Hey there! We recently got a letter from a far-away fifth grader asking what is it like here in Manchester, New Hampshire’s Queen City.  So we thought a few other people might be interested in hearing our answers too. The SEE Science Center has always been located in Manchester, the largest city in New Hampshire and our character is influenced by our surroundings.

SEE is located in Manchester’s millyard.  Built by the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company who operated in the city for about 100 years, the company was once the largest textile manufacturer in the world.  The millyard was built along the Merrimack River in order to use water power.  The mills stretch more than a mile along the river and give our area a unique look.

Manchester is home to innovators.  Two of the most famous are Dean Kamen and Ralph Baer.  Dean Kamen invented the Segway, the iBot wheelchair, and the Luke Arm – and those are just the most well known, there are many more which are more important.  Right now he is working with a large group of people and organizations to develop the technology to create an industry for regenerative medicine to supply tissues and organs to patients who need transplants. Ralph Baer is no longer living but is known as the father of video games.  He invented the “brown box” console to connect to a TV and the game Pong.  He designed many other games and toys.  You can see and learn about some of their inventions here at the SEE Science Center.

Manchester is the largest city in New Hampshire.  New Hampshire is the 5th smallest state.  It is possible to move around and see many different features without a long drive.  From Manchester you can go to the beach and see the Atlantic Ocean in about 45 minutes. You can get to many lakes including our largest one Winnipesaukee which has 260 islands, in about an hour. If you drive 90 minutes you can reach the White Mountains including the highest point in our state (6288 Feet) Mount Washington.  It is also the tallest peak in the northeast and you can hike, drive or take a railway to the top. You can also travel to the city of Boston in Massachusetts in about an hour for a big city experience including MLB, NBA, and NHL teams.  Which is not to say we don’t have professional sports right here.  Manchester is home to the NH Fisher Cats, a AA minor league baseball team affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Fun Facts about Manchester

• Manchester was called Amoskeag by the Penacook tribe meaning it was a good place to fish.  Early settlers called their settlement Derryfield but was renamed after Manchester England in 1810 and was incorporated as a city in 1846.
• Adam Sandler grew up and went to school here.
• The chicken tender was created in Manchester in 1974. Manchester declared the title “chicken tender capital of the world” in 2023.
• The co-founders of McDonalds were born and grew up in Manchester.
• The city hosts the world’s largest Taco tour each spring.

Fun facts about New Hampshire:

• NH is known as “The Granite State”.
• The “Old Man of the Mountain” was a very famous rock formation on the side of a mountain that looked like the profile of an old man.
  It finally collapsed in 2003, but the image is still on our license plates today.
• Our state animal is the white-tailed deer.
• Our state tree is the white birch.
• Our state flower is purple lilac.
• Our state bird is the purple finch.
• Our state population is approximately 1.4 million people, and we have 9,304 square miles of land.
• We are 1 of 6 New England states, the only state that borders Maine, and we also border Canada.
• We were the first state to declare its independence from England in 1775. We are the 9^th state and one of the original 13 colonies.
• We hold the “first in the nation” presidential primary every 4 years.
• We are one of only 5 states that do not have a sales tax and one of only 9 that has no income tax, but our property taxes are the 6^th highest of any state.
• We have the smallest coastline (approximately 13 miles) of any state that touches the ocean.
• We have 4 distinct seasons.  People come to visit the beaches and mountains in the summer, for leaf peeping in the fall and for skiing in the winter.

Manchester, NH is a unique place and the SEE Science Center is proud to be part of the fabric of our community.