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About Dayton Society of Natural History

Location:

2600 DeWeese Parkway, Dayton, OH 45414, US

Mission Statement

The mission of the Dayton Society of Natural History is to educate and enlighten all people of the region about the wonders of the world through the work of the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, SunWatch Indian Village/Archaeological Park, and Fort Ancient Earthworks and Nature Preserve.

Description

The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery is based on the understanding that science is the process through which we come to understand our world, and that play is the way children do science. Thus, we are a place where play and learning come together so that visitors of all ages can explore the wonders of the world. The Museum includes a host of places for adventure: the Hall of the Universe, the Caryl D. Philips Space Theater, Oscar Boonshoft Science Central, the Mead TreeHouse, Bieser Discovery Center, The Discovery Zoo, and two galleries for temporary exhibits. Adventures are enhanced through real specimens and artifacts from the museum's collection of 1.8 million items.

Our sister site, SunWatch Indian Village, brings to life the 900 year old Fort Ancient culture. Here visitors of all ages can experience the daily lives of these members of Dayton's first neighborhood.

SunWatch currently combines experimental archaeological research, including the reconstruction of the Fort Ancient structures in their original 13th century locations, with an interpretive center that exhibits many of the artifacts that have been recovered from the site. The village reconstruction includes five lath and daub structures with grass thatch roofs, portions of a stockade, and a native garden and prairie with plants typical of the period. Inferred astronomical alignments originate from a complex of posts at the center of the village that have also been replaced.