Play and Learn at Imagine Nation, Connecticut's Newest Children's Museum

What do you do when your two-year-old tells you in no uncertain terms that she does not want to leave the museum?

For starters, if the museum is Imagine Nation in Bristol, Connecticut, you shouldn't be surprised. The Family Center of Bristol opened this museum for children and families in 2004, and during our first visit in April of 2005, my little one and I packed a lot of hands-on fun into two hours.

Plenty to Do… Even If You're Only Two

It was a quiet Thursday morning at Imagine Nation when we arrived at 10 a.m. On the museum's first floor, we banged out a tune on a giant Glockenspiel, made interesting designs with the Sand Pendulum, watched balls spiral down into the Gravity Well and had more fun than I ever realized you could have with a hair dryer as we tried to keep ping pong balls aloft long enough to direct them into cones and tubes.

Next, we headed upstairs, where we gazed into an antique kaleidoscope, constructed a paper bag mouse puppet, made soothing sounds with a rain stick, painted with water and tried unsuccessfully to figure out how to play computer games in the unattended Cyberlab, which is equipped with toddler-friendly computer stations.

On Our Own

My one criticism of the museum was that on this particular Thursday morning, there weren't many staff members or volunteers around, so we were largely on our own to figure out how to interact with the museum's exhibits, some of which had no instructions. For example, we didn't realize at first that you can actually stand inside an enormous bubble in the Waterplay room. After watching two other girls who knew what to do, though, being surrounded by a bubble proved to be one of my little one's favorite museum activities.

ESPN Play Your Way, one of the museum's major exhibits for older kids, was a bit complicated, too, and while I was trying to figure out how to work the controllers for the air hockey video game, my daughter grabbed the other controller and, I sheepishly must admit, scored on me. It's lucky that kids don't learn to gloat until they're at least three!

The ESPN exhibit offers kids the opportunity to don sporting uniforms and show off their moves in front of a green screen. A bit of video magic creates a digital backdrop for the action when it is displayed on monitors. It looked like a nice set-up, but without anyone on hand to operate it, we didn't get to see it in use.

Exit Strategy

Back downstairs, my daughter put on a bright orange apron, and we spent time building with all variety of blocks, sticks, Tinker Toys and Legos in the Kids Zone area until I simply couldn't take it anymore. It wasn't the building that was a problem; it was the recording of The Wiggles singing "Bit By Bit" set to play on continuous loop that finally drove me to pronounce that it was time to leave.

Even though it was lunchtime, this news didn't sit well with my little museum lover. For her, this was a magical morning filled with new and fun play experiences for us to enjoy together.

So... how did I get her to depart without making the kind of fuss you can only get from a two-year-old? I promised her we'd visit Imagine Nation again soon.

What You Need to Know About Imagine Nation

Tickets: As of 2008, admission to the museum is $5 per person. Infants under the age of 1 are admitted free.

Hours: Imagine Nation is open year-round. As of 2008, hours are Wednesday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. The museum is open until 8 p.m. the first Friday of each month.

Directions: From Hartford, follow Route 84 West to exit 33 for Route 72 West toward Bristol. When Route 72 ends, continue through the intersection to the next light and turn right onto West Main Street. After about 1 mile, West Main Street becomes Pine Street. Stay on Pine Street another 2 miles to Route 229. Proceed through the intersection and up the hill on Mountain Road. After Mountain Road becomes South Street, turn right onto West Street/Route 69 at the fourth traffic light. Take the first right onto Upson Street, and the entrance to the museum parking lot is 1/4 mile ahead on the left.

Additional directions are available on the Imagine Nation Web site.

For More Information: Visit the Imagine Nation Web site or call 860-314-1400.