The first test is the easier test. Is the Connecticut Science Center one of the best places to bring kids in Greater Hartford?
Test passed. If you live in greater Hartford, you should bring your kids to the Connecticut Science Center.
The second test is the harder test. Hartford is not that far from Boston. It's about an hour and half to two hour drive. That means it could be just as easy to visit the Connecticut Science Center as it is to visit Boston's Museum of Science.
Is the Connecticut Science Center a better choice than the Museum of Science?
Before addressing that question, let me share some of my experiences while visiting. They were nice enough to treat my family to admission, a movie, and bag of swag. (The $17/$14 price of admission is a bit less than Boston's $21/$18.)
The Connecticut Science Center is housed a sleek and shiny, modern, new building in downtown Hartford. Sunshine pours in through the massive glass curtain wall that overlooks the banks of the Connecticut River. The building, opened in June of 2009, has easy access from I-84 and I-91 with plenty of parking in an attached garage.
For those of you looking for "green credentials", the facility is LEED Gold Certified and obtains the majority of its energy needs from an on-site fuel cell. (The real estate guy side of me is very impressed.)
Under its green roof, the Connecticut Science Center hosts 150 hands-on exhibits, a 3D digital theater, and four educational labs. They try to address every part of science "from Physics to Forensics, Geology to Astronomy."
The first floor houses Kid Space for kids age 3 - 6 to explore spouting and whirling vortexes of water. It will be hard to get your young kids past this to take the elevator up to the other exhibits.
They are currently featuring a "Robots + Us" exhibit that showcases robot behavior. My highlight was a race against a robot to assemble a puzzle. I was subjected to its mocking taunt when it finished before me.
The Forces of Motion exhibit was the highlight for my six year old and two year old geeklets. A downhill racetrack and race cars with square wheels is a fascinating idea. I think my kids missed this aspect. The were happy to build the race cars and race them, regardless of the shape of their wheels.
Be prepared for the sights and sound when you enter the Sight and Sound Experience on the fourth floor. It's flashy and loud, but fun. Kids love matching movement with sound and light changes. Even I got caught up in the excitement and danced in the light chamber.
Does Connecticut Science Center pass the second test? I'm going to hedge and say that it's not a fair test. The Museum of Science can trace its roots back to 1830 and its current building has been open for almost 50 years. It's been a GeekDad destination of choice for generations. Its 1.5 million visitors a year dwarfs the 365,000 the Science Center had in its first year of operation.
In my opinion, they target different audiences. The Connecticut Science Center is more focused on kids and their parents. Teenagers and childless adults may not find it as interesting as the do-everything Museum of Science. But you don't have to chose one or the other, you should visit both. They are very different experiences.
If you live in New England and have kids, you should definitely add the Connecticut Science Center to your list of places to visit. I'd tell you to visit during Labor Day weekend, but they are closed for Labor Day. Go to Boston's Museum of Science for Labor Day and go to Hartford's Connecticut Science Center the next time.
You can find more about the Connecticut Science from its website, Twitter account (@CTScienceCenter), and its Facebook page.
