The Children's Museum, West Hartford, CT (3 smiles)

We went to the Children's Museum in West Hartford, CT and here is my review.....

Date:  11/18/2009

Parking:  Plenty behind building.  Click here for directions.

Gate/Admissions:  [$$$$$] Admission info here.  Under 2 years old, free!

Birthday Parties:  Yes.  See info here .

Bathrooms:  There is a men's and a women's room on the main level.  Both are equipped with changing tables.

Cleanliness:  The museum is physically clean, but the building and most of the exhibits are old.  There is some tape on the floor holding the rug together and it looks like it could use an overall spruce up.

Store:  There is a small souvenir store with educational toys and there is a vending area with tables in the Excavation Station area.  You can bring in a lunch and eat at these tables or the many picnic tables outside.

Overall:  I was expecting the museum to be much larger and more up to date.  I was disappointed that some of the exhibits did not work or were just neglected over time.  Some of our favorites were the weather station, where the children can pretend to be a meteorologist on screen, the excavation station and the bubble maker.   The mini golf out back behind the museum needs attention.  When we first went into the animal room I was shocked at the small space the animals had to live in.  I asked a staff member if the animals had other room to roam around and they directed us out back where there is space for them to get outside and stretch there legs.  The animals they have are animals that have been recovered from homes that were illegally raising them or they were orphaned.  We went with two three year olds and were able to keep them busy for a hour and a half mostly because we circled around a few times.  Luckily, we found out that The Lutz Children Museum is only about twenty minutes away, so we did both that day!

Lutz Children's Museum, Manchester, CT (3 smiles)

We went to the Lutz Children's Museum in Manchester, CT and here is my review.....

Date:  11/18/2009

Parking:  Plenty around back of the museum.  Directions here.

Gate/Admissions:  [$$]  Admission page here. Children 1 and under are free.

Birthday Parties:  Yes.  Info here.

Bathrooms:  We used the family room.  It was large and had a changing table.  I also noticed that they stock a few extra diapers and change of clothes for accidents.  I have never seen that at any other place before!  Good thinking!  They also have a boy's and girl's room.

Cleanliness:  Very clean. In fact, there were several interns walking around picking up the museum as the children were spreading stuff around.

Store:  They have a variety of education toys when you walk in.  No food/vending machines.

Overall:  We enjoyed it.  It is small though.  There two exhibit rooms and one room with animals.  There are beautiful art pieces on the walls that were done by children all over the country.  They also have a train that goes around on a track.  The first exhibit room we went into was the Long Island Sound Exhibit.  We had two three year old boys with us and they found the boat to be very exciting!  The other exhibit is a farm.  They loved the cow that you can milk.  Well, you can pretend milk!  They also enjoyed the loft area.  The animal exhibit has small animals including rabbits and birds.  We spent about two hours at the museum.  No food allowed in the exhibit areas, but you can eat in the lobby area.  If you are driving from a distance consider doing the Lutz Museum and The Children's Museum in West Hartford.  They are only about 20 minutes from each other.