Mystic, CT Attractions
Mystic, CT Attractions
 | Children's Museum of Southeastern Connecticut 409 Main Street Niantic, CT • 860-691-1111 As with most things around Mystic, nautical themes abound at this interactive children's museum 20 minutes down the coast in Niantic. Kids can set sail on a lobster boat and haul up traps with wriggly red plastic specimens, or descend to the ocean's depths in a two-person submarine at the museum's new seaside village exhibit. Areas for older kids allow them to experiment with magnets and shadow puppets. In addition to its exhibits, the museum also has several drop-off classes for toddlers and preschoolers in which they can learn to paint and make craft projects. Best For: Tots (0-2)•Kids (3-6)•Kids (7-9) |
 | Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center 109 Pequotsepos Road Mystic, CT • 860-536-1216 Not everything about Mystic centers around the water. In fact, there's plenty to explore on land at this 300-acre nature center that includes both walking trails and a nature museum. Kids can see frogs, snakes, turtles and other live animals in instructive exhibits, and then go off looking for their own along eight miles of gentle hiking trails. Particularly popular is the pond trail, which includes a boardwalk from which you can view ducks and bullfrogs in their native habitat; along other trails, raptor enclosures introduce you to owls, hawks and other winged friends. During summer and fall, the center also offers weekly drop-off programs for kids aged 4 to 10 with guided expeditions in search of all manner of creepy crawlies. Best For: Kids (3-6)•Kids (7-9)•Tweens (10-12) |
 | Dinosaur Place 1650 Hartford-New London Turnpike Oakdale, CT • 860-443-4367 The Connecticut River Valley isn't the best place in the world to find dinosaur fossils; scientists, however, have long looked to the area as one of the best places in the world to find fossilized dinosaur tracks. Now you can walk in the "footsteps of the giants" at this deliciously cheesy adventure park that appeals to the five-year-old in all of us. Exhibits include wooded paths where you can walk amidst replicas of T Rex and all his scaly cousins, as well as mines where little ones can "prospect" for gemstones, keeping any they find, and exhibits of dinosaur skeletons, geodes, and fluorescent minerals that glow under black lights. It's not quite Jurassic Park, but it's enough to send your family paleontologist into spasms of Jurassic joy. Best For: Kids (3-6)•Kids (7-9)•Tweens (10-12) |
 | Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration 55 Coogan Boulevard Mystic, CT • 860-572-5955 Any child with a working knowledge of Raffi knows all about that friendly "baby beluga," swimming so happily and freely in the sea. But there are few opportunities in the country to come face-to-face with these playful white whales that form the centerpiece of Mystic's second-most visited attraction (after the seaport). Three 1,000-pound belugas inhabit the one of the largest such tanks in the U.S., which has both underwater viewing areas into tunnels and ice caves, and above-water ledges from which you can watch the whales spout and feed. Other exhibits include penguins, jellyfish and sea lions, who regale guests with their antics at regular shows. Best For: Kids (3-6)•Kids (7-9)•Tweens (10-12)•Teens (13+) |
 | Mystic Seaport 75 Greenmanville Avenue Mystic, CT • 860-572-0711 Mystic Seaport isn't just a engaging recreation of a 19th-century shipbuilding village -- it is that village, preserved in time through the past hundred-some years through the forward-looking efforts of a trio of Mystic residents. More than 30 individual buildings --including a dry-goods shop, ship provisioner, pub and school -- have been meticulously restored and supplemented by other buildings transported here from all over New England. Now they are populated with hands-on exhibits and costumed interpreters who teach visitors about all aspects of maritime history and culture. You can earn your sea legs hoisting the sails on the Charles W. Morgan -- the country's last remaining whaleship -- or several other vessels berthed on the wharf; learn sea shanties from authentic musicians; or learn how to make ropes. Younger kids can try their hand making maps, building wooden boat models, or just climbing the rigging at a nautical-themed "playscape." Best For: Kids (3-6)•Kids (7-9)•Tweens (10-12)•Teens (13+) |
 | Project Oceanology 1084 Shennecossett Road Groton, CT • 860-445-9007 If a trip to Mystic Seaport or the Mystic Aquarium "wets" your appetite to get out on the water yourself, then an expedition aboard one of the 50-plus foot research vessels of Project Oceanology will quench your thirst. Affiliated with the University of Connecticut, the organization's trained oceanographers and marine biologists literally trawl the ocean floor with nets in search of denizens of the deep to bring up for a closer look by kids, who can touch and hold crabs, lobsters, sea cucumbers, and other sea creatures. At another station during the 2.5-hour cruise, kids can try their hand at testing the chemistry of seawater, examining salinity, oxygen content, and other properties essential to ocean life. Note: trips are open only to kids ages 6 and up. Best For: Kids (7-9)•Tweens (10-12)•Teens (13+) |
 | Submarine Force Museum 1 Crystal Lake Road Groton, CT • 800-343-0079 One of the less celebrated campaigns of the Revolutionary War was the several attempts to plant underwater explosives on British ships using a watertight spherical craft called The Turtle. The efforts were unsuccessful, and the Turtle eventually sunk -- but its legacy lives on at the Submarine Force Museum, which details the evolution of submarine warfare from 1775 to the modern day. The museum inhabits the grounds of the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, a 10-minute drive down the coast from Mystic. The highlight is a trip below decks on the USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear submarine, which sailed more than 500,000 miles during the height of the Cold War between 1954 and 1980. Best For: Kids (7-9)•Tweens (10-12)•Teens (13+) |
Read more about Mystic, CT Resorts Read more about Mystic, CT Family Vacations
© Copyright 2012. The Independent Traveler, Inc.
All rights reserved. This file may be downloaded for personal
use only. Other copying or reproduction is expressly prohibited.
All rights reserved. This file may be downloaded for personal
use only. Other copying or reproduction is expressly prohibited.
- Independent Traveler independenttraveler.com
- Cruise Critic cruisecritic.com
-
FREE Family Travel Newsletter -
Family Travel Tips (10 New)
– Family Planning and Tips
Sure, free drinks and complimentary Wi-Fi rank high on the lists of most desirable hotel perks among travelers in general, but when it comes to visiting with kids in tow, which hotel amenities are most revered by families? From onsite airline check-in to in-room babysitting and kid concierges, con...
Favorite family biking locales in North America combine stunning scenery with a relatively easy grid of bike trails and uncongested backcountry roads. All of these locales offer exhilarating rides, guaranteed to inspire all ages to travel on two wheels. Many of the cities on the list, like San Anton...
1. Celebrate a Historic Anniversary. Boston's historic Fenway Park celebrates its 100th anniversary this year -- the perfect time to take in a ballgame while enjoying the history of America throughout the city. Give your school-aged children an up-close and personal history lesson by visiting some ...
The unofficial start to summer is nearly here, and this May 25 to 28 weekend is filled with enticing deals for families. Get out there and start your summer!
Broadmoor Resort, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Escape to the Colorado mountains for a two-night Memorial Day Family Escape at the Broadmoor. ...
There are few rites of passage as exciting as taking a child on his or her first camping trip. Families bond while roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, making shadow animals on the tent wall, chasing after fireflies and inhaling fragrant whiffs of pine. Whether you are an experienced camper from pre-...
1. The National Mall
There's no question that the National Mall, the two-mile strip of wide-open green stretching between the Lincoln Memorial and the U.S. Capitol and surrounded by Smithsonian museums and national monuments, is a must-see destination for kids. "The Mall," chock full of our nation'...
1. gogo Kidz Travelmate
If you're traveling with a child weighing less than 50 pounds, you won't want to leave home without this ingenious contraption that in seconds lets parents convert most car seats into a stroller. With the gogo Kidz Travelmate, there's no more lugging both a heavy car seat ...
On a recent ski vacation, my family of five traveled with five cellphones, three laptops, three iPads, two iPods and just for good measure, a GPS! Given the prevalence of electronic devices in our daily lives and our somewhat compulsive reliance upon them, taking a true vacation feels almost imposs...
The 1969 film, "If It's Tuesday, This Must be Belgium," depicted a funny, but sometimes all too true, look at a tour group of Americans traveling through Europe so quickly they barely knew where they were and what they were seeing.
Today, tour groups are quickly becoming an attractive option for ...
When you think of an all-inclusive vacation, your mind goes straight to the Caribbean, doesn't it? But you don't need to leave the country to get an all-in-one vacation -- resorts in the U.S. also provide all-inclusive getaways with accommodations, meals, and activities all packaged in one easy pric...