The RISD Museum is worth a visit. I'm sharing photos of the pieces that stood out to me most. I…read morestarted in the RISD student galleries, which were full of impressive work. my favorite was a floor installation that looks like a woven rug but is actually made entirely of salt. So many pieces made you stop and think, "How did they do that?!" I visited the whole museum, but my favorites were the Costume & Textile galleries, the exhibit on kingfishers in art and poetry, the European Grand Gallery with its oil paintings and the 18th/19th‑century American rooms in Pendleton House. I also loved how the museum's architecture fits together like a puzzle across several older buildings and street entrances. That was a surprising add-on to the visit. Extra tip: street parking is nearly impossible. Check their website for the free weekend parking lots (within walking distance) they make the visit much easier.

I get to visit the RISD Museum for free as a Brown University student!…read more Had fun spending a morning walking through the exhibits on all the floors. There was a room dedicated to costumes and textiles from different cultures around the world! As a sewist and costumer, this was very fun for me to have the room to myself and go through the drawers (everything was behind glass). I want to say I was here for roughly 2 hours and saw everything and took lots of photos.

Oh no, my nearest and go to antique store is closing May 31st, 2026. E went there this weekend and…read moresaw a few booths were empty and several if not almost all other booths were having anywhere from 25% to 50% off. Checking we found that they are closing and the Dinosaur Place is expanding into the antique store. It's good for the kids and supposedly they are building an indoor mini golf area in the basement so we will have to wait and see.

Pricey antiques/products but a cool place to go walk around and check out. Theres two floors with…read moretons a stuff to look at you could easily spend over an hour there. If i was rich id buy the giant animal displays for every room in my house just because i could, they're.....unique.

Very cool find on a rainy day. I liked the artifacts kept, minimal entrance fee, and portraits…read moredisplayed.

Quirky little museum tucked away on the campus of Norwich Free Academy. Great collection of…read moreplundered booty from rich US industrialists' world tours by private yacht. Eclectic but beautifully presented.

Always learning something new at the MPMRC! Came in for "The Art of Storytelling" which was a great…read moreexperience with one of the amazing educators as she told two stories at the gathering place. Once finished had plenty of time to view the exhibits, watch the educational movies and explore the museum in its entirety. If you are ever in the area, ensure to stop in for a visit!

The Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center is a Native American culture museum that opened in…read moreMashantucket, Connecticut in August 1998. It was founded by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. Federally recognized since 1983, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation consists of descendents of the Pequot Native Americans who have historical roots in the state of Connecticut. They historically spoke Pequot, a dialect of the Mohegan-Pequot language, which became extinct by the early 20th century. The tribal nation currently consists of more than 1,100 members, with about 200 of them residing on their reservation in Ledyard. The museum focuses on the history of the Pequots and other Native American peoples of eastern North America. The Mashantucket Pequot tribal nation also owns and operates the nearby Foxwoods Resort Casino: one of the largest casinos in the world. The 308,000-square-foot museum facility was built at a cost of $193.4 million, largely funded by casino revenues. My family and I recently visited the Pequot Museum during the long Thanksgiving weekend. I've visited the museum a number of times since it first opened, but this was the first visit for my two young sons. Since Thanksgiving occurred a couple of days before, my wife and I felt it was important to show our sons an accurate portrayal of Indigenous Americans (and their treatment) as opposed to the ones in the "fairy tale" narratives of the First Thanksgiving or Columbus' arrival in the Americas. The museum features some excellent interactive exhibits and life-size three-dimensional dioramas which showcase the culture of the Pequots and other Algonquian peoples from the Pre-Columbian era right up to the present day. Highlights for us included the "Pequot Village", "Life in a Cold Climate", and a 185-ft observation tower where visitors can get an excellent view of the entire Mashantucket Pequot reservation (including the casino). My family and I feel that the history and culture of our local indigenous peoples should be preserved and embraced, and this museum truly does a great job at doing that. We all highly recommend a visit to this museum!

A great spot. $2 for general admission, $5 if you want to see the planetarium show too. Even with…read moreits small size you can't go wrong with those prices. As I said it is on the small side, in a hurry you could do the musuem in 15 minutes, and even taking your time it could be done in half an hour. There are plenty of displays, but not much in terms of factual information compared to other musuems. Check this place out, even if its not your thing for the price you can't go wrong.

Only 2 handicap parking spots and the entrance had steps where the door opens towards you are you…read moreare trying to come in. $2 admission is not bad and staff are friendly. So if you need an ADA parking spot, show up early and there's one in each of the parking lots adjacent to the building.

One of the best places to go in the Hartford area. It has an amazing collection of classic artwork…read moreand rotating collections of modern art. I've been many times and somehow I'm still surprised by some of the pieces on display (Van Gogh, Monet, Dali, etc.). They run various events and community days, and membership costs are very reasonable. Support the Arts!

Went back here after a decade, the employees were incredibly friendly and helpful during the…read moreticketing/admission process and were more than happy to answer questions about where certain pieces were (even if they weren't currently residing within the Wadsworth).

Our visit here started out horribly because the parking lot for the museum is across the street, so…read moreafter we parked and walked up to the corner, we pressed the crosswalk button to cross the street. Having just come in from that same direction, I was well aware that the stoplight that we initiated by pressing the crosswalk button is right around a blind curve. I made sure that the first car actually stopped before I started through the crosswalk, but just as we were almost to the other side, I heard a huge crash that shook me to my core. We turned around, still partially in the street to see that a vehicle that had come around the corner was unable to stop in time and smashed into the car that was stopped at the crosswalk. Luckily no one was injured, but the sound and the proximity and the fact that there was some sort of lingering feeling that our crossing the street caused this accident put me in a really bad headspace. We stayed out in front of the museum for a while to make sure everyone was okay and the cars were moved out of the street but there was debris everywhere and I did have to sit down at a picnic table for about 5 minutes to calm down. All that being said, we actually enjoyed this Museum quite a bit once we got past what had happened. We have visited multiple Maritime museums in the last month and I can honestly say this was probably the best one. If you're at all interested in Maritime history, or just history even, sailing or boat craftsmanship, anything like that really, you will enjoy your visit here. This is not really a museum in the traditional sense. It's kind of like walking through a village in time. You can wander through historic buildings and watch live demonstrations of traditional skills like blacksmithing or rope making or sail stitching. Don't be afraid to go inside the buildings and interact with the employees. The immersive parts of this Museum are the best because they help you to feel like you're really experiencing what it was like instead of just reading about it. I think my favorite part was getting too board and tour a historical boat that was moored in the river. I don't recall what it is named, but you can board and walk around and even go down below deck. You can really get a feel for what life was like on one of these boats. I'm 5'7 and I had to duck the entire time. The beds were so tiny it was as if they were for children. It's crazy to think of grown men being packed down there like sardines. We also enjoyed checking out the lighthouse. They show a little movie inside but you can't actually go up. That was a quick stop and a little photo op but fun nevertheless. We ended up spending a lot longer here than we had anticipated because we really enjoyed the demonstrations and the historical feel of it all. It was dog friendly which is important to us but we also found a little reading room and a nice playground area so I know it would be great for children as well. Even after such a rocky start, I was really glad that we visited here and I highly recommend a stop if you can. Plan to spend at least a couple of hours here and wear comfortable shoes because the ground is gravelly and you will cover more of it than you think.

Mystic Seaport continues to be one of the most thoughtfully run and genuinely enjoyable attractions…read morein New England. Every visit feels like stepping into a living, breathing piece of history, and the amount of effort that goes into maintaining that experience is impossible to miss. The staffing is exceptional. Everyone--from the interpreters in period dress to the shipyard craftsmen to the folks running the exhibits--brings an energy that makes the place feel alive. They're knowledgeable without being overwhelming, friendly without being scripted, and clearly passionate about what they do. It's rare to find a team that consistently elevates an entire visit, but Mystic Seaport pulls it off. The shops are charming and well-curated, offering everything from nautical gifts to handcrafted items to books you won't find anywhere else. They strike a great balance between being tourist-friendly and genuinely interesting, and it's easy to lose track of time browsing. As for the overall experience, it's simply entertaining from start to finish. Whether you're wandering through the recreated 19th‑century village, stepping aboard historic vessels, watching demonstrations, or exploring the rotating exhibits, there's always something engaging to see or do. It's the kind of place where you can spend hours without realizing it, and every corner feels like it has a story waiting to be discovered. Mystic Seaport remains a standout destination--beautifully maintained, thoughtfully staffed, and endlessly enjoyable. A true 5‑star experience. Enjoy

An interesting spot to cool your heels, browse a few exhibits about sharks and shark biology, and…read moreadmire the extensive collection of Jaws memorabilia. Sadly, there are no living sharks in the Living Shark Museum, but you'll see plenty of shark models, shark teeth and (yes) jaws, shark egg cases, South Sea weapons made with shark teeth, and lots of Jaws movie stuff. It's a small place, only 3 exhibit rooms on the second floor off of High St and won't take long to peruse (but long enough to cool off in the summer or warm up in the winter). Plus, it's absolutely free of charge!

So cute! The man working was super kind. Three rooms and definitely museum... but nothing living!…read more One room is all Jaws stuff, one is history of shark stuff like shark in food and tools, and other room my favorite - was all the skeletons and jaws! Sooo neat to see all the rows of teeth! A touch screen monitor to see where the tagged sharks are. Little specimens in jars! Definitely an adult trip - but it's free and if you are in the area stop in!

My mother is a lover of all things old Hollywood, so when I learned of this museum online, I knew I…read morehad to take our family as a Christmas present. We weren't sure what to expect from our experience, but we spent about an hour here and thought it was really cool! The owner is so nice and really takes the time to go through each and every piece of his exhibit with you. Learning about the connections he had with the actors and how he obtained the different props was so interesting. If you're looking for something different to do, I recommend stopping by for a tour!

The Witch's Dungeon Classic Movie Museum is a classic movie monster museum that opened in Bristol,…read moreConnecticut in 1966. It was founded by local artist Cortlandt Hull. As a young boy, Hull was frequently ill and occupied much of his time by building Aurora monster plastic model kits. He soon became fascinated with movie makeup and how it could transform an actor into a fearsome creature. Hull was disappointed with the "Chamber of Horrors" at many wax museums, so he decided to open his own horror museum. He started building life-size monster figurines. The first one he built was "Zenobia, The Gypsy Witch". Hull's father Robert helped him build a Swiss chalet-style building to house the full-size monsters, and the museum officially opened in 1966 when Hull was just 13-years-old. As an adult, Hull worked in the film industry creating art prints as well as creating special effects make-ups. He made a lot of connections with various actors and make-up artists over the years. His museum continued to grow and the monster figures continued to improve. For several decades the small museum was located on Hull's home property and was only open during the Halloween season. In the 2010s, the museum relocated to the Bristol Historical Society. There was more room for the monster figures and Hull was also able to showcase many of the authentic movie props he had collected over the years. The museum moved to its current larger location in Plainville in time for Halloween 2020. It is now open year-round, not just for Halloween. I have visited the Witch's Dungeon several times over the years since I was just a young boy. I still remember that first visit very well because it made such an impression on me. I'm a huge fan of the classic movie monsters. I've enjoyed watching the museum grow and improve over the following decades. There's an impressive collection of various movie artifacts and props, but the real stars of the museum are the full size figures of classic monsters that appeared from the 1920s to the 1950s. Some of my favorites include the Frankenstein Monster, the Phantom of the Opera, Count Orlok, the Fly, and the Werewolf of London. The latter was portrayed by Hull's great uncle: the late actor Henry Hull. If you're a fan of horror films then you must visit the Witch's Dungeon Classic Movie Museum!