For any and all families with young kids staying here at The Goodwin, you’ve got a truly exceptional resource for hands-on learning and all-around fun within close reach of your boutique accommodations at our downtown hotel.
The Hartford Children’s Museum (950 Trout Brook Drive, Hartford, CT) ranks among the oldest institutions of its kind in the U.S., having opened back in 1927 as a one-room museum focused on natural history at Elizabeth Park’s Pond House. It moved to its current location in West Hartford in 1958, and now encompasses a number of different attractions.
The Children’s Museum: Having a Blast While Learning About Science & Nature
Interactive learning that conveys scientific concepts in a fun way and celebrates creativity is what the Children’s Museum is all about. Visitors young and old will delight at the introduction to this special house of wonder and STEM education right outside the Children’s Museum’s entrance: the lifesize, 60-foot-long model of a bull sperm whale, “Conny,” who this time of year has the delightful habit of spouting water out of his blowhole.
The wide-ranging museum exhibits include everything from the aptly named Imagination Playground, which gives full rein to the creative energies of kids, to Dinosaurs in Your Backyard: A Portal to Past Worlds, which presents a fascinating portrait of the Jurassic denizens of the Constitution State.
The Children’s Museum also includes the biggest museum planetarium in Connecticut: the Travelers Science Dome at the Gengras Planetarium, which presents digital CGI shows sweeping audience members far off terra firma and into the deep reaches of outer space.
The Children’s Museum Wildlife Sanctuary
Another highlight of the Children’s Museum is its Wildlife Sanctuary, which provides safe harbor and rehabilitation to animals rescued as abandoned or confiscated pets, discovered injured in the wild, or otherwise in need of a bit of TLC.
You can observe these fascinating and well-loved creatures on display and during demonstrations and stimulation activities. Current residents in the Wildlife Sanctuary range from bobcats and sugar gliders to alligator snapping turtles, leopard geckos, and Burmese pythons.
Visit the Children’s Museum on a Goodwin Getaway
We love hosting families here at the Goodwin, and strongly recommend a visit to the Children’s Museum during your stay: It’s an amazing place that continues its noble mission of expanding knowledge and encouraging wonder across the decades. If you’re looking for other ideas for family day trips from our downtown Hartford hotel, meanwhile, check out this previous blog post of ours detailing some of the top destinations in the area for a full all-ages crew (the Children’s Museum, naturally, among them).
