Museums in Fairfield, Connecticut range from fine art to circus history
5774 Main Street
Stratford, CT 06614
Phone: 203-381-2046
This 32-acre former homestead of the Boothe Family (1663-1949) offers with picnic facilities, rose garden, and wedding garden. Buildings on National Historic Landmark site with displays of early farm equipment, carriages and baskets; trolley history, toll booth exhibit.
Hours: Park grounds are open year-round, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Museums and displays are open June 1 through October 1, Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m.
Admission: Free
Bruce Museum of Arts & Science
One Museum Dr.
Greenwich, CT 06830
Phone: 203-869-0376
Open: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Closed major holidays.
Over 12 changing exhibitions, environmental galleries, marine touch tank, lectures, educational workshops, museum store.
Admission: Adults, $7; seniors and children age 5-12, $6l free admission on Tuesdays.
Catharine B. Mitchell Museum and Captain David Judson House
967 Academy Hill
Stratford, CT 06615
Phone: 203-378-0630
Open: June–October; Wednesdays and Sundays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Catharine B. Mitchell Museum exhibits local Native American artifacts and displays devoted to early town government, early African-American history, changing exhibits. Captain David Judson House (1750) furnished with period accessories and furniture. Open June through October, Wednesdays and Sundays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission: Adults, $5; seniors, $4; students, $2.
Connecticut Audubon Society Birdcraft Museum
314 Unquowa Road
Fairfield, CT 06824
Phone: 203-259-0416
Open: Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon-5 p.m.
Historic (1914) museum highlights natural history of the state with dioramas, wildlife exhibits, and dinosaur footprints. Adjacent 6-acre sanctuary with trails. A National Historic Landmark, first nature center in America, on the Connecticut Women’s Heritage Trail. Admissions: Adults, $2; children, $1.
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.
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.
Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum
Mathews Park, 295 West Ave.
Norwalk, CT 06850
Phone: 203-838-9799
Open: Mid-March to January 1; Wednesday-Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. or by appointment
America's first chateau; 62-room Victorian palace with stenciled walls, inlaid woodwork and skylit rotunda; gift shop. National Historic Landmark. Guided and audio tours. Admission: Adults, $8; seniors and students, $5; children under age 12, free
National Helicopter Museum
2480 Main St.
Stratford, CT 06615
Phone: 203-375-5766
Open: Memorial Day-mid-October, Wednesday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m.
Large collection of photographs and documents showing the development of helicopters, from 1910 to the present. Many helicopter models and artifacts, gas turbine engines that were produced in Stratford. Admission: Free.
New Canaan Historical Society
13 Oenoke Ridge
New Canaan, CT 06840
Phone: 203-966-1776
Open: Town House: Tuesday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Other buildings: summer hours, Tuesday-Friday, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; other months, Wednesday and Thursday, 2-4 p.m. Call for Sunday hours.
The historic society maintains several buildings, housing a variety of exhibits. Buildings include the old Town House, with its costume collection, changing exhibits, library of genealogy and local history; the Pharmacy (1845); the Hanford-Silliman House (1764), the Rock Schoolhouse (1799), the John Rogers Sculpture Studio (1878), and the Tool Museum and Print Shop. Donation requested.
Stamford Historical Society Museum
1508 High Ridge Road
Stamford, CT 06903
Phone: 203-329-1183
Open: Tuesday-Saturday, noon-4 p.m. Closed major holidays.
Permanent and changing exhibits, principally local history. Research and genealogy library. Hoyt-Barnum House (c.1699), 713 Bedford St., restored blacksmith’s home, open by appt. Thrift shop. Admission: Adults, $5; students, $3.
Stamford Museum & Nature Center
39 Scofieldtown Road
Stamford, CT 06903
Phone: 203-322-1646
Open: Monday-Saturday and holidays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Main Building galleries closed Mondays January to March.
Experience nature, science and the outdoors at this 118-acre site. Includes New England working farm, hiking trails, picnic area, nature's playground, boardwalk (accessible to wheelchairs), galleries for interactive exhibitions with hands-on area for children, two stores, special events, planetarium. Observatory Friday evenings (weather permitting). Admission: Adults, $6; seniors and children age 4 to 14, $5.
Stepping Stones Museum for Children
303 West Ave.
Norwalk, CT 06850
Phone: 203-899-0606
Open: Memorial Day-Labor Day, daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; September-May, Tuesday, 1-5 p.m., Wednesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Award-winning interactive museum for children ages 10 and under, with a variety of exhibits and activities that inspire learning and discovery. Explore tropical rain forests, report the weather, or experiment with water. Admission: $8 per person.
The Barnum Museum
820 Main St.
Bridgeport, CT 06604
Phone: 203-331-1104
Open: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4:30; Sunday, noon-4:30 p.m.
Dedicated to the life of Circus imnpresario Phineas Taylor Barnum and those who were influenced by his presence in their lives. 1892 building houses exhibits including a miniature circus model, ancient mummy, historic costumes, Tom Thumb carriages. Museum store. Admission: Adults, $5; seniors and students, $4; children age 4-17, $3.
Wilton Heritage Museum
249 Danbury Road (Route 7)
Wilton, CT 06897
Phone: 203-762-7257
Open: Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday, 1-4 p.m. for special exhibitions; call for tour and exhibition schedules.
Two 18th-century classic center-chimney houses feature period rooms furnished to show the development of domestic life in New England homes 1740-1910. 19th-century barn contains changing exhibits, toy loft, costume and textile collection. Blacksmith's shop, tool exhibition. Admission: Adults, $4; senior, $3; children, free.
