To select a museum, click “Details/Reserve”, then select which Pass to reserve.
Wednesday, January 8, 2025
Connecticut Museum of Culture & History
1 Elizabeth Street, Hartford, CT 06105
860-236-5621
https://www.connecticutmuseum.org/
[Details/Reserve]
The Connecticut Museum of Culture and History, formerly the Connecticut Historical Society, was established in 1825. It is the state's official historical society and one of the oldest in the nation. It houses a museum, library, and an archive and education center. The museum's collection includes more than 4 million manuscripts, graphics, books, artifacts, and other historical materials, displayed in permanent and changing exhibitions organized by theme. (Their website includes some online exhibitions, as well.) A handicap accessible restroom is located on the first floor. The museum has sensory bags available upon.
Categories: Family, Governance, History
Pass Type: Circulating Pass (must be picked up and returned to the branch)
Pass Benefits
Free admission for 2 adults and 4 children.
Connecticut River Museum
67 Main Street, Essex, CT 06426
860-767-8269
https://www.ctrivermuseum.org/
[Details/Reserve]
The Connecticut River Museum, a National Historic Landmark, is focused on the sharing and preservation of local maritime history, collecting and protecting manuscripts, books, art and artifacts of regional significance. Located on Steamboat Dock in Essex, CT, its campus includes the historic Samuel Lay House, an 1878 steamboat warehouse, and a waterfront park. The three-story museum offers both changing and permanent exhibitions, the latter including a replica of the first American submarine, built in 1776 for use against the British. For an additional fee, visitors may take a ride on the “Onrust,” a replica of a 17th Century Dutch boat. A museum shop is on the premises.
Categories: Family, Governance, History, Ocean
Pass Type: Circulating Pass (must be picked up and returned to the branch)
Pass Benefits
Reduced admission for 2 adults and 2 children or grandchildren.
Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center
109 Pequotsepos Road, Mystic, CT 06355
860-536-1216
https://www.dpnc.org/
[Details/Reserve]
Located in Mystic, CT, the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center is a combination wildlife sanctuary, natural history museum, and educational facility focused on the habitats of southeastern Connecticut. The museum includes interactive displays, a Night in the Meadow theater, live reptiles, amphibians, and birds of prey. With two locations connected by a greenway, the outdoor sanctuary encompasses 300 acres and 10 miles of trails. A museum shop is on the premises.
Categories: Children, Family, Nature, Science
Pass Type: Circulating Pass (must be picked up and returned to the branch)
Pass Benefits
Free admission for up to 5 people.
Florence Griswold Museum
96 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT 06371
860-434-5542
https://www.florencegriswoldmuseum.org/
[Details/Reserve]
The Florence Griswold Museum is an art museum with a focus on the Old Lyme Art Colony, a center of American Impression which was located on this site. The institution is comprised of the Florence Griswold house, a National Historic Landmark; the Krieble Gallery, a modern addition; and the grounds, which include sweeping views of the Lieutenant River. The first floor of the house has been restored to reflect how it appeared around 1910, including some doors and walls painted by artists boarding there at the time. Over the years, the museum's holdings have expanded to include works by artists who lived and worked in Connecticut from the late Colonial period to the early 20th century, such as paintings by Frederick Church, Thomas Cole, Childe Hassam, and Milton Avery. A museum shop and café are on the premises.
Categories: Art, Family, History
Pass Type: Circulating Pass (must be picked up and returned to the branch)
Pass Benefits
Free admission for 2 adults and 2 children.
Lyman Allyn Art Museum
625 Williams Street, New London, CT 06320
860-443-2545
https://www.lymanallyn.org/
[Details/Reserve]
The Lyman Allyn Art Museum, located in New London, Connecticut in a Federal style house built in 1829, is comprised of nine galleries, an auditorium, bookstore, research library, art studio, and conservation labs. Permanent exhibitions include “Louis Comfort Tiffany in New London,” “American Perspectives,” and “Playthings of the Past.” Changing exhibitions have focused on work from the permanent collection and by contemporary artists. The collection itself contains over 17,000 objects from ancient times to the present; artworks from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe, with particularly strong collections of American paintings, decorative arts, and Victorian toys and doll houses. Outside, a sculpture trail is surrounded by 12 acres of gardens and lawns.
Pass Type: Circulating Pass (must be picked up and returned to the branch)
Pass Benefits
Free family admission (2 adults and 2 children).
Children under 12 always free.
Mystic Seaport
75 Greenmanville Ave., Mystic, CT 06355
860-572-0711
https://www.mysticseaport.org/
[Details/Reserve]
Founded in 1929, this maritime museum—“The Museum of America and the Sea”—occupies 9 acres on the Mystic River in Mystic, CT and includes a recreated New England coastal village, a working shipyard, formal exhibit halls, and state-of-the-art artifact storage facilities. The Museum is home to more than 500 historic watercraft, including four National Historic Landmark vessels, most notably the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan, America's oldest commercial ship still in existence. Occasional demonstrations and performances—including costumed role payers strolling the grounds—bring to life different aspects of maritime life. A gallery and series of shops are on the premises.
Categories: Children, Crafts, Family, History, Ocean
Pass Type: Circulating Pass (must be picked up and returned to the branch)
Pass Benefits
Reduced admission for up to 2 adults and 3 of their children or grandchildren under 18.
New Britain Museum of American Art
56 Lexington Street, New Britain, CT 06052
860-229-0257
https://www.nbmaa.org/
[Details/Reserve]
True to its name, the museum is dedicated to American Art, which it delivers through a permanent collection and special exhibitions. Its holdings include works by John Singleton Copley, Thomas Cole, Gilbert Stuart, Frederick Church, Albert Bierstadt, Winslow Homer, Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent, Thomas Eakins, and others. Somewhat more contemporary artists in the collection include N.C. and Andrew Wyeth, Rockwell Kent, Georgia O'Keefe, Sol LeWitt, Thomas Hart Benton, Chuck Closer, Eva Hesse, and Dan Flavin. The Museum is handicapped accessible. There is a gift shop and café (with limited hours) on the premises.
Categories: Art, Family, History
Pass Type: Circulating Pass (must be picked up and returned to the branch)
Pass Benefits
Free Admission for four people.
Niantic Children’s Museum
409 Main Street, Niantic, CT 06357
860-691-1111
https://www.nianticchildrensmuseum.org/
[Details/Reserve]
The Niantic Children's Museum is designed to engage children from 9 months to 9 years with hands-on activities that focus on the arts, sciences, and world cultures. The space includes 5,000 square feet all on a single floor and an outdoor play space, nearly all of which is wheelchair accessible. The museum includes the Discovery Room for science-based activities; the Imagination Room with opportunities to pilot a fishing boat, ride in a fire engine, and visit the Global Café & Bazaar, among others; Toddler Land; and an outdoor area with a tree house, whale drum, climbing wall, kid-sized zipline, performing stage, and water play.
Pass Type: Circulating Pass (must be picked up and returned to the branch)
Pass Benefits
Reduced admission for 4 people, hours vary seasonally