Connecticut Museums
The Barnum Museum
Dedicated to the life of Phineas Taylor Barnum and those who were influenced by his presence in their lives. 1892
The Discovery Museum
An interactive science museum with hands-on displays, changing exhibits, gift shop, and food court. Challenger Learning Center features computer-simulated space missions)
Housatonic Museum of Art
Over 4,000 objects including 19th- and 20
Danbury Museum & Historical Society
Late 18th- and early 19th-century furnishings in the John and Mary Rider House (1785). Local hatting industry exhibits in John Dodd Shop (1790). Research library, gift shop. Birthplace (5
Danbury Railway Museum
Vintage locomotives and other rolling stock in railroad yard. Seasonal local train rides, restored 1903
Connecticut Audubon Society Birdcraft Museum
Historic (1914) museum highlights natural history of the state with dioramas, wildlife exhibits, and dinosaur footprints. Adjacent 6
Fairfield Historical Society Museum
Collections spanning 350
New Canaan Historical Society
Town House: costume collection, changing exhibits, 1845 pharmacy, library of genealogy and local history. Hanford-Silliman House (c.1764), Rock Schoolhouse (1799), John Rogers Sculpture Studio (1878)
Stepping Stones Museum for Children
Award-winning interactive museum for children ages 10
Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum (c.1864)
America's first chateau; 62-room Victorian palace with stenciled walls, inlaid woodwork and skylit rotunda;
SoNo Switch Tower Museum
Historic 1890s New Haven Railroad switch tower, features the only ?Armstrong?
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
Twelve galleries accommodating contemporary art. Galleries include a screening room, sound gallery, space for larger artworks and installations. 100
Keeler Tavern Museum (c.1713)
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. British cannonball embedded in its exterior, souvenir of 1777 battle. Late 18th-century furnishings;
Sherman Historical Society
David Northrop House (c.1829) features local history. Old Store Museum (c.1810), 3 Rte. 37 Center; features displays from the past, gallery showcasing historical and art exhibitions;
Stamford Historical Society Museum
Permanent and changing exhibits, principally local history. Research and genealogy library. Hoyt-Barnum House (c.1699), 713 Bedford St., restored blacksmith?
Stamford Museum & Nature Center
118 woodland acres; includes New England working farm, hiking trails, picnic area, Nature's playground, boardwalk (accessible to wheelchairs)
The Garbage Museum
Environmental education facility with hands-on exhibits featuring "Trash-O-Saurus"
Stratford Historical Society
Catharine B. Mitchell Museum exhibits local Native American artifacts and displays devoted to early town government, early African-American history, changing exhibits. Captain David Judson House (1750
Boothe Memorial Park & Museum
32-acre former homestead of the Boothe Family (1663-1949)
National Helicopter Museum
Large collection of photographs and documents showing the development of helicopters, from 1910
Wilton Heritage Museum
Two 18th-century classic center-chimney houses feature period rooms furnished to show the development of domestic life in New England homes 1740-1910. 19
Barker Character, Comic & Cartoon Museum
Over 80,000 items including toys and character collectibles from 1873 to present; Western, TV and advertising collectibles; cartoon memorabilia;
Osborne Homestead Museum
Former estate of Frances Osborne Kellogg. Elegant Colonial Revival home (1850)
Henry Whitfield State Museum
Connecticut's oldest house (1639) and New England's oldest stone house, built as a minister's home and town stronghold, Colonial Revial restorations 1903 and 1930s. 17th- to 19
Eli Whitney Museum
"Inventing Change" outlines the Whitney legacy of the site. Water Learning Lab, an outdoor learning environment, open May-Oct., weather permitting. Historic 1816
Allis-Bushnell House and Museum (c.1785)
Period rooms with exhibits of china, dolls and toys, costumes and kitchenware, working looms and spinning wheels;
Peabody Museum of Natural History (Yale University
Brontosaurus and Stegosaurus haunt the Great Hall of Dinosaurs, where Rudolph Zallinger's famous Age of Reptiles mural spans 108
New Haven Colony Historical Society
Exhibits on New Haven's cultural and industrial growth (1638 to the present)
Knights of Columbus Museum
Fine and decorate art; artifacts and archival material relating to the history, formation and activities of the Knights of Columbus from 1882
Mattatuck Museum
Exhibits chronicle the industrial history of the Naugatuck Valley as well as its social, architectural and cultural past. Period settings, decorative arts, furniture, 19th- and 20
Savin Rock Museum
Take a walk through time from the early 1900 to 1971. Memorabilia, video documenting personal memories, amusement section and ?Silver Fox," one of the original carousel horses from Guillano'
Ward-Heitmann House Museum
Oldest house in Greater New Haven, constructed between 1684-1700
Sloane-Stanley Museum and Kent Furnace
Exhibits the early American tool collection and artwork of Eric Sloane including his re-created studio. Adjacent ruins of 19
Connecticut Antique Machinery Association Museum
Dedicated to the industrial and agricultural heritage of the United States. Exhibits include gas and steam tractors;
Salisbury Cannon Museum
Hands-on children's museum focusing on local iron industry and individuals who shaped the American Revolution. Adjacent to site of the first iron blast furnace (1762)
New Milford Historical Society Museum
Main gallery contains works by artists Ralph Earl and Richard Jennys, Connecticut furniture, New Milford pottery. Boardman Store (1796). Knapp House (c.1810). Special events;
Gay-Hoyt House Museum
Built in 1775
Lock Museum of America
Largest collection of locks, keys and ornate hardware in the U.S. Eight rooms contain antique locks dating back to 1520
Gunn Memorial Library & Museum
Local history museum in c.1781 house with changing exhibits. 1908
Institute for American Indian Studies
Artifacts and art from 10,000 years ago to the present; indoor longhouse exhibit, changing exhibits, gift shop. Outdoor simulated archaeological site, trails, replica of a 17
Historical Society Museum
Chronicles industrial, social and cultural history of the town, Victorian parlor exhibit, local research library. 1853
Historic Ship Nautilus & Submarine Force Museum
Board the world'
Lebanon Historical Society Museum & Visitor Center
Explore Connecticut's Revolutionary past and the town'
Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center
Permanent exhibits on the Native and natural history of southern New England include a cool descent into a glacial crevasse from 18,000 years ago. Walk through a 1550
Mystic Seaport
Museum of America and the Sea is the nation'
Denison Homestead Museum - Pequotsepos Manor (1717)
Large center-chimney Colonial, period rooms from 1717 to 1941
Lyman Allyn Art Museum
18th-, 19th- and 20
Children's Museum of Southeastern Connecticut
Hands-on interactive museum for children ages one to 12
Slater Memorial Museum and Converse Art Gallery
Housed in a Neo-Romanesque structure built in 1886; collection of Greek, Roman and Renaissance casts; American art and furniture, Native American artifacts; Asian, African and European art;
Florence Griswold Museum
A National Historic Landmark, America's best-known center of Impressionist painting, offers 11 landscaped acres along the Lieutenant River, education center, restored artist studio, gardens, 1817
Old Lighthouse Museum
First government-operated lighthouse in Connecticut (1823), moved in 1840
Colonial Village
Replica of a Colonial village with 1740 Jordan Schoolhouse, 1840
Brooklyn Historical Society Museum
Permanent exhibit on General Israel Putnam, changing exhibits. Daniel Putnam Tyler Law Office (c.1820) furnished as it might have been from 1822 to 1875
Prudence Crandall Museum
New England's first academy for Black women (1833-34), established by Connecticut's female state hero. Changing exhibits, period furnishings, research library, gift shop. National Historic Landmark;
Chaplin Museum
Items depicting 18th- and 19
Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum
Railroad museum village consisting of Chaplin Station, Groton Freighthouse, Willimantic Sectionhouse, and Columbia Junction Roundhouse;
Windham Textile and History Museum
Museum preserves the textile industry of southern New England at the height of the Industrial Revolution. Exhibits include thread factory floor, rooms from a workers rowhouse and owner?
The Living Museum of Avon
Restored 19th-century schoolhouse contains maps, photographs, implements and clothes, diorama of the Farmington Canal all relating to 1830
New Britain Youth Museum at Hungerford Park
Farm and exotic animals, wildlife, trail system, pond, weather station and gardens;
American Clock & Watch Museum
Permanent exhibit on the history of Connecticut clockmaking and the Industrial Revolution, housed in an 1801
Carousel Museum of New England
Exhibits represent the finest pieces of antique carousel art in existence. The Bristol Center for Arts and Culture features three galleries that include fine art exhibits. ?The Museum of Fire History?
Imagine Nation Children's Museum
Explore a world of wonder and imagination at this hands-on interactive museum for children age 10 and under. Education programs, camps, family events. Original 1940
Connecticut Fire Museum
Old-time fire trucks (1850-1967)
Connecticut Trolley Museum
Three-mile round trip ride on antique trolleys. Tour the Visitor'
Stanley-Whitman House
One of Hartford County's must-see heritage destinations!
Hill-Stead Museum
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.
Museum on the Green
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)
Salmon Brook Settlement
1732 Abijah Rowe House; 1790 Weed-Enders House with museum store, genealogy library; 1870 Cooley School; 1914
The Mark Twain House & Museum
Elaborate Victorian (1874) mansion with rare interiors by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1881) was the author's home for 17 years (1874-1891). 19 furnished rooms including many of Twain'
The Trash Museum
Educational facility, tours and hands-on exhibits on solid waste management and recycling, including the "Temple of Trash;"
The Connecticut Historical Society Museum
Award-winning, family-friendly, and educational exhibits, programs and events, plus a nationally significant library explore the state?
Old State House
Oldest State House in the nation. Restored 1796 National Historic Landmark. An interactive audio tour explores the historic rooms and the site. Experience the multi-media exhibit "
Menczer Museum of Medicine & Dentistry
Instruments and medications used from the 18th- to the 20
Museum of Connecticut History
Connecticut's 1662 Royal Charter, Colt collection of firearms, changing exhibits, portraits of Connecticut's governors. Permanent exhibit ?Connecticut Collections.?
Butler-McCook House & Garden & Main Street History
Hartford's oldest house, was home to four generations of Butlers and McCooks. Tours highlight the late 19th- and 20
Harriet Beecher Stowe Center
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)
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
The nation's oldest public art museum (1842)
Fire Museum
Located in turn-of-the-century firehouse with hand- and horse-pulled firefighting equipment, 1860 steam fire engine, 1915
Lutz Children's Museum
Children?
New Britain Museum of American Art
Over 5,000 American works of art from 1740 to the present. Works by Benton, Cassatt, Church, Cole, LeWitt, Sargent, Stuart, Whistler, and Wyeth;
New Britain Youth Museum
Exhibits of Americana, different cultures, children'
Academy Hall Museum
1803 academy where sea captains learned the theory of navigation. Displays of artifacts, photographs, period rooms; changing exhibits on local and state history;
Phelps Tavern Museum
Period rooms and interactive exhibition galleries illustrate the use of the Captain Elisha Phelps house as an inn from 1786 to 1849
Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum
Three 18
Luddy/Taylor Connecticut Valley Tobacco Museum
Displays of artifacts and history of "Tobacco Valley."
Vintage Radio & Communications Museum of Connecticut
History of electronic communications from telegraphs of the late 1800s to radio to television. Over 750
Noden-Reed Park Museum
A 22-acre park with 1840 house and 1826 brick barn contain period artifacts. Site of Connecticut'
New England Air Museum
Largest aviation museum in the Northeastern U.S. 80
Allegra Farm & Horse-Drawn Carriage & Sleigh Museum
Experience a working livery stable as it was in the 1800
Connecticut River Museum
Housed in an 1878
Museum of Fife & Drum
Only museum showing America on parade, from the Revolutionary War to the present. Exhibits show the development of music, uniforms, instruments, and related items from 18
Kidcity Children's Museum
Whimsical, one-of-a-kind rooms filled with hands-on play and learning, for kids ages 1 to 8
Strong-Porter House Museum
Farmhouse (c.1730) built by Aaron Strong, maternal great-uncle of Nathan Hale. Carpenter'
Northeast States Civilian Conservation Corps Museum
Housed in original (c.1935)
Ballard Institute & Museum of Puppetry
Collection of over 2,000
Mansfield Historical Society Museum
Collection of furnishings, costumes, photographs and historical artifacts relating to local history, housed in the former town office building and Old Town Hall (1843)
William Benton Museum of Art
Connecticut'
Tolland Historical Society
1856 Old Tolland County Jail Museum, a stone and iron stronghold with 32 original cells, in use until 1968. 1892 Warden'