Connecticut Science Center

250 Columbus Blvd, Hartford, CT 06103, USA

Address:	250 Columbus Blvd, Hartford, CT 06103, USA
Phone:	+1 860-724-3623
Site:	ctsciencecenter.org
Rating:	4.4
Working:	Closed 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 7

A Private User

I had just wanted to share some feedback that I had with you regarding the CT Science Center. As we have been watching the building near completion we have been eagerly awaiting the opening of the center as we frequent the Boston Science Center quite a bit. That being said, my daughter, age 7 and I arrived at the Science Center on Saturday afternoon and I had wanted to provide you with some feedback. We understand ( now ) that the exhibits are not all complete and we were upset to arrive and find that the kids area was not open, which was the reason for making the trip. Our first stop was at the ladies room, which did not have working water fountains. We did see that there was water on a desk but did not feel comfortable helping ourselves. We did find out later that the water was there for us to use but we were not told at the desk when we purchased the tickets. We went up to the 4th floor to start and my initial review is that the museum is just sparse looking. The Boston museum has posters, animals, etc on every wall as well as lots of hands on activities - we were very surprised to find about 5-10 things on each side of the museum to do and 3 of the 5 things were not operable at that point. We then spent about 20 minutes there and went to get lunch - where, my daughter was charged $2 for a "side" ( which consisted of about 2 forkfuls ) of mashed potatoes, $5.50 for her lunch and $3.50 for my hot dog ( and at this point we had not figured out the water issue ). We then went to the 5th floor , where again, none of the exhibits we looked at were working. At this point we went downstairs for a refund - for $29 we spent about 20 minutes there - we were very, very disappointed. They issued us tickets to come back when the museum was finished opening the attractions and then we had to pay another $5 to get out of the parking garage. Overall, hopefully the museum will improve in time but at this point we were not impressed but are hoping our feedback will improve the visit for future patrons.

Mary B.

Recently went here on a group fieldtrip & it wasnt worth the money we paid (even with a group rate). When it was time to have lunch in their little lunch room, we had 3 supervisors sitting in the room watching us the whole time. We were given 20-25 minutes to pass out the childrens lunches, sit down, eat & clean up. We all felt like we were rushed to eat. Upon entering, there were staff that acted like they didnt want to be bothered with & was just rude when one of the adults asked questions. Then while walking through the place, there were other groups of kids running around, jumping over things, yelling loudly & not giving other kids a turn to try things out, One kid from the group actually pushed a child from our group just to get in front to go first. We looked around, but couldnt find any adult chaperone anywhere. We couldnt even find staff members to bring this to their attention. Overall, I nor the rest of our staff was unhappy with this fieldtrip.

st r

The Connecticut Science Center is an incredible and engaging museum to say the least; our child was engaged virtually from beginning to end -- with just a 20 minute lapse or so -- during the 4 1/2 hours that we visited. The museum is not overly fraught with exhibits: Rather it balances just the right amount of hands-on interactive, visual, and audio experiences that keep boredom and fatigue at bay. The museum also excels at the way it presents modern science with historical science. For a child to be as interested and inquisitive about the Leonardo da Vinci exhibit as our child, given his age, was awe inspiring for me explaining and teaching fundamental physics and mechanics; worm gears, sprockets, etc. tied our question-answer dialogue back to the kids appreciation for Legos, bicycles, helicopters. We finished with the waterplay exhibit where people get to interact with whirlpools, water trajectories, and other activities in context of fluid dynamics.

Rachel Echevarria

CT Science Center...FAIL! My child was invited to a Birthday Party at the science center. I parked to go drop off my kid. When I got to the "birthday party check-in" desk the employee to us to stay there and we would be brought to the right area. 10 min later no one had showed us to where the bday party room was. Finally we saw another parent who was leaving and they pointed us in the right direction. As I was leaving from dropping off, I asked a different employee if they validated parking tickets for drop offs and was told no. The parking garage charge med $3 for 20 min to drop off for a party! 10 min of the time was b/c the science center employee had no clue of what was going on! This is ridiculous and definitely makes me and I hope others rethink have a birthday party at the CT Science Center due to their penny pinching parents! And what is worse, Im sure I am going to have to pay again when I go back to pick up!

Shayna F

Went here in February, 2012. I was so excited to go here because Ive been wanting to take my 2 year old there for a while but didnt want to pay $19 for myself unless it was phenomenal. Went here on a field trip with my preschool kids and was VERY disappointed. There isnt much for the 0-5 age group, it is more geared towards middle school aged kids. There were a few interesting things, the water tables were cool. The Dinosaur part was closed which did not go over well. If you DO end up going here buy the movie combo ticket we saw the 3D Meerkat movie which was the highlight of the day. The store was overpriced and the food was RIDICULOUSLY over priced. They do allow you to pack a lunch which I recommend, I payed $14 for a chicken salad wrap, chips, and drink. And the only hot items are a small hot dog and slice of pizza. The staff was friendly. Might be a hit with older kids but at $19 I will not be going again.

Michael Basile

The facility is modern and clean. A parking garage is attached to the museum which is very convenient, but not included in admission costs. There is also food and snacks on the main floor. The exhibits look more like a trade fair for renewable energy and construction materials. Their are lots of buttons and levers along with education material that is geared to the adults. Only 3 out of the six levels have exhibits. One exhibit is dedicated entirely to rocks, its kinda ridiculous how much space is dedicated to that subject. Their is only 1 dinosaur animated statue and a very small marine exhibit. The rest is STEM subject matter. There isnt enough staff to usher people along to allow others a chance to view/exhibits. Do yourself a favor and go early on a weekday and call in advance to see what exhibits are closed.

Douglas Girardot

A wonderful place for discovering scientific concepts with a gorgeous facility and great service; all in all, its a fun place to bring family and friends to. The building that its located in in Hartford is extremely modern and well-designed, and it is always kept nice and clean. All the staff there is very nice and helpful, and you can definitely notice a lot less stress than you might experience at a place with snappier people. The exhibits are also nice. My only concern with them is that they arent quite as hands-on as some museums, but theres still quite a few that are. While the CT Science Center is definitely intended for children, its by no means an inappropriate place for older kids and adults. I definitely recommend it!