Here at The Goodwin, we love welcoming families to our Downtown Hartford hotel (which, by the way, was one of the select finalists in this year’s Connecticut Magazine “Best of Connecticut” roundup of overnight accommodations). Besides the comforts and amenities of our hotel itself, we give our guests ready access to a slew of family attractions and activities.
Let’s take a gander at just a few of your options for family fun in The Goodwin’s vicinity!
Connecticut Science Center (250 Columbus Blvd, Hartford, CT)
A hop, skip, and a jump from The Goodwin along the capital city’s fetching riverfront, the Connecticut Science Center has all-day and all-ages appeal. Some 150 interactive exhibits engage young minds, from Science Alley, Engineering Lab, and Invention Dimension to Our Changing Earth and Butterfly Encounter. Then there are the dazzling 3D films and educational stage shows presented in the Maximilian E. And Marion O. Hoffman Foundation Science Center.
The Children’s Museum (950 Trout Brook Dr, West Hartford, CT)
The long-running Children’s Museum in West Hartford is one of the oldest and best of its kind in the state. Generations of kids have become familiar with the welcoming sight of “Conny,” the life-sized sperm whale model out in the front of the museum—a promise of the wonders and delights within! Exhibits include Sonic Sensation and Dinosaurs in Your Backyard: A Portal to Past Worlds, which introduces visitors to some of Connecticut’s very own prehistoric beasties, plus the Wildlife Sanctuary’s live critters. The institution is also host to the biggest museum planetarium in Connecticut, the Travelers Science Dome at the Gengras Planetarium—a fabulous place to learn about the broader cosmos of ours.
Roaring Brook Nature Center (70 Gracey Rd, Canton, CT)
Affiliated with the Children’s Museum, the nearby Roaring Brook Nature Center is another must-visit for families on a Goodwin getaway. In the center itself you’ll find a wide variety of wildlife exhibits, including taxidermy mounts and an extensive live menagerie. The latter includes native species such as eastern box turtles and black rat snakes as well as such exotic representatives as ball pythons, Brazilian rainbow boas, and African bullfrogs. There’s also a collection of rehabilitated live raptors, including owls, hawks, and vultures. The Nature Center also maintains some absorbing educational exhibits, including an American Indian longhouse and dioramas of old-growth Connecticut forest and a 19th-century farmstead.
Outside, an extensive hiking network gives you and the rest of the gang to chance to explore Roaring Brook’s forests and fields.
A Family Getaway at The Goodwin
From the fluffy owls and coiled serpents of the Roaring Brook Nature Center to the interactive exhibits at the Children’s Museum and Connecticut Science Center, experience a fun (and educational) family getaway to remember with boutique Hartford accommodations at The Goodwin!
