Exhibits - Delmarva Discovery Center

Exhibits

The Delmarva Discovery Center will host exhibits about our watershed heritage. The total estimated exhibit construction and installation costs: $1,145,000 The following are brief descriptions of our exhibits.

Click here to read more and see a clickable floor plan.

Click here to read our plans for these exhibits in printable PDF.

Introduction

Upon entering the Delmarva Discovery Center, sound, smell, light, and ancient voices set the mood in this journey through what was, what is, and what could be on the Pocomoke River. Greeted by a large photo of the Pocomoke waterfront, visitors enter a world where thick moss and overgrowth hide a ceiling covered with branches and dim light blown lightly by quiet fans. The sounds of local working folk and wildlife echo through the forest while the calls of migrating snow geese can be heard in the distance.

Among the scene sit a rich collection of early settlement photos, duck blinds, decoys, farming utensils, and industry antiques set around castings of oysters, blue crabs and a river otter big enough for kids to sit on. Images of oystermen, sailors and ship builders complement the surroundings.

At the Discovery Center's theater, first-time visitors will learn about the past 300 years on the river. Narrated by Native Americans, the authentic dialogue sets the mood for the experience to evoke a sense of mystery. Focusing on why people came to the river, the dialogue brings home the great respect and love for the river and the region.

On one of the 5-minute recordings a child's voice describes an event. On another a woman talks about early settlement. Fading in and out, black-and-white images of early life depict people, unspoiled vistas, and ways of life. Reproductions of old paintings of the area help visitors visualize the way the Eastern Shore was. Voices come on and off with different images of early settlers-their stories told from their vantage point, helping to introduce the visitor to days gone bye.

Text panels within the theater point out the facts and significant points regarding the river and region. By the time the journey ends, the visitor realizes the significant changes that have occurred on the peninsula over the past four centuries.

Native people

This area shows native people in the full size diorama, as if visitors just walked into their camp. Set along the riverbank, trapping, fishing, hunting, cooking, and canoe carving make the scene a realistic step back in time.

The walk through the exhibit allows people to experience mother earth as did the native people of the Pocomoke. Visitors stand alongside the river on a pathway flanked by exhibits dotted with real artifacts. A small motor sways cypress branches as singing birds look down on the groups while they listen to Native Americans speak about hunting and fishing that day. In the background sits a full size mural of the river, swamp, and forest, complementing the canopy and blowing leaves above.

The exhibit will be active too as docents help visitors try their hand at basket making and treat them to traditional Indian foods. Food of all types will be on display as they would have been so long ago and smells from cooked foods will reinforce the experience.

The River

As visitors proceed to the banks of the river, they can stop to feel different types of mud and dig for small creatures. Tracks from eight different kinds of local Delmarva animals traverse the bank and forest floor. Each track leads to the discovery of the animal. The full complement of current and extinct animals of the swamp will be on display with text explaining their importance. These include life size models of great blue herons, American woodcocks, spotted sandpipers, tiger salamanders, five-lined skinks, musk turtles, painted turtles, river otters and coyotes.

As the visitor proceeds along the banks of the river the overhead tree canopy gets darker and darker. Tree trunks become more craggy and dense. The exhibit describes the root structure of the great bald cypress tree and roots are shown three dimensionally seemingly coming out of a mud bank.

As onlookers pass the panel of the full size root, they are greeted by a tall fish tank. Completely in the dark except for high filtered light, the fish tanks represent the first 10 feet of depth in the river. Fallen tree limbs and an abandoned skiff lie on the bottom. Sounds of rushing water and blasts of air help set the mood as the visitor winds along the large tank and down a ramp until confronted with what appears to be the hull of a ship.

As the area brightens and water depth decreases, visitors transition to saltwater marsh and its habitat. Trees still form the edge, but flora and fauna change with the environment. A wave machine creates the lapping of water within the swamp. Areas along the touch tank allow the visitor small kneeling platforms for varying heights and access to the water. Within the tank are several types of snails, shells, and crabs. Text panels set in this midst create a comfortable learning environment.

The Wharf and The Steamer

Once the visitor has passed through the salt marsh, he approaches a tall exhibit wall describing the shipbuilding industry. Containing a 24" long model of a steamboat and an 18" long model of a skipjack, the exhibit describes various shipyards and shipyard scenes. Past the exhibit wall rest a riverboat and dock.

In front of the dock are products that might have traveled the river including wood planks, cypress shingles, barrels containing grain, corn, flaxseed, tobacco, and feathers--all for the visitor to touch. Voices can be heard discussing goods and travel on the river. Real life stories from older community members bring the scene to life. A mannequin seated on a crate reading a paper is next to the gangway where visitors can sit alongside and read the same paper from the 1870's. At the other end of the dock is the wharf that is a full size walkthrough of a typical wharf warehouse replete with real water tanks at the dock to mimic lapping water and water smells. Three mannequins are loading materials onto the steamboat amidst vintage photos and artifacts that bring the scene to life.

As visitors walk up the gangplank to the steamer they pass a half-loaded supply of materials which lead into the storeroom. Inside, when a visitor sits on the bench alongside a person dressed in traditional clothing, the traveler begins to tell his story. With a fully visible machine room, the steamer's paddle wheels can be seen moving. Always in the background the steam engines rumble and the level intensifies once the wheels begin to turn.

The visitor can view upstairs to the pilot house where there is a mannequin at the helm with various charts, and artifacts that reinforce the exhibit. A docent acts as a deck hand who can tell the stories of the trips on the river including tales of past captains. Once through the steamer a map will indicate different routes and countries that goods from the region traveled to. The exhibit displays the Pocomoke/Delmarva connection to the world.

Shipbuilding and Woodworking

In this exhibit, a diorama reveals the shipbuilding yards of Delmarva. The area boasts full size examples of dugout canoes, smaller skiffs, bugeyes and sloops. Descriptions and drawings show why the boats were developed and what they were used for. A watercraft wall display graphically shows the crafts' developments and relationships while a large model of the most famous of Chesapeake bugeyes sits in a rotating display.

Visitors can also check out a small outbuilding with shipbuilding tools, shavings, and carvings and even a partially constructed skiff. A docent will be there to explain the various local techniques for the construction. Fully immersive in nature, the exhibit exudes the smells of the woodcrafting and through a window a mural can be seen with a full size skiff in water amongst marsh grass and the mud bank.

In the next entryway, visitors learn the principles of sailing and wind angles as they hoists full-size sails, gaffs and pull in the boom of a sailboat. The visitor will learn the difficulties in hoisting the sail with the gaff while heading into the wind or off wind. This area could not be complete without the bird carver shed. Inside the shed docents are seen carving various local birds. Examples of the birds, old and new, line the interior of shed with descriptions of each. Numerous bird species of differing levels of completeness show the significant carving strides required to completion.

Carving tools and a floor strewn with wood shavings signify the work completed and the history being made. Artifacts and tools can be viewed by pulling open drawers that have protective plexiglass. The smell of fresh wood, recordings of local bird carvers, and piles of older, used decoys in baskets authenticate the scene.

Fishing

This masterfully-produced exhibit details the history of fishing, the types of fish inhabiting the river, and how each contribute to both the human condition and the ecology of the Pocomoke.

It reveals which species live year-round in the river and which travel to the bay. Here visitors can learn what fish have disappeared and what effect that disappearance had on other wildlife and human populations. The importance of each species to native peoples puts the health of aquatic systems in perspective.

The exhibit includes information on crabs and oysters and in particular tonging for the delectable shellfish. A large water tank allows visitors to try their hand at the age-old art. Even the deck that the visitor stands on moves to simulate the deck of a ship. Next to the tank is a unique exhibit that returns visitors to the past when the fishing industry relied on small, hard-working industrious men to go to water. Artifacts, fishing gear, lifelike fresh fish, and shellfish take the curious back more than 100 years. Graphics show the relationship between the amounts of fish taken and time spent in a given day compared to later years and present-day fishing. Per hour wages and fishing technique revolutions tell an interesting tale.

Another part of the exhibit shows fish nets, how they are used, and their evolution. Numerous types of nets will be on display to observe and touch. In the backdrop, fishermen tell their stories of the river-the old stories of fish abundance and the tales of rough weather in the sound.

This section segues into the history and effects of pollution on the river and its relevance to both humans and wildlife.

Industry and the River

This final part of the exhibit rightly begins with a flow model of the Pocomoke. The large model reveals the path, speed, and distance of waters within the Delmarva Peninsula. A larger, more in-depth model shows the Pocomoke River and its vital statistics. A video screen showing a video of a flight above the river correlates with spots on the model.

The surrounding brick walls have old and new signs of industries and large companies which were either along the river or important to the Delmarva Peninsula. Text and a graphic show the locations of the companies and detail their years of operation. Fishing, shipbuilding, agriculture, timber, and the like are all represented.

Using high altitude maps, the exhibit shows the relationship of the river to agriculture and poultry farming. Runoff impact is shown as part of the mapping along with management practices undergone in recent years to curb runoff rates.

On a large 8'x10' screen, a satellite link with NOAA will show real time footage of the area. Ongoing experimentation, including water quality testing to gauge salinity, nutrients, dissolved oxygen, water clarity, water currents, and depth changes reveal a river in transition. Along with this, archeological work sheds light on this important area of study and reveals the challenges along with many finds from archeological work done in the watershed.

As visitors exit the center, they can enjoy short text stories of people who have lived on the river, love the river and care for its future. A large canopy of trees overhead, replete with forest sounds and smells, remind the visitor of the great cypress swamps they have just visited and the trees that have given life to the river throughout history. Large images of historic scenes along the river complete the transformation as visitors exit the Delmarva Discovery Center with a newfound understanding and appreciation of the river the Indians called "Pocomoke."

Click here to preview our plans for these exhibits in PDF.