The Children’s Museum
Where Learning & Fun Connect
Fall Hours of Operation
| OPEN | CLOSE | |
|---|---|---|
| Monday and Tuesday | CLOSED | — |
| Wednesday – Friday | 9:30 AM | 3:30 PM |
| Saturday | 1:00 PM | 5:00 PM |
| Sunday | 10:00 AM | 4:00 PM |
| The museum will be OPEN ☆ Monday, October 09, 2023 |
We welcome you to visit our new facility, where we share grounds with the Emanuel Synagogue. Our new facility gives us the opportunity to make a strong refocus on our family audience with younger children as they can visit the museum without large group traffic.
We are excited to announce the next step in our mission to inspire lifelong learning among children and their caregivers by providing experiential learning programs covering STEAM, health, nature, and the environment. You may have heard that due to the sale of the property on Trout Brook, we have relocated our museum operations. To continue to serve our community, we will be moving our Museum and our Preschool to a temporary location while we continue to develop plans for a new permanent site.
In our temporary home, we will focus on supporting our family audience with engaging hands-on exhibits geared towards children ages 2 to 8 years old.
We look forward to this exciting opportunity and building a better future together!
Members: Stop by anytime the museum is open to the public, members are checked in at the front desk. If you have questions about the move or your membership, please reach out to Stephanie Honnell.
Admission Rates
All adults and children ages 2-17 – $15.00/person!
Adults–
Including Seniors
$15.00/person
Children–
ages 2-17
$15.00/person
Toddlers–
(Tots) under age 2
Children who have not celebrated their second birthday-
Always FREE
Become a member today and receive immediate discounts!
Please call (860) 231-2824 with any questions.
Museum FAQ
Hours of Operation: Currently, the museum is open to the public Wednesday through Friday 9:30 am – 3:30 pm, Saturday 1 pm – 5 pm, Sunday 10 am – 4 pm, and closed Monday and Tuesday. Holiday hours will vary. General Admission is available for purchase in person on the date of your visit. Ask us about gift admission!
Masking Guidance: As of March 1, 2022 face masks are not required. However, The Children’s Museum group still strongly recommends and encourages all students, visitors, and employees to continue wearing masks to support the highest level of safety, even with this new policy in place. Our staff will continue to encourage and maintain ample distancing during programs and activities. To maximize the safety and health of our employees, animal demonstrations and other hands-on activities that require close contact with our staff may be limited or reduced. We require frequent hand-washing/sanitizing for all staff, and encourage guests to do the same. The Children’s Museum reserves the right to reinstate masking requirements at any time if the level of positive COVID test results among our employees or student population increases, or the risk of exposure to COVID transmission poses a high risk to our employees, our visitors, and our continued business operations.
Admission: General Admission cost is $15.00 for Adults, Seniors, and all children ages 2 and older. Children under 2 years of age (“tots”) are free but still must be counted in the number of individuals in your party. Admission is purchased upon arrival on the day of your visit.
Exhibit Availability: In order to keep our guests and staff safe while in the Museum we have configured exhibit and family spaces so that all public areas are on one main level. The upper level of our new, temporary location is reserved for our Preschool, our Education team, and online programming. We have created a flow through the museum that allows guests to enjoy the exhibits and encourages social distancing. We maintain the right to limit occupancy of each exhibit area and other spaces throughout the museum. The Children’s Museum does not have wheelchair access, elevators, or ramps.
Occupancy: In accordance with Museum guidelines and to ensure an enjoyable visit by all of our guests, we have limited museum occupancy. We have the right to refuse “walk-up” or “at-door” purchases of tickets if occupancy limits have been reached.
Accessibility: The Children’s Museum is in an older building with a number of stairs. The building is grandfathered and does not require accessibility. The museum’s temporary space is not handicap accessible and strollers are highly discouraged.
Illness or Exposure to illness: Guests must stay home if they are sick, or if they have been exposed to others who are sick.
General health and safety measures: The Children’s Museum strongly recommends and encourages all students, visitors, and employees to continue wearing masks however it is not required. Our staff will continue to encourage and maintain ample distancing during programs and activities. To maximize the safety and health of our employees, animal demonstrations and other hands-on activities that require close contact with our staff may be limited or reduced. We require frequent hand-washing/sanitizing for all staff, and encourage guests to do the same. The Children’s Museum reserves the right to reinstate masking requirements at any time. Museum staff reserves the right to ask non-compliant visitors to leave the facility.
Additional Frequently Asked Questions can be found here
Reciprocity and Library Discounts
*ASTC Reciprocal Policy:
Free-Touring ONLY
- Free admission is granted to the two adults named on the card and up to two children under the age of 12 residing in the household.
- Admission is purchased upon arrival at the museum on the day of your visit.
- You will be required to present a photo ID and a valid membership card
- If you do not have proof of ASTC reciprocity when you arrive you will not receive discounted admission.
- The following local restrictions on the use of reciprocal membership apply when visiting The Children’s Museum, West Hartford, and Roaring Brook Nature Center, Canton:
- Based on your science center’s/museum’s location: Science centers and museums located within 90 miles of each other are excluded from the program unless that exclusion is lifted by mutual agreement. 90 miles is measured “as the crow flies” and not by driving distance.
- Based on your residence: To receive Travel Passport Program benefits, you must live more than 90 miles away (“as the crow flies”) from the center/museum you wish to visit. Admissions staff reserve the right to request proof of residence for benefits to apply.
- Please follow this link for additional details on use restrictions http://www.astc.org/passport/
- Curious what a 90-mile radius looks like “as the crow flies”? Please follow this link to our favorite radius tool. Here you are able to see 90 miles around the museum. Next, enter your home address and click ‘new circle’. This will show you an accurate view of your restriction map.
** ACM Reciprocal Policy:
50% off General Admission for up to six (6) people.
- Admission is purchased upon arrival at the museum on the day of your visit.
- A cardholder must be present at the time of admission (ID will be requested)
- If you do not have proof of ACM reciprocity when you arrive you will be asked to pay for any discounted admission.
- The membership card must feature ACM Reciprocal logo
- TCM is not obligated to call other museums to verify membership. The member MUST have his or her card for verification.
For more information, including a list of Reciprocal Museums, please visit the ACM Website.
*** Library Membership:
Did you know that many libraries throughout Connecticut and surrounding areas have their own memberships with museums and nature centers that you can use? The Children’s Museum has over 60 participating libraries! If you have a library card give your library a call and see if they have a pass available.
- Buy one Admission at full price Get one Admission Free. (limit four (4)) (Note: If you bring four people and a library pass you will be paying the full admission cost for two of the four people in your party.)
- **West Hartford Public Library pass only allows one free admission. No BOGO
- If you wish to use a library pass you must present a library membership pass and photo ID upon check-in.
- Admission is purchased upon arrival at the museum on the day of your visit.
Holidays
The Children’s Museum is OPEN on the following holidays:
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- President’s Day
- Spring Vacation
- Good Friday
- Summer Vacation (June 24 – August 31)
- Veterans Day
- Indigenous Peoples’/Columbus Day (with the exception of 2022)
- Thanksgiving Weekend (Friday – Sunday)
- Winter Vacation (December 26 – January 2; closed 12/31/22 & 1/1/23)
The Children’s Museum is CLOSED on New Year’s Day, the first day of Passover, Easter Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve. Prices and hours are subject to change without notice.
(updated 09.03.2023)
