School is almost out and when it rains, no one wants their kids cooped up with nothing to do.
All around Connecticut are kids’ museums and other fun locations to stay dry, learn something new and experience something amazing. They are the perfect opportunities for parents to allow their children to explore, express their imagination and keep up with many of their school topics.
Let the children loose at the Connecticut Science Center where they are featuring a special exhibit until September called the Science of Pixar. Discover animation and what makes your child’s favorite movie come to life. If your children are into airplanes, the New England Air Museum may be the perfect fit to get inside a real aircraft and see what it’s like to be a pilot.
Here are 10 spots around the state that are great for a summer spot. The best part? They are all indoors.
Connecticut Science Center
250 Columbus Blvd. Hartford, CT
Kids will love the bright and educational exhibits of the science center. Explore Science Alley or the KidSpace, hang out with the butterflies or learn about engineering, sight and sound among many other topics. Until September, the center has the Science of Pixar as a special exhibit and Forest of Illusions will be returning in the fall.
Kidcity
119 Washington St., Middletown, CT
Perfect for kids ages 1 to 7, Kidcity has three floors of imagination for kids to play. Kidcity is a “one-of-a-kind children’s museum for the early years, where little kids and their favorite grown-ups play pretend together.” Each whimsical room is handmade by the artist crew to jumpstart imagination play. Reservations are required.
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Imagine Nation
One Pleasant St., Bristol, CT
Imagine Nation is a unique space in which it combines a series of museum studios and a preschool. Now open to the public, the museum studios can be explored through guided, facilitator-led experiences or self exploration. Perfect for ages 1-8, the new model at the museum “enhances educational experiences and fosters meaningful family engagement.”
New England Air Museum
36 Perimeter Rd., Windsor Locks, CT
Have kids interested in flight? The New England Air Museum offers a vast variety of aircraft inside its hangers. Learn about flight in Connecticut with companies like Sikorsky and Kaman. Read about women in aviation or the Tuskegee Airmen. The museum even allows guests to get inside some of the aircraft for a real feeling of what it’s like to be a pilot.
Carousel Museum
95 Riverside Ave. Bristol, CT
Do your kids enjoy riding the carousel? Here’s a whole museum dedicated to the painted ponies. Browse through all of the colorful history of carousels while learning about the art. Children up to 14 years old or up to 100 lbs can ride the indoor children’s carousel.
The Children’s Museum
180 Mohegan Drive, West Hartford, CT
The museum strives “to inspire life-long learning among children and their caregivers by providing experiential learning programs covering STEAM, health, nature and the environment.” According to its website, founded in 1927 as a one-room natural history museum in The Pond House at Elizabeth Park in Hartford, The Children’s Museum is the fifth oldest children’s museum in the nation.
Stepping Stones Museum for Kids
303 West Ave., Norwalk, CT
Stepping Stones offers gallery programming which fosters an “intimate, focused learned experience.” The museum has specific gallery areas which allows kids to dive deeper into the themes and topics. Exhibits include art smarts, puppet place, edible garden, discovery station, music makers and let’s move.
EverWonder Children’s Museum
11 Mile Hill Road, Newtown, CT
EverWonder “cultivates a lifelong love-of-learning in children by encouraging them to think, inquire and wonder about the world around them,” according to its website. Some of the exhibits the museum offers include imagination playground, technology center, adventures in engineering, science lab and makerspace, wacky weather wonders, animal exploration, sound around us and young explorers.
Riverside Reptiles Education Center
132 S Road Enfield, CT
For a bit of a different kind of experience, Riverside Reptiles gives kids a chance to see reptiles and amphibians up close. They have a collection of 100 species of indigenous and exotic amphibians, reptiles, invertebrates and freshwater fish. According to its website, the center’s animals “enjoy naturalistic enclosures, allowing for normal behavior and unique visitor observations.”
Lutz Children’s Museum
247 South Main St., Manchester, CT
The Lutz museum’s mission is to “ignite curiosity and spark imagination in every child,” according to its website. The museum is made up of hands-on learning experiences. These areas include the Art of pop up, magic of metamorphosis, fur feathers or scales, science at the shore, wildlife illustration, bugs, caves rock and beginner birding.
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