Museums in Hartford, Connecticut range from fine art to circus history

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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.

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.

Hicks-Stearns Museum

42 Tolland Green Tolland, CT 06084 Phone: 860-875-7552

Open: Mid-March to mid-December by appointment only

This structure has an interesting history: Originally a tavern built in the 18th century, it was later turned into a 19th century home. The house contains antique family heirlooms, which are on display during much of the year. In December, the site becomes a Victorian Christmas Open House.

Hill-Stead Museum

35 Mountain Road Farmington, CT 06032 Phone: 860-677-4787

Open: May-October, Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; November-April, Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

National Historic Landmark. Colonial Revival style house (1901) set on 150 acres with sunken garden. Collection of French Impressionist paintings, decorative arts and original furnishings. Hour-long guided tour. Admission: Adults, $9; seniors, $8; students, $7; children age 6-12, $4.

Imagine Nation Children's Museum

1 Pleasant Street Bristol, CT 06010 Phone: 860-314-1400

Open: Call for schedule

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.
L-Q top of listings

Lock 12 Historical Park

487 North Brooksvale Road (Route 42) Cheshire, CT 06410 Phone: 203-272-2743

Open: Biking trail and picnic area open year-round, call for museum schedule.

Restored section of Farmington Canal (1828-48). Park also includes museum, lockkeeper's house, helicoidal bridge, 2.9-mile hiking/biking trail, picnic area. Admission: Free.

Luddy/Taylor Connecticut Valley Tobacco Museum

Northwest Park, 135 Lang Rd. Windsor, CT 06095 Phone: 860-285-1888

Open: March – Mid-December, Tuesday-Thursday and Saturday, noon-4 p.m. and by appointment

Displays of artifacts and history of "Tobacco Valley." Tobacco curing shed houses exhibits of early and modern equipment. Other facility exhibits photographs, writings, and other documents. Admission: Free.

Menczer Museum of Medicine & Dentistry

230 Scarborough St. Hartford, CT 06105 Phone: 860-236-5613

Open: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Closed holidays.

Instruments and medications used from the 18th- to the 20th-century. Historical medical library. Admission: Adults, $2; children, $1.

Museum of Connecticut History

231 Capitol Ave. Hartford, CT 06106 Phone: 860-566-3056

Open: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Closed on state holidays

Historic documents, including Connecticut's Royal Charter, are just part of the exhibit material in this museum. Special exhibits feature Colt firearms, Connecticut's Governors and changing exhibits. Admission: free.

Museum on the Green

1944 Main Street Glastonbury, CT 06033 Phone: 860-633-6890

Open: Monday and Thursday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; third Sunday of each month, 1-4 p.m.; and by appointment

Former Town Hall (c. 1840) displays local history, early industry, Native American artifacts, changing exhibits; genealogical and research library. Adjacent to old town cemetery (1690). Admission: free.

New Britain Industrial Museum

185 Main Street New Britain, CT 06051 Phone: 860-832-8654

Open: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 2-5 p.m.; Wednesday, noon-5 p.m.; and by appointment

This history of manufacturing in Central Connecticut is detailed in this museum, featuring exhibits of products made in the region over the past 200 years. Admission: free.

New Britain Museum of American Art

56 Lexington Street New Britain, CT 06052 Phone: 860-229-0257

Open: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, noon-5 p.m.; Wednesday, noon-7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed holidays.

More than 5,000 American works of art from 1740 to the present. Works by Benton, Cassatt, Church, Cole, LeWitt, Sargent, Stuart, Whistler, and Wyeth; changing exhibitions. Gift shop. Admission: Adults, $9; seniors, $8; students, $7; under 12 free. Saturday, 10 a.m.-noon, free.

New Britain Youth Museum

30 High Street New Britain, CT 06051 Phone: 860-225-3020

Open: September-June, Tuesday-Friday, 1-5 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; July - August, Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.- 5 p.m.

Exhibits of Americana, different cultures, children's artifacts, hands-on activities, puppet theater, prehistoric Connecticut room, garden. Admission: Free, donation suggested.

Noden-Reed Park Museum

58 West Street Windsor Locks, CT 06096 Phone: 860-627-9212

Open: May-October, Sunday, 1 -5 p.m. and by appointment

A 22-acre park with 1840 house and 1826 brick barn contain period artifacts. Site of Connecticut's first Christmas tree. Admission: free.

Northeast States Civilian Conservation Corps Museum

166 Chestnut Hill Road (Route 190) Stafford Springs, CT 06076 Phone: 860-684-3013

Open: Memorial Day-Labor Day, Saturday, Sunday, holidays, noon-4 p.m.

Housed in original (c.1935) CCC camp building with documents and memorabilia. Exhibits include campsite life, work areas, photographs, equipment, and tools. Admission: Free.

Old Manchester Museum

126 Cedar Street Manchester, CT 06040 Phone: 860-647-9983

Open: Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday, 1-4 p.m. and by appointment

Local historical artifacts including Pitkin Glass Works, Cheney Brothers Silk Mills, Bon Ami Soap Co., military memorial. Manchester Sports Hall of Fame, research and genealogy library, gift shop. Admission: Adults, $2; children age 16 and younger, free.

Phelps Tavern Museum

800 Hopmeadow Street (Route 10) Simsbury, CT 06070 Phone: 860-658-2500

Open: Tuesday-Saturday, noon-4 p.m.; hour-long tours begin 12:15 p.m. and last tour is 3:15 p.m.. Closed major holidays.

Period rooms and interactive exhibition galleries illustrate the use of the Captain Elisha Phelps house as an inn from 1786 to 1849. Two-acre complex includes museum store, research archives, period gardens. Admission: Adults, $6; seniors, $5; children age 6-17, $4.
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The Living Museum of Avon

8 East Main Street (Route 44) Avon, CT 06001 Phone: 860-678-7621

Open: June-September, Sunday, 2-4 p.m., and by appointment

Restored 19th-century schoolhouse contains maps, photographs, implements and clothes, diorama of the Farmington Canal all relating to 1830s. Admission: Donation.

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.

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.

The Trash Museum

211 Murphy Rd. Hartford, CT 06114 Phone: 860-757-7765

Open: September-June, Wednesday-Friday, noon-4 p.m.; July and August, Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Educational facility, tours and hands-on exhibits on solid waste management and recycling, including the "Temple of Trash;" adjacent to recycle center. Admission: Free.

Wadsworth Atheneum

600 Main Street Hartford, CT 06103 Phone: 860-278-2670

Open: Wednesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; open first Thursday of each month until 8 p.m. Closed major holidays.

The nation's oldest public art museum (1842). World-renowned collections include Hudson River School landscapes, Old Master paintings, modernist masterpieces, Impressionist paintings, American furniture, decorative arts, cutting-edge contemporary art. Restaurant (860-728-5989); gift shop. Admission: Adults, $10; seniors, $8; students with ID, $5; children age 12 and under, free; first Thursday of each month, $5 from 5-8 p.m.

Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum

211 Main Street Wethersfield, CT 06109 Phone: 860-529-0612

This museum consists of 3 houses, each built in the 18th century. 2 are now National Historic Landmarks, with each furnished to represent a different period in American history. In 1781, on this site, Washington and his partners planned their strategy that led to the American victory at Yorktown. Tours begin every hour on the hour up until 3 pm. Admission: Adults, $6, seniors, $5, students, $2.50.

A-C top of listings

Amasa Day House

Moodus Green (Routes 149 and 151) East Haddam, CT 06469 Phone: 860-247-8996

Open: Mid-May to mid-October, Sunday, 1-4 p.m.

A Federal style house (1816) remained in the hands of Day's heirs until 1967. Furnished primarily with Day family possessions. Admission: Adults, $4; children, $2.

Barnes Museum

85 North Main Street Southington, CT 06489 Phone: 860-628-5426

Open: Monday-Wednesday and Friday, 1-5 p.m.; Thursday, 1-7 p.m.; September-June, first and last Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Closed major holidays.

Built in 1836, this house belonged to the same family for over a century. Exhibits feature original furniture and household items, as well as a historical library. Free admission.

Canton Historical Museum

11 Front Street Collinsville, CT 06019 Phone: 860-693-2793

Open: April-November, Wednesday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m. and Thursday, 1-8 p.m.; December-March, Saturday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m.

The history of Canton is chronicled in this museum. Collins Company tools and exhibits, Canton history, Victorian antiques and clothes, toys, dolls, farming equipment, railroad diorama, general store and post office, research library. Admissions: Adults, $3; seniors, $2; children (age 6-15), $1; 5 and under, free.

Connecticut Fire Museum

58 North Road East Windsor, CT 06088 Phone: 860-623-4732

Open: May and June, Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday, noon-4 p.m.; July and August, Monday and Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday, noon-4 p.m.; September-October, Saturday and Sunday, noon-4 p.m.

Exhibits detail the history of firefighting. Includes models and authentic historic firefighting trucks and equipment. Adults, $7; seniors, $6; children age 6-12, $5; children age 5 and younger, free.

Connecticut River Museum

67 Main St., Steamboat Dock Essex, CT 06426 Phone: 860-767-8269

Open: Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Housed in an 1878 Steamboat Dock warehouse located on the waterfront, the museum tells the Connecticut River Valley story in four galleries, with a working reproduction of the American Turtle, America’s first submarine. Gift shop. Admission: Adults, $6; seniors and students, $5; children age 6-12, $3; 5 and under free.

Connecticut Science Center

250 Columbus Blvd. Hartford, CT 06103 Phone: 860-724-3623

A visit to the Center is a high-impact learning experience in a green, clean, bright, and stimulating environment. Adults and children alike will find entertainment and educational value in hands-on, engaging, and exciting exhibits and programs that emphasize current science and science you can use every day. Open year-round. Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission: Adults, $17; seniors above age 65, $15.50; youth ages 3 to 17, $14. Information: www.ctsciencecenter.org

Connecticut Trolley Museum

58 North Road (Route 140) East Windsor, CT 06088 Phone: 860-627-6540

Open: Charters from January through March; April to Memorial Day, Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday 1-4 p.m.; Memorial day to Labor Day, Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday, noon-4 p.m.; Sundays in October, Pumpkin Patch rides

Three-mile round trip ride on antique trolleys. Tour the Visitor's Center display and stationary trolleys. Gift shop, deli and cafe. Admission: Adults, $7; seniors, $6; children age 2-12, $4. Includes admission to the nearby Connecticut Fire Museum.
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Day-Lewis Museum

158 Main Street Farmington, CT 06032 Phone: 860-678-1645

Open: March – November, Wednesday, 2:30-4:30 p.m.; closed August

Yale University-owned Indian archaeology museum displaying artifacts found on site. Housed in authentic post and beam building, last of Tunxis Indian homes. Adjacent dig site. Admission Adults, $2; seniors and children, $1.

Fire Museum

230 Pine Street Manchester, CT 06040 Phone: 860-649-9436

Open: Mid-April-Mid-November, Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday, noon-5 p.m.

Located in turn-of-the-century firehouse with hand- and horse-pulled firefighting equipment, 1860 steam fire engine, 1915 water tower, antique firefighting items, reference library, gift shop. Admission: Adults, $4; seniors and firefighters, $2; children age 5 and older, $1.
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