Currently, the museum is open to the public Wednesday-Friday 9:30-3:30, Saturday 1-5, and Sunday 10-4 (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!

The Children’s Museum and Preschool is located at 180 Mohegan Drive in West Hartford, Connecticut ( show on google maps ) or, click here for directions

The museum shares grounds with Emanuel Synagogue. The museum is located on the left hand side of the building. Park in the first parking lot as you enter the grounds.

General Admission is purchased upon check-in. Daily General Admission is not sold online.

The Children’s Museum is geared to young children, PreK – age 8. Our new, temporary location 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. School groups will not be visiting us while we are at 180 Mohegan Drive.

General admission for non-members is $15 for adults, seniors, and children (ages two and up). Children under the age of 2 are free.

Family Four Packs, Be Our Guest Admission, Timed Ticket Discount Codes, and Membership Guest Passes are redeemable. Guest pass and coupon recipients please call (860) 231-2824 to see if your pass or coupon is valid before visiting. Library pass holders and reciprocal members (ASTC, ACM) will sign up upon arrival to the museum and must bring a library pass or their reciprocal membership card and a valid photo ID. For more info visit ASTC: https://www.astc.org/membership/find-an-astc-member/passport/ ACM: https://findachildrensmuseum.org/reciprocal-network/

 Wildlife Sanctuary, Dinosaurs in Your Backyard, Lizard Lair,  Early Childhood Learning Lab, , Elementree Forest (4 years and under)

No, our planetarium is taking a break while we are in our new temporary location. Plans for a planetarium may be included in our permanent site. Contact our registrar, Patrick Burgess at (860) 726-4008, if you are interested in booking a Starlab traveling planetarium program.

We have seen visits last from 1 hour to 6! Your visit is not limited and you are welcome to stay as long as you like. Visit time is dependent on your engagement level. But please allow at least 1-2 hours to experience all we have to offer.

Even though we are The Children’s Museum, we understand adults may be interested in seeing our animals. Upon Check-in, adults visiting without children will be asked for a photo ID and will review our policy in more detail with Visitor Services staff before exploring the museum.

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.

Strict cleaning schedules and procedures are done throughout the day. Some of these measures include reducing our capacity in certain areas, encouraging mask-wearing, and distancing from those not in your party. If you feel sick or have a recent known exposure to COVID-19, please stay home.

No. Because of space and safety concerns, strollers are not allowed in the museum. We are also an older building that has been grandfathered into accessibility laws and we have a number of stairs. There is no stroller parking inside the museum, please leave strollers in your car.

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.

There are no vending machines at the museum. You are welcome to bring a snack and eat it in designated eating areas or in your car. Please DO NOT bring snacks containing peanuts into the museum. Proper social distancing must be maintained while eating inside.

Water is available in our Gift Shop for $1.00 per bottle.

Currently, our gift shop is open and accessible in our front lobby area. You are welcome to come to the museum gift shop to shop at any time, admission is not required.

Animal demonstrations are regularly scheduled; please see the front desk upon check-in as times may be subject to change.

We are! Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok for current information about special museum days and all the latest news about the museum and our residents!

Our educators are on the road, at the museum, and online! Are you a school teacher or program coordinator? Please visit our Online Resources Guide for all the programs we can virtually bring to your classroom.

Members need to register to receive their membership benefits online. For non-members, registering will simplify the process for your next visit, camp sign-up, program registrations, and making donations online.

Select ‘Create an Account’ at the top of any Blackbaud order screen.

There are no password requirements to register for the site. We suggest you use something that will be easy for you to remember.

If you forget your password, click ‘sign in’ on the top of any ticketing, programming, or donation purchase page (these pages will start with the URL ‘blackbaud.com’). At the bottom of the sign-in popup box click ‘Forgot your password?’ You will be instructed on how to reset your password.

If we are open for operation, please come to the museum when you are ready to visit!

Green guest passes are redeemed in person on the day of your visit. If you lost your passes please call (860) 231-2824 to talk to a Visitor Service associate and verify how many guest passes are available on your account!

Masks for all guests in your party over two years old (if desired), your membership card, and your photo ID. You may wish to bring a water bottle, water is available for purchase in our gift shop. Library members must bring a valid library pass and their photo ID. Reciprocal members must bring their participating museum’s valid membership card and their photo ID.

Yes, we accept ACM/ASTC reciprocal memberships. Be sure to bring your card when you check in for your visit. Note: ASTC’s 90-mile rule still applies. You must travel outside a 90-mile radius ‘as the crow flies’ from your museum to be able to use the ASTC reciprocal program. Curious what a 90-mile radius looks like “as the crow flies”? 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.