Join us beginning Wednesday, August 3, 2022, to experience the reimagined Cochechosystem Nature exhibit at the Children's Museum of New Hampshire. Celebrating the vibrant wildlife along the state's Cochecho River, visitors will be immersed in the sights, sounds and activities of the animals and people who make their lives along New Hampshire’s rivers.

The Cocheco River is a tidal river, which flows through the Children’s Museum’s backyard and feeds into the Piscataqua River. When families enter the Cochecosystem Nature exhibit, they are introduced to a river ecosystem inhabited by osprey, beavers, and fish, all creatures who use rivers to engineer their lives. With floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the actual river, the Cochecosystem Nature exhibit demonstrates how rivers throughout New England support thriving ecosystems of many interdependent creatures.

"The Museum's Cochechosystem Nature exhibit upgrades incorporate new activities to encourage deeper family engagement and appreciation for the natural world," said Jane Bard, Museum President. New components include welcoming children to dress up as beavers, build lodges and feed their young kits, watch the osprey guard their nest as they add to their own, fish on the exhibit's riverbank, hop aboard the replica gundalow and load cargo for a trip upriver and take a close look at the river outside.

New signs in the exhibit are designed to help facilitate imaginative play and critical thinking skills.

In addition to exploring the exhibit on August 3, visitors are invited to join our educators to explore beaver artifacts and make their own beaver paw track to take home at 10am and 2pm. This project is generously supported by The Roger R. and Theresa S. Thompson Endowment Fund.

Families planning to visit the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire on any day are asked to reserve online to help the museum maintain capacity limits. Adults and children over the age of 12 months are $12.50, seniors (65+) are $10.50 and kids under 12 months and Members are FREE. Museum hours are Tuesdays - Saturdays, 9am-noon or 1-4pm, and Sundays 9am-noon. The Tuesday morning play session from 9am-noon is mask required for everyone over the age of 24 months, while all other hours are mask optional. To make reservations or learn more about the museum, visit here.