Being a devoted fan of children's picture books, visiting the Eric Carle Museum was truly amazing…read more Unlike New York, there isn't a similar museum there. The space was spacious with high ceiling. I stumbled upon interesting books with unfamiliar authors. The staff were friendly, and they offer engaging activities for kids. I can see the value in this place. No cafe is available but there is a snack vending machine and indoor and outdoor seating. There is a water bottle refill machine. I would advise to grab some food first at Atkins Farms as it is a just a few minutes' drive away. It offers a convenient option. Overall, I had a positive experience and I recommend others to come visit this unique place.

I found the Eric Carle Museum a bit underwhelming for the price. I also wasn't really sure who the…read moretarget audience was. The museum has two galleries, a paint room, a library, and an auditorium. Personally, I could spend a decent amount of time reading through the gallery exhibits, but younger kids can't really see or reach a lot of them, so I think they'd get bored pretty quickly. There are a few interactive activities like creating your own recipe or using the peg boards but they felt a little gimmicky rather than being a core part of the experience. The paint room was probably the highlight for kids since there were lots of supplies and things to create, but I didn't see anything my son couldn't already do at home. With that said, kids could probably spend an hour or more here so it should definitely keep them busy. That's kind of where the museum confuses me. I thought this was aimed at younger kids but many of the exhibits are better appreciated by adults. At the same time, older kids will probably find the children's activities too basic. It ends up feeling like it's trying to appeal to everyone without fully committing to one audience. Admission should be much cheaper or donation based. If you're visiting the area, check with your local library first because many libraries offer free passes, and that's definitely the way I'd recommend going. Ironically, I think I'd enjoy coming back by myself more than with my kids. I'd take my time going through the galleries and learning about Eric Carle's work. With young kids though, I found myself feeling rushed because they weren't really engaged. I could also see it being a worthwhile visit for aspiring writers, illustrators, or anyone interested in children's literature.

Oh heck yes, radio is a hobby of mine (amateur, collecting and listening), a profession (US Navy…read moreRadioman), and passion! I've been four times. First, was with my wife, and the rest with an amateur radio friend, AA1G, a fellow "Ham" as we say. The owner/collector/host guy is a retired teacher. Made a life of collecting antique sets. Kind of went from there and then grew out of control. Phonographs, audiophile, computers, and two way. Though no Scanners... darn shame. Walk in, sign the book, pay a modest fee, and walk through a timeline of telegraph, telephones, movie making, victrolas, radio, television, stereo equipment, and computers. You might hear them light up a jukebox box. You can watch cartoons they broadcast on their Transmitter to TV sets within the museum. A wonderful, operational, ham radio club too. W1VCM. You can operate the boat anchors to modern rigs. Lots of geek terms in that sentence- IYKYK. A really wonderful take. It is the owner's personal collection. The Atwater-Kent breadboards were my personal favorite. They host Examinations to be come a licensed amateur radio operator, Ham Flea Markets, educational services, elderly education, and local events on-site. It is a big building. Sensory overload. You will need to go a couple two three times. No negatives. Make a cash donation. Leave a radio - if they don't display it, they can sell it to keep operations going. Lots of wonderful volunteers too - many from the American Radio Relay League right down the road. 73s

Very cool place if you're into the history of radio and music players. Tour guides know a lot too…read more I have been twice. I recommend it.

Simsbury Historical Society was founded in 1911. They moved to the current 2-acre location which…read morehas a home, tavern, and barn on it; this property belonged to the Phelps family. A school house, another home, and probate building were brought to this location later on. They offer tours, special events, and workshops. They're open from Thursday to Saturday from 12-4. My family and I enjoyed walking through the property and seeing the old buildings and artifacts. There was a replica of a native American wig-wam which was really cool to walk inside of. I love history and old buildings so it was fun seeing the old school house and historic single homes. The tavern had a beautiful garden in the backyard. There were plenty of parking and we look forward to going back and taking a tour.

"Don't know much about history" (Sam Cooke)…read more Simsbury is an old town, I mean a really old town. It goes back to 1670. And it's very fitting that such an old town has a historical society to display and preserve its three and a half centuries of history. The Simsbury Historical Society is "a non-profit educational corporation" that was founded in 1911. The complex includes over a dozen structures, and the museum has regional artifacts, archives and collections on the state's earliest settlements. As expected, they do focus on the town's founding and early history. It's a very interesting place to visit and walk the grounds, check out the Native American structures and visit the museum store. That store was hosting a Holiday Market today.

Springfield, MA - the Springfield Museums complex is five museums arranged around a courtyard…read moreanchoring the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden, with the history museum conveniently located across the street. One admission gets you into all five: 1. The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum 2. Springfield Science Museum 3. Michele and Donald D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts 4. Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History 5. George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum (closed for renovations at this time) Dr. Seuss Museum is the newest addition and an absolute delight - colorful, immersive, and photo-ready. The first floor is pure chaotic kid energy, like a Dr. Seuss book come to life; the second floor is more grown up, featuring a recreation of Springfield native Theodor Geisel's (aka Dr. Seuss) studio and living room, plus exhibits on his life. My child refused to leave. Thankfully, the museum is equipped with benches and seats in every room, as it is incontrovertible law that children's play areas can never have too many resting places for parents. I eventually pried my child away and ushered him to the science & natural history museum, which was also a hit. Highlights included a snowboarding video game and a 360° photo capture that spits out a digital image you can email to yourself as a souvenir. There's also a dinosaur hall, African hall, planetarium, animal dioramas, small aquariums, and a nice gift shop. Again, kid did not want to leave. Grandpa is into history so toured the Museum of Springfield History on his own. Springfield was once a manufacturing powerhouse: automobiles, firearms, and home of the Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company. Fittingly, the museum has an automobile gallery, the world's largest collection of Indian cycles and memorabilia, and the world's largest collection of Smith & Wesson guns among its 1,600+ firearms. Grandpa learned a lot about local history and the Connecticut River Valley. I only got a quick walk-through of the D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts, and regret not having more time to linger over the intricate and absolutely exquisite "Book of Wonder"exhibit by Donna Castellanos. The Smith Art Museum, a Victorian-era single-collector museum, is currently closed for renovation, which was fine, as by that point we'd run out of time and energy anyway. Even the on-site restaurant, Blake House Café, was excellent, serving food from Smoked, a local BBQ joint. There was something for everyone in the family (kids, arts, history, and science) and it's good bang for your buck. The museums are compact enough to hit all five in one day if you keep moving, but you're better off slowing down and focusing on two or three.

This was a jewel museums and we did not complete them all. We did the science, the Seuss and the…read moreart elements and was bowled over quite honestly with the entire location. We purchase the family season ticket to return here and the attend at no cost the vast network of the NARM location at no further cost. Highly recommended and we can't wait to return!

This is a two part review…read more The first part is a review of the station museum itself. Chester is home to a railroad station that has been lovingly restored and now houses lots of information, exhibits, and memorabilia about the railroad history of the area. Outside of the station are several boxcars painted for local trains which contain more exhibits and a children's play area. There is also an adjoining caboose which is used as a kitchen for catered events. Also on the property are a tank car, a caboose (more on than below), and a small steam locomotive. As static displays they are okay, but they do add to the experience. There is a yard around the station that is fun for kids to run around on, and across the street is a quarry exhibit. The second part of the review is the caboose which you can rent for $70 or less a night. It is a rustic caboose but contains comfortable padded bunks and screened windows. Stored away are various treasures such as: a small A/C unit; a small space heater; a box fan; camping chairs; desk lamps and extension cords; a writing desk complete with local history books; firewood and cardboard for campfires; a deck of cards; bug spray; beach umbrella; a folding bed extension to turn the bunks into a double bed; WIFI; plates/cups/silverware; etc. There is no guarantee that everything will be here when you stay as some were left behind by previous guests, but the point is that the caboose offers many things to make guests comfortable. A bathroom facilities complete with shower is located in the station building located next door. A barbeque grill is outside. Warning: trains run throughout the day and night, sometimes every hour or two. They are loud enough to wake you, and they cause the caboose to rumble. It is an exciting (or annoying) experience! As a railfan I loved it but can easily understand why it isn't for everybody. This is a small town station in a small town. The caretaker lives nearby and is super friendly. I loved coming here and exploring the area, and staying in the caboose exceeded my already-high expectations. I can't wait to come back!

I know it's not the usual reason people visit the Springfield Museums but we went for this science…read moremuseum. At the time, they had a temporary Wild Kratts exhibit and Wild Kratts is my toddler daughter's favorite TV show. We were pleasantly surprised with how much this small museum had! She played follow me with a turtle in it's tank and loved all the fish. The draws to open and discover just blew her mind. The look of "you mean I'm allowed to open these?!" was adorable. The dinosaur exhibits are great and make sure you look up not to miss a flying dino.

The only thing worth seeing in this museum was the poison dart frogs. Everything else was…read morereplicas, hardly anything was original except for the gems. It just felt old and not much to see compared to other science museums I've been in. This wasn't really on my list. I wanted to see the Dr. Seuss museum but you had to buy general admission for all the museums in the complex and the ticket booth happened to be located in the science museum.

Great art gallery. Amazing artists represented by a curator that is as passionate about the work…read moreas the artists. Not to be missed when visiting Simsbury.

We had the most amazing visit to the CT Trolley Museum. We came with a group, including children,…read moreand easily spent two and a half hours here. We could definitely have stayed longer, but alas, they were closing. The museum offers trolley rides with paid admission. You will be given trolley tickets, and the motorman will 'punch' the ticket for each ride. Trolleys leave on the hour and they have two different trolleys they alternate using. One has sides and windows (like a bus), the other is open on the sides (more like a San Fran. street car). Each ride lasts about thirty minutes, there and back again and we rode both trolleys so an hour of our visit was on the trolleys. A scavenger hunt is available for the kids and they loved it! Clip boards with the list of questions and pencils are located in the museum for the child to use during their hunt. Areas where you will find the answer to a questions have a big star on them and the question number. The kids were so excited to bring their answer sheets to the employee in the gift shop. She pulled out her answer key and 'graded' each paper making sure everyone had all the answers correct! Once a paper was graded, the child got to choose a trolley coin and were told those coins are rare! Only scavenger hunt participants get a coin, you can't buy them, so guard it well! Also for children is a Lego area, a dress up area, a kid sized wooden trolley they can play in, hand-held wooden trollies to play with, arts and crafts and other kid activities. There is even a reading nook off to one side in a sunny corner. The static display trolleys are very interesting. I especially enjoyed the snow sweeper trolley and the three wheeled, one person, conveyance. It's really too bad trolleys went 'out of fashion'. They covered so much ground and were a convenient way to get where you were going before the advent of the automobile. Your museum trolley ride includes information about historic local service that was quite interesting too. If you have time, there is a fire truck and apparatus museum in another building behind the trolley museum. A tour guide there will answer any questions and they have a lot of fire truck knowledge. Very interesting! We did leave a donation in the boxes in both buildings and we made some purchases in the gift shop to help support the mission. Most of the staff are volunteers, so if they do a good job and improve the quality of your visit, feel free to tip them. Not needed, but I'm sure it's appreciated. The kids want to return for their autumn pumpkin patch event. I want to return for their Christmas light event! Bring a warm blanket and cozy up with the kids! Sound like good winter fun to me. Parking on site with handicap spots near the entrance. Paved pathway to the building. You will have to hop up onto the trolley to ride. Restrooms were clean. Water fountain and bottle filling station are inside along with two vending machines for snacks. This is an excellent stop for all ages.

We celebrated my son's 2nd birthday here, and they we so accommodating! The room was already set up…read morewith tables and tablecloths. We were able to bring in our own food and dessert. The staff was very friendly and very easy to deal with. We were a little worried about going over the limit for guests, but everyone was able to get a Trolley ride! They even let all the children pull the whistle, which they absolutely loved! The price was very reasonable, and they even opened up the museum part so the children could play and take a bunch of great photos! This children all received party favors of one free future Trolley ride. My advice is to get a membership for an even more amazing deal! Our party guests exclaimed that this was the most fun they've ever had at a birthday party! Great job!