that strikes your interest. There's simply nothing else quite like spending an afternoon learning about famous figures, arts and crafts, military history, or what else you fancy.

Here, Stacker compiled a list of the highest-rated specialty museums in Delaware on Tripadvisor as of Aug. 13, 2025. Keep reading to see what unique museums are in your home state. Then, make sure to plan a visit. With many museums facing funding cuts due to the current administration's efforts to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services, who's to say how much longer these treasure troves will be available to us?

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#12. Delaware State Police Museum and Education Center

- Rating: 4.5/5 (21 reviews)
- City: Dover
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#11. Delaware Aviation Museum

- Rating: 4.9/5 (23 reviews)
- City: Georgetown
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#10. Nanticoke Indian Museum

- Rating: 4.2/5 (33 reviews)
- City: Millsboro
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#9. DuPont Nature Center

- Rating: 4.5/5 (30 reviews)
- City: Milford
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#8. Kalmar Nyckel Foundation

- Rating: 4.1/5 (49 reviews)
- City: Wilmington
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#7. Cannonball House

- Rating: 4.0/5 (72 reviews)
- City: Lewes
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#6. Rehoboth Beach Museum

- Rating: 4.4/5 (56 reviews)
- City: Rehoboth Beach
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#5. Indian River Life-Saving Station Museum at Delaware Seashore State Park

- Rating: 4.5/5 (101 reviews)
- City: Rehoboth Be
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#4. Lightship Overfalls

- Rating: 4.6/5 (102 reviews)
- City: Lewes
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#3. Johnson Victrola Museum

- Rating: 4.8/5 (152 reviews)
- City: Dover
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#2. DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum

- Rating: 4.5/5 (170 reviews)
- City: Fenwick Island
- Read more on Tripadvisor

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#1. Air Mobility Command Museum

- Rating: 4.9/5 (1,258 reviews)
- City: Dover
- Read more on Tripadvisor

This story features data reporting by Wade Zhou, writing by Madison Troyer, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 51 states.

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