THE LIST of Free Museums for 2023 Summer at the Museum!

IT IS HERE! IT’S HERE! IT’S FINALLY HERE!!!

Does anyone else feel like Summer at the Museum morning is like Christmas morning? It’s just the BEST PROGRAM EVER.

The following Museums are FREE to CT children aged 18 and under and one adult caregiver between July 1, 2023 and September 4, 2023.

The full list is on CT Visit and we are working on confirming our list below.

Each Museum has different guidelines to register. We’ve linked the information on the list.

I also made up a Bingo game, because I like to pretend there is a challenge to everything we do- even if it is just a challenge I made up myself ?

Looking for your own to print at home? Check Here

Looking for your own to make? Template here

What happens when you get BINGO? Fame, Glory, Cool Points- who knows!?!?! Email me to find out ?

PS- Looking for museums that are free all year round? Check out our round up here. 

A BUNCH of Children’s Museums are participating. These are places where kids can unleash their imaginations and explore. Visit one or all of the following:

• Children’s Museum of Southeastern Connecticut, Niantic
• The Children’s Museum, West Hartford
• The Discovery Museum, Bridgeport
• EverWonder Children’s Museum, Newtown
• Imagine Nation, A Museum Early Learning Center, Bristol
• Kidcity, Middletown
• KidsPlay Children’s Museum, Torrington 
• New Britain Youth Museum, New Britain
• Stepping Stones Museum for Children, Norwalk

We love Science Museums and Nature Centers!

• Connecticut Science Center, Hartford
• Bruce Museum, Greenwich
• Connecticut River Museum, Essex
• Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, Stonington 
• Dinosaur State Park, Rocky Hill

Is it even summer without visiting the aquarium? Here in CT, we have a number of Nature Centers and Aquariums that you can visit for FREE! Check out:

• Mystic Aquarium
• Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk
• Meig’s Point Nature Center, Hammonasset Beach State Park

CT has a fantastic Zoo, and it is FREE! Plus, so many nature centers have animals to explore. This summer, CT Residents can visit these zoos and nature centers FOR FREE:

• Beardsley Zoo
• Meig’s Point Nature Center

As one of the original 13 colonies, CT has some amazing History. These museums preserve the past- while offering some fabulous opportunities for kids:

• The American Clock and Watch Museum, Bristol
• Antiquarian and Landmarks Society, Hartford
• Avery-Copp House Museum, Groton
• Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum, Willimantic
• Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford
• Connecticut Trolley Museum, East Windsor
• Connecticut’s Old State House, Hartford
• Danbury Museum & Historical Society, Danbury
• Danbury Railway Museum, Danbury
• Fairfield Historical Society, Fairfield
• Stanley Whitman House, Farmington
• Fort Trumbull State Park and Museum, New London
• Wood Memorial Library and Museum, South Windsor
• Gillette Castle State Park, East Haddam
• Greenwich Historical Society, Greenwich
• Thomas Griswold House, Guilford
• Harriet Beacher Stowe Center, Hartford
• Henry Whitfield State Museum, Guildford
• The Institute for American Indian Studies, Washington
• Keeler Tavern Preservation Society, Ridgefield
• Lock Museum of America, Terryville
• Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, Norwalk
• Pequot Museum, 
• Mark Twain House & Museum, Hartford

I was nervous about taking my kids to an art museum, but we visited on a day with children’s activities and it was a lot of fun!

The following Art Museums are free for CT Kids:

• The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
• Eric Sloane Museum, Kent
• Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme
• Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington
• Lyman Allyn Art Museum, New London
• MoCA Westport
• New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain
• Real Art Ways, Hartford
• Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford