Connecticut Children's Museums at a Glance

You don't have to spend a lot of money, if any, for your children to enjoy themselves. Connecticut offers families fun at a convenient cost. The Association of Children's Museums is a wonderful source of fun for any family with children.

The daily admission to museums ranges. Most museums allow children under the age of two to enter for free and the cost for daily admission for those over the age of three ranges from $5.00 to $11.00 per person. There are seven children's museums in the Connecticut consortium, all of which offer yearly memberships. Yearly membership allows you the privilege of entering any museum in the consortium free of charge. The cost of the membership varies depending on where you sign up. For example, if you sign up at KidCity in Middletown, Connecticut, the cost for the membership is $100.00. However, if you choose to sign up at Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk, Connecticut, the cost for the membership will be roughly $125.00. The cost is well worth it, especially taking into account the New England winters.

The Connecticut Children's Museums offer a wide variety of activities for children of all ages. Allow your child to roam around and decide what he/she wants to do next. All the museums offer areas for pretend play, imagination growth, educational opportunities and hands-on activities. It's a good idea to make a day out the museum so that you don't feel rushed to get through and see everything in a certain time frame. These places are so big and have so many activities, that chances are you won't see everything even if you take all day. Check the websites for the museum that you want to visit to see if they have food available onsite. Some museums, such as KidCity in Middletown, Connecticut do not offer food and do not allow you to take food into the museum. If this is the case, you will have to plan ahead. If it's a warm day, you could pack a lunch and have a picnic outside. If not, search the area for a kid-friendly restaurant or you can have a picnic in the car.

Click on the following links for specific information on each museum:

The Children's Museum (West Hartford) http://www.thechildrensmuseumct.org/index.asp

Children's Museum of Southeastern CT (Niantic) http://www.thechildrensmuseumct.org/index.asp

CT Children's Museum (New Haven) http://childrensbuilding.org/

Imagination Nation Children's Museum (Bristol) http://www.imaginenation.org/

Kidcity Children's Museum (Middletown) http://www.kidcitymuseum.com/welcome.html

Lutz Children's Museum (Manchester) http://www.lutzmuseum.org/

Stepping Stones Museum for Children (Norwalk) http://www.steppingstonesmuseum.org/