DOVER – The DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor Reserve, a DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife facility located in the heart of Delaware’s Bayshore Region, will reopen Wednesday, April 4 after being closed for the winter. The center will operate from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays through the end of April. From May 1 through Aug. 30, spring and summer hours will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays. For the month of September, the center will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays only.

Prior to reopening day, the DuPont Nature Center will hold a volunteer spring cleanup day from 1-3 p.m. Sunday, March 18. Projects include exhibit and tank set-up, deck maintenance, painting, planting beach grass and cleaning the center and the surrounding grounds. Volunteers under age 18 must provide a parental consent form, and volunteers under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult. For more information or to sign up to volunteer, contact Lynne Pusey at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 302-422-1329.

Located on the edge of Mispillion Harbor at the intersection of the mouths of the Mispillion River and Cedar Creek, the DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor Reserve offers a variety of interactive exhibits and educational programs. Spring and summer programs can be viewed at http://de.gov/dnc. Indoor freshwater and saltwater tanks allow a close-up look at a variety of aquatic species, from horseshoe crabs to diamondback terrapins.

In the spring, the center’s large deck overlooking the harbor offers wildlife watchers an unparalleled view of the spectacle of spawning horseshoe crabs and migrating shorebirds, including red knots, that depend on horseshoe crab eggs to help fuel their 9,000-mile journey.

The DuPont Nature Center is located at 2992 Lighthouse Road, near Slaughter Beach, east of Milford. Admission to the center is free and open to the public. For general information about the center, please call 302-422-1329 or visit DuPont Nature Center. For inquiries about the center’s programs and operations, please contact Lynne Pusey, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 302-422-1329.

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