the children's museum of connecticut

Many, many interesting things to do and see, different levels, varied things, some for toddlers, then right on up thru the ages, elementary kids mostly, thou parents were doing plenty. Quite a selection of reptiles, bunnies, geckos and even a a bobcat!! Great informative feeding time too, need to see for yourself!

I have a college age son, when he was little we lived here many a cold snowy winter day or gloomy spring rainy day. This summer I took my visiting nephews there and deeply regretted it. What use to be a museum that really introduced children to science in fun and educational ways has become nothing but a very overpriced indoor playground. Most of the science exhibits have been removed and replaced with toys. And the cost, which I think was close to $15 for an adult and not much less for children, was ridiculous. Steer clear.

I almost didn't go based on the reviews here, but I am glad we went. I took my two daughters ages 4 and almost 7. We spent 4 hours there. We packed a lunch and there are tables in the lego section to use for snack time/lunch. There is plenty to do and the girls loved all the animals. It is expensive, but check with your library for a pass and it will be buy one get one free admission.

My family spent about 2.5 hours at this museum, with the kids spending most of their time in the animal areas and lego "display". The animal areas (Wildlife Sanctuary, Lizard Liar, Turtle Town) had about 40-50 animals, and the kids enjoyed "meeting" the chinchilla (where the staff did a little presentation and allowed the children to pet the chinchilla). The Lego area consisted of 2 activities - building with duplos towers that could withstand earthquakes and building lego cars to race. The area looks like it used to have more things in the room. The traveling display on Nano World was a bit over my kids' heads (5 years old), but they did enjoy the ball pit (which represented a blood drop and the kids had to find the white blood cell). They tried to spend time in the ElectiCity, but the parts were missing so the circuits couldn't be built, or the batteries had no power left...which defeats the purpose. There was also a building area with form blocks and Linkin' Logs, but my kids didn't really spend too much time there because there were older kids who kind of took over the areas. Overall, the museum could be a great place to visit, but definitely needs some updating. This museum is part of the ASTC reciprocal membership program, so we got in free with our local Science Centre membership.

The museum was a hands on museum that allowed children to touch, engage and experience the various exhibits and educational attractions. Suitable for children of all ages. Adults are encourage to participate with their child.

So let me start with the fact that growing up in the West Hartford area, I have been the the children's museum (formally the science center) many times. My oh my has it changed. The really fun hands on room is gone. Now there is only a Lego building to look at and a vending machine. The big exhibit room is now (from what I can tell) the gift shop. The outdoor animal enclosures are so pitiful. They have a raccoon in between a bobcat and Linx. Poor thing cried the whole time looking for a way out. Sad to say I won't be coming back. It was good while it lasted (ten years ago)

Great place to bring 8 and 11 years old. Loved the whale spraying water .Lizards and many of them were girls favorites.Could of had more butterflies in the out door area.A little overpriced but we had a groupon discount.Kept very clean.

If your child has already completed the third grade, they won't enjoy this museum. It is definitely for younger children. Older children, especially teens, can better bored pretty quickly.I thought the giant whale was weird and stupid, yet it was the best part of the museum. Apparently, the manager doesn't understand how to attract children. It really is kind of boring.I don't know whether a young child will actually like it.

Unless your child is into animals then they would probably be bored very quickly. My son was bored and wanted to leave within 45 minutes. It's very overpriced. Thank goodness I had the groupon and didn't pay full price. They offer a room for 4 year olds and under which is basically an empty room with a playhouse and a ramp that leads to a platform in it. The "lego room" had preassemled structures where they could push buttons and have the structures move and 2 bins of Legos to play with. It wasn't worth my time or money to go there.

We visited with a 2, 3 and 4 -yr. old. They had a great time looking at the turtles/snakes, not so much the butterflies, but were crazy about going inside the whale. Didn't see any of the programs offered because of the time element. If we took full advantage, it may have been worth the price. Attention span for that age is difficult. They loved the room with the blocks. Actually had a better time at the playground at McDonald's down the road.

had admission for 4 from a groupon and took my 3 and 1/2 year old. she had a blast, but then again she has a blast almost anywhere. the place was a ghost town on the sunday we went (fathers day weekend) she loved the animals and getting to pet a snake, the butterfly habitat was pretty nice. I've been to better children's museums in CT and MA, if I had to pay full price I would agree with other posters here that it really isn't worth the money. not at all handicap accessable which kind of surprised me so leave the stroller in the car. the "lego" area is pretty desolate, looks like they used to have more.

My wife and I took our two year and spent five minutes there. This place was total chaos. The lady at the counter was to busy doing something on her phone to help us. Once we paid the over price rates for entrance we attempted to enjoy a day with our daughter. There were a ton of unruly, rude, and unsupervised 7-10 year olds from several different schools. So bad that our daughter didn't want to play at all, she even said dada these kids are bad. We approached the management and were told that they have spoken to the adults in the groups several times throughout their visit and that they would be leaving soon. Needless to say, we didn't stay. The only good thing to say about this place was that our money was returned. I would not recommend this place to anyone nor will I ever return to this establishment.

We brought our toddler here on a weekday and due to the staff's failure to supervise several school groups (school busses said New Britain/Meriden), we immediately asked for a refund and left. The museum was chaos: children throwing Legos, making a mess, banging the animals' cages/glass, pushing/shoving other kids and chaperones and staff doing nothing. We talked to the manager and CEO, who "checked" on the situation, but not before we took our very disappointed little girl and left. DON'T GO.

The place needs updating badly. Staff was friendly but almost nowhere to be found in the actual museum. $50+ for my wife and I and two kids. Lego area had a little raceway but not enough wheels for all the kids to build one. Utter frustration all around. Animal enclosures need a lot of work. Save your money and go somewhere else.

The room for the four and under crowd with it's play house and kitchen, puzzles and magnetic board was our 2.5 year old granddaughter's favorite area until some absentminded parents disregarded the clearly marked signs and allowed their rambunctious older children run around in there (and no, it wasn't a single parent with a child under 4 and one older, these kids were ALL older with an equal number of parents). Perhaps museum staff should monitor the room so the little peeps don't get bullied and run over. While the geckos, lizards, alligator, foxes, snakes, etc... were interesting to see, their habitats left a lot to be desired. The building areas downstairs near the planetarium were great areas for all ages - even adults enjoyed building using various 'construction' materials.Compared to Kid City in Middletown, this museum had less interactive activities for all ages and was rundown. Nonetheless, we spent 3 hours there...We'd return to Kid City and pay the $8.00 vs. $14.75/adults and $13.75/children over 2.