Wild and Scenic Film Festival

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival comes to the museum with three special programs developed for students as part of Plastic Free Delaware’s initiative to bring the films to schools in the Mid-Atlantic region. Each weekend is designed for a different age group – but all are welcome – and includes approximately one hour of short featured films along with themed activities.

Join us September 9-11, October 14-16, and November 11-13. Details are below for upcoming weekends!

The Wild and Scenic Film Festival on Tour has been curating and touring inspiring film festivals across the country since 2003, but Plastic Free Delaware is the first to bring their new grade-centered film programs to schools on the east coast. We’re delighted to host the program this year.

Show times:

5 p.m. Friday as part of Flex Hour Fridays, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Free with general admission or with DelMNS or Winterthur memberships. Pre-registration is preferred for the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, regular museum admission may be purchased in advance or at the door.



October 14-16: Becoming an Activist and Activism through Art  

Geared to grades 9-12 
Featured films include:

An Alaskan Fight

Sometimes conservation can feel like an ultramarathon. In this short biopic, runner and wild fish advocate Sam Snyder fights for Bristol Bay, Alaska over the course of a decade and learns the meaning of home and place in the process.

Hidden Wild

Join science educator Alex Freeze as she takes three South Florida students on an expedition to discover the wilderness hidden in their own backyards.


November 11-13: Monarch Migration

Geared to grades 5-8
Featured films include:

Protecting the Monarch Butterfly

Monarch butterflies have one of the longest migrations of any insects, so they depend on critical habitats for their survival during their long journey. Organizations like the Pollinator Conservation Association are committed to protecting and restoring habitat to help save this iconic species.

If You Give a Beach a Bottle

Inspired by a picture book, Max Romey heads to a remote beach on Alaska’s coastline in search of marine debris. What he finds is a different story altogether.


The Wild & Scenic Film Festival School Program is partially funded by a grant from Delaware Humanities, a Delaware state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The screening of the Wild and Scenic Film Festival at the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science is supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on www.DelawareScene.com.


Our sponsors include:


The Wild & Scenic Film Festival was started by the watershed advocacy group, the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) in 2003. The festival’s namesake is in celebration of SYRCL’s landmark victory to receive “Wild & Scenic” status for 39 miles of the South Yuba River in 1999. The 5-day event features over 150 award-winning films and welcomes over 100 guest speakers, celebrities, and activists who bring a human face to the environmental movement. The home festival kicks-off the international tour to communities around the globe, allowing SYRCL to share their success as an environmental group with other organizations. The festival is building a network of grassroots organizations connected by a common goal of using film to inspire activism. With the support of National Partners: Peak Design, Hipcamp, EarthJustice, Miir and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, the festival can reach an even larger audience.