Natural beauty, colonial New England charm and a mild climate make Connecticut a popular tourist destination. White-steepled churches and village greens share the landscape with modern cities and a rugged river valley. From the scenic shoreline in the east to the wooded hills in the west, Connecticut is filled with a variety of attractions for families to enjoy.
The Dinosaur Place in Oakdale, in eastern Connecticut, offers a fun and educational prehistoric experience. Your kids can dig up a dinosaur skeleton, climb on a giant replica of a dinosaur skull in the playground or exit an outdoor maze through the mouth of a Tyrannosaurus rex. Your whole family can take a walk on the trails and admire the life-size dinosaur sculptures you'll find along the way. Your kids can also enjoy a water playground that includes a waterfall shaped like a dinosaur rib cage. Dinosaur Place offers a variety of indoor activities too, such as mining, panning for gold and digging for fossils.
In central Connecticut, in Middletown, you'll find a museum where your kids can play a giant xylophone, climb aboard a clipper ship and make their own videos. The Kidcity Children's Museum features themed rooms for kids of various ages. On the lower level, babies can play on the Farm, while toddlers and preschoolers can explore the Sea Caves, Main Street and the Space Age Roadtrip. Kids aged 6 and older can enjoy the Video Theater, Musical Planet, Clubhouse, Cornfield and Reading Room on the upper level. The Clipper Ship and Fishery on the lower level are designed for kids of all ages.
On the Naugatuck Railroad in Thomaston, in western Connecticut, take your kids on a 20-mile train ride alongside the Naugatuck River. You'll be able to see brass mills, the Thomaston Dam and the Mattatuck Forest. The round-trip rides are an hour and 15 minutes long and leave from Thomaston Station. The Naugatuck Railroad also offers special events for holidays. The Railroad Museum of New England, located in Thomaston Station, features an impressive array of railroad cars and artifacts, some dating as far back as the 1840s.
