Connecticut - Kids Trails

Connecticut Kids Trails

For children and families who are fascinated with science, astronomy, and nature, Connecticut offers a huge array of museums and nature centers with hands-on activities – many of them designed for very young kids. But science and museums are not the whole story by a long shot when it comes to children’s entertainments. Parents and kids who love to travel can also visit museums that celebrate carousels, circuses, dinosaurs, seafaring, and the masterful writer Mark Twain. For active fun, Connecticut has a fine selection of water parks, theme parks, aquariums, and planetariums. For more information on accommodations and activities for the young ones, see our Children & Families pages.

Beardsley Zoo
1875 Noble Ave.
Bridgeport, CT  06610
Phone: 203-394-6565

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This zoo exhibits hundreds of animals, from tigers to monkeys and everything in between. Habitats for children to explore include a South American rainforest and a New England farmyard. For quite time, there is a picnic grove, carousel, Victorian greenhouse, and café. Summer programs include Animal Tales and A Day at the Ocean.

Discovery Museum
4450 Park Avenue
Bridgeport, CT  06604
Phone: 203-372-3521

Open: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m.; open Mondays in July and August. Closed major holidays.

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An interactive science museum with hands-on displays, changing exhibits, gift shop, and food court. Challenger Learning Center features computer-simulated space missions. A planetarium and CineMuse Hi-Definition Theater both with daily shows. Children will find themselves getting excited about science with help from this museum’s physical science exhibits, planetarium programs, and Challenger Learning Center. Programs for kids cover topics like space travel, robotics, and ocean exploration. Admission: Adults, $8.50; seniors and children, $7; extra fee for Challenger missions.

Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk
10 North Water St.
Norwalk, CT  06854
Phone: 203-852-0700

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Kids and parents can visit nose-to-nose with sharks, seals, river otters, wrinkly sea turtles, and stinging jellyfish. Educational public cruises, changing exhibits, a working boat shop, hands-on touch tanks, toddler play area, and an IMAX movie theater with a screen that’s six stories tall make this a place of seafaring adventure.

Stamford Museum & Nature Center
39 Scofieldtown Road
Stamford, CT  06903
Phone: 203-322-1646

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This museum offers something for almost all kids, from helping farmers care for the animals on Heckscher Farm to star shows in the planetarium. Hands-on farming activities include animal grooming, gardening, and aquaculture. Children can attend planetarium shows and look through telescopes at the observatory. Check for seasonal changes in hours and programs.

Stepping Stones Museum for Children
303 West Ave.
Norwalk, CT  06850
Phone: 203-899-0606

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With five galleries (one for toddlers only) and scores of activities, this museum offers fun and discovery for children ages 10 and younger. Among other adventures, kids may build a racecar, talk through the Message Tube, fly a simulated helicopter, submerge in a submarine, explore a gorilla’s nest, and learn the dynamics of the water cycle.

The Barnum Museum
820 Main St.
Bridgeport, CT  06604
Phone: 203-331-1104

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The museum’s core exhibits include Baby Bridgeport, a mounted elephant born in 1882; a three-quarter-inch scale model of a circus with more than 3,000 miniatures; an exhibit about Barnum’s protégé, General Tom Thumb; an Egyptian mummy, and exhibits on 19th-century Connecticut life. Gift shop sells circus books, posters, prints, and toys.

Carousel Museum of New England
95 Riverside Ave. (Route 72)
Bristol, CT  06010
Phone: 860-585-5411

Open: April-November, Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, noon- 5 p.m.; December-March, Thursday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, noon-5 p.m. Closed major holidays

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One of two branches of this unique museum. Exhibits feature antique carousel horses, miniature carousels, and a historic carving shop. Exhibits represent the finest pieces of antique carousel art in existence. This is a magical place kids and adults who love the old carousels. The museum contains one of the largest collections of antique carousel pieces in the country. Children and parents can explore the golden age of the carousel on their own or with tour guides. Hands-on craft activities for children. Gift shop. Admission: Adults, $5; seniors, $4.50, children age 4-14, $2.50

Dinosaur State Park
400 West St.
Rocky Hill, CT  06067

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This park contains a display of 500 early Jurassic fossil tracks made by dinosaurs about 200 million years ago. Exhibits include life-size dioramas of the Jurassic and Triassic periods. Surrounding the Exhibit Center are miles of nature trails and an arboretum. What kid wouldn’t grab a chance to walk where dinosaurs walked?

Harriet Beecher Stowe House
77 Forest Street
Hartford, CT  06105
Phone: 860-522-9258

Open: Tours: Tuesday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Sunday, noon-4:30 p.m.; open on Mondays, Memorial Day to Columbus Day and December. Closed major holidays.

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Her words changed the world with "Uncle Tom's Cabin," the groundbreaking anti-slavery novel (1852). Tour the Victorian Gothic home (1871), the Katharine Seymour Day House (1884), and the Victorian grounds and gardens. Stowe Visitor Center showcases exhibitions, museum shop. Admission: Adults, $8; seniors,$7; children age 4-12, $4.

Imagine Nation Children's Museum
1 Pleasant Street
Bristol, CT  06010
Phone: 860-314-1400

Open: Call for schedule

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This science museum for kids age 2 to 10 is packed with fun exhibits that allow children to dig into science projects and experiments of all kinds. Some activities that will fascinate children are the Sandsational Sand Pendulum; the Gravity Well; the Tuning Fork Table; a construction zone; Dolls of the World; and Waterplay. Admission: $4 per person.

Lake Compounce Family Theme Park
271 Enterprise Dr.
Bristol, CT  06010
Phone: 860-583-3300

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This longstanding family theme park categorizes its activities as: ‘thrills,’ ‘chills,’ ‘littles’ (for young children), and ‘entertainment.’ The rides Thunder ‘n’ Lightning, Boulder Dash, and Wild Cat speak for themselves. The water park offers water cannons, slides, and rafting. Scaled-down rides for little kids. Entertainment includes Western vaudeville, honky tonk, and urban acrobats.

New England Air Museum at Bradley International Airport
36 Perimeter Road
Windsor Locks, CT  06096
Phone: 860-623-3305

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Kids and families are encouraged to visit the museum’s three huge hangars with aircraft from all periods of aviation history. Besides the aircraft displays, the museum describes such topics as the Lafayette Escadrille, WWII combat gliders, the history of Sikorsky Aircraft, the Tuskegee Airmen, and airships. There are aviation-related arcade games for children.

Stanley Quarter Park
451 Blake Road
New Britain, CT  06051
Phone: 860-826-3360

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Children’s fishing pond, playground, jogging track, skate board park, sports fields, basketball courts, ice skating. Park is open year-round; rides are open mid-June to mid-August.

The Bushnell Park Carousel
Jewell Street at the Memorial Arch
Bristol, CT  06010
Phone: 860-585-5411

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Kids and adults both are entranced by this hand-carved carousel with 48 horses, two chariots, stained glass windows, mirrors reflecting 800 twinkling light bulbs, and a Wurlitzer band organ. Open May to October, Tuesday to Sunday; September and October, Thursday to Sunday. Call for seasonal changes in hours.

The Children’s Museum
950 Trout Brook Dr.
West Hartford, CT  06119
Phone: 860-231-2830

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Children age 12 and younger can discover the wonders of science and nature through unique exhibits, star shows in the planetarium, a wildlife sanctuary with more than 70 live animals; and a life-size kaleidoscope. Younger kids will enjoy the hands-on activities and older children can put their inner scientist to work.

The Children’s Museum
950 Trout Brook Drive
West Hartford, CT  06119
Phone: 860-231-2824

Open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m.

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The Children’s Museum provides rich learning experiences for children of all ages and their families. This science and nature museum has hands-on exhibits, more than 100 live animals, digital planetarium shows, and educational programs, the Wildlife Sanctuary and Roaring Brook Nature Center.

The Mark Twain House & Museum
351 Farmington Ave.
Hartford, CT  06105
Phone: 860-247-0998

Open: Monday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5:30 p.m.; first Thursdays, 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m.; closed Tuesday from January-April; Closed January 1, Easter, Thanksgiving, December 24 and 25.

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Elaborate Victorian (1874) mansion with rare interiors by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1881) was the author's home for 17 years (1874-1891). Nineteen furnished rooms including many of Twain's possessions. National Historic Landmark. The Museum Center features fine gift shop, cafe, Ken Burns' documentary, orientation and changing exhibition galleries, lectures and special programs. Admission: Adults, $12; seniors, $11; students age13-18, $10; children age 6-12, $8.

Connecticut Antique Machinery Association
U.S. Route 7
Kent, CT  06557
Phone: 860-927-0050

Open: May through October, Wednesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

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Museum dedicated to the preservation, restoration and demonstration of antique machinery from our rich industrial and agricultural past. Areas of focus include Agricultural equipment and mechanical farm implements, The Cream Hill Agricultural School, Internal Combustion Engines, Industrial steam power, Connecticut Museum of Mining and Mineral Science, Narrow gauge railroad. Admission: Adults, $3; children under age 12, free.

Danbury Railway Museum
120 White St.
Danbury, CT  06810
Phone: 203-778-8337

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The museum, located in the historic station and rail yard in downtown Danbury, Connecticut, teaches kids and families about railroad history. Children and parents may take railroad excursion trips; explore a collection of railroad items, including original and restored rolling stock; and try hands-on railroad work on scale models.

Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust
Flanders Road
Woodbury, CT  06798
Phone: 203-263-3711

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This nature center offers many recreational and educational programs for children and adults, including nature trails, seasonal festivities, kids’ programs, and a community garden. Families can roam the trails with a guide, take classes about flora and fauna, and join seasonal events like maple sugaring. Check for seasonal changes in hours and programs.

Kellogg Environmental Center
Hawthorne Avenue
Derby, CT
Phone: 203-734-2513

Center offers workshops, exhibits, nature activities, and lectures for the general public. Through hands-on programs, families and kids can enjoy learning about nature and the environment. Throughout the year, the center offers special weekend programs, nature walks, and family workshops.

Sharon Audubon Center
325 Cornwall Bridge Road
Sharon, CT  06069
Phone: 860-364-0520

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A wildlife conservation and rehabilitation facility operated by the National Audubon Society, this center has more than 11 miles of scenic hiking trails, and includes 1,147 acres of mixed forest, meadows, wetlands, ponds, and streams. The Visitor Center houses the Nature Store, Natural History Museum and Exhibit Room, live animals, a Children's Adventure Center, and Research Library. Call from seasonal changes in programs.

The Golden Age of Trucking Museum
1101 Southford Rd.
Middlebury, CT  06762
Phone: 203-577-2181

Open: Thursday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday, noon-4 p.m.; closed Easter, July 4, December 24 and 25, December 31 and January. 1

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Facility containing over 36 antique trucks from the early 1900s through 1960s, antique boats, trucking memorabilia, photographs, and publications. Hands-on children?s area, library, movie, art gallery, gift shop, picnic area. Admission: Adults, $8; seniors, $7; children age 3-16, $5; family, $20.

Ballard Institute & Museum of Puppetry
Weaver Road (off Route 44)
Storrs, CT  06269
Phone: 860-486-4605

Open: Late April-early November,Friday-Sunday, noon-5 p.m.

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Collection of more than 2,000 puppets from the world over. Each exhibition features a different view of the variety of styles and periods in puppetry. Admission: Free; donations accepted.

Essex Steam Train & Riverboat
One Railroad Avenue
Essex, CT  06426
Phone: 860-767-0103
Toll-Free: 800-377-3987
Fax: 860-767-0104

Ride the Steam Train, Ride the Riverboat!

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Gather family and friends for the adventure of a sightseeing journey... aboard the only steam train and riverboat connection in the country! Your 2½ hour narrated journey begins at the historic 1892 Essex Station. Meander through the countryside aboard vintage rail cars pulled by an authentic steam locomotive. At Deep River Landing, you’ll be escorted onto to the Becky Thatcher Riverboat for a 1½ hour cruise along the Connecticut River - bursting with lush scenery and historic sights, such as Gillette Castle and Goodspeed Opera House. Upon Becky’s return to Deep River Landing, the steam train welcomes you for the return trip back to Essex.

Kidcity Children's Museum
119 Washington St.
Middletown, CT  06457
Phone: 860-347-0495

Open: Sunday-Tuesday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Wednesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Call for holiday schedule.

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Whimsical, one-of-a-kind rooms filled with hands-on play and learning, for kids ages 1 to 8 and their grown-ups. Admission: $6 per person.

Lutz Children's Museum
247 S. Main St. (Route 83)
Manchester, CT  06040
Phone: 860-643-0949

Open: Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon-5 p.m.

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Exhibits change frequently and special programs are offered almost daily for children age 2 through 12. Some current exhibits allow kids to climb aboard a plane full of museum artifacts from Africa or race off on a motorcycle; explore the mysteries of the five senses; see rescued animals; and tour a children’s art gallery. Admission: $4.

Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center
110 Pequot Trail
Mashantucket, CT  06338
Phone: 800) 411-9671

Open: Daily, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., last admission at 3 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving Eve, Thanksgiving day, December 24 and 25, December 31 and January 1

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Permanent exhibits on the Native and natural history of southern New England include a cool descent into a glacial crevasse from 18,000 years ago. Walk through a 1550 Pequot Village. Interactive computer programs, films providing additional information and interpretation of the exhibits. Two research libraries, one for children. Museum store and restaurant. Admission: Adults, $15; seniors, $13; children age 6-15, $10; under 6 free.

Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration
55 Coogan Blvd.
Mystic, CT  06355
Phone: 860-572-5955

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At this multifaceted museum of marine life, kids and parents may see detailed models of the Titanic; stroke a swimming ray in the Ray Touch Pool; learn about shipwrecks and the technology to explore them; observe the speed, agility, and intelligence of sea lions; and view an Alaskan coast habitat. Check for seasonal changes in hours and programs.

Ocean Beach Park
1225 Ocean Avenue
New London, CT  06320
Phone: 860-447-3031
Toll-Free: 1-800-510-SAND (7263)

New England's Finest Beach and Boardwalk

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This is one of the sandiest and most festive beaches the state offers. Besides the ocean, the park had a large swimming pool and waterslide, rides, mini-golf, a video arcade, and a playground. There is also a nature walk for tranquil outdoor fun. Nightly entertainment schedule includes Classic Car Cruises; kids movies; live magic; and more.

U.S. Navy Submarine Force Museum
Naval Submarine Base New London
Groton, CT  06349-5571
Phone: 860-694-3174

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This is the only submarine museum operated by the Navy and the primary repository for artifacts, documents, and photographs relating to the U.S. Submarine force. The museum traces the development of the “silent service” from David Bushnell’s Turtle, used in the Revolutionary War, to the modern Los Angeles, Ohio, Seawolf, and Virginia-class submarines.

Barker Character, Comic & Cartoon Museum
1188 Highland Ave. (Route 10)
Cheshire, CT  06410
Phone: 203-699-3822

Open Saturdays 12-4pm

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Over 80,000 items including toys and character collectibles from 1873 to present; Western, TV and advertising collectibles; cartoon memorabilia; official musuem for Celebriducks, the California Raisin and Gumby; sculpture gallery. Admission: Free.

Gillette Castle State Park
67 River Road, off Route 82
East Haddam, CT  06423
Phone: 860-526-2336

Open: Mansion is open Memorial Day weekend - December, hours vary; park open year-round

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William Hooker Gillette (1853-1937) built this 184-acre estate with its 24-room mansion reminiscent of a medieval castle. The castle is surrounded by fantastical grounds with walking trails along a narrow-gauge railroad. Other outdoor attractions that will appeal to kids include the railroad station and goldfish pond. Open Memorial Day through Columbus Day.

Shore Line Trolley Museum
17 River Street
East Haven, CT  06512
Phone: 203-467-6927

Open: April, Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; May and September-November, Saturday and Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Memorial Day-Labor Day, daily, 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; late November-late December, Saturday and Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

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Ride vintage streetcars through scenic woods and wetlands. View exhibits on the trolley era and tour the trolley collection. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Admission: Adults, $6; seniors, $5; children age 2-15, $3; under 2 free.