Connecticut Children’s Museum in New Haven (updated)

The CT Children’s Museum is one of those places that really make me like where we live.

As a parent, the CT Children’s Museum in New Haven is a place I like to keep in my back pocket.  I think of it like that happy, go-lucky friend we all need in our lives.  You know, the one you can always count on to have a good time.  Reliable.  Even-keeled.  Makes you feel at ease.  That’s what the CT Children’s Museum feels like for us.

I think this feeling is due in large part to it’s design.  Inspired and modeled after Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences, the Museum allows you…um, I mean, your child…to exercise all parts of their brain.  Gardner’s theory is rooted in the notion that humans are neither “right brained” nor “left brained.”  Rather, Gardner argues that humans display various intelligences, to varying degrees.  The Museum’s design reflects this theory directly.  The 8 intelligences are divvied up among 7 rooms in the Museum: the Musical Room, the Logical-Mathematical Room, the Spacial Room, the Interpersonal Room, the Linguistic Room, the Naturalist Room and the Intrapersonal & Bodily-Kinesthetic Room.  This very thoughtful design invites children to explore and interact with a wide range of activities that to them, simply feels like play.  It’s no surprise to know that this also keeps them engaged longer because it’s impossible to run out of things to do.  As a parent, it’s comforting knowing that taken altogether, a visit to the Museum is as close to a well-balanced dose of brain food as you can get.

While all the rooms have their own special feel, the Linguistic Room is probably the most memorable.  Based on the book Goodnight Moon, this room is a life-size replica of Margaret Wise Brown’s most well-known book.  A bedtime classic, it is very, very cool to walk inside of “the great green room,” where there is “a telephone and a red balloon and a picture of…”  This room is a must-see every time.

I have to add that it took me a couple of visits to figure something out about the Museum.  I remember, I wasn’t initially wowed by it.  Not that that’s essential, but it seemed like a lot of familiar activities and toys were really the meat of the exhibits.  That is, there were wooden blocks, stuffed toys, dress up clothes, puzzles, and books.  Lots and lots of books, which is awesome.  However, as I’ve thought more about this, it’s exactly why we like this Museum so much.  It’s not someplace where, as a parent, I have to psyche myself up to go.  I don’t have to go into my Zen mode to prepare myself for large crowds or mobs of screaming, overly excited children.  For M, it’s a place with things she already knows how to use and do.  It’s a place where she is not intimidated by bells and whistles; she can just play, period.  Kind of like a playground, you know?  It’s that ‘ole, reliable friend we’re sure glad to have around.

the essentials:

New Haven, 22 Wall Street, #203.562-5437

Only open Fri & Sat*, 12pm-5pm

Admission is $5 for adults & children

*Hosts Saturdays at 2 which features a dramatic reading of one children’s book a week.  A free copy of the selected book is given to each family in attendance.

From the Director of the Museum:

“The main reason we used Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences as our template is to help parents identify their own child’s strengths.  For example, we have visiting kids who head directly for the Naturalist Room because they are huge naturalists, loving to learn about bees, bugs, trees … Other kids live for the Logical-Mathematical Room … creating patterns and counting things are their favorite things to do in the world.

Additionally, it is worth noting that many of our books are in Spanish or are bi-lingual.  Many of our books have been hand-Brailled as well.  We also have an ASL interpreter who “signs” monthly during ‘Saturdays at 2′.

The Museum has won 2 national awards from VSA Arts & the Association of Children’s Museums for its accessibility and universal design (ramps, tactile exhibits, audio components).  In our original design phase, making the museum a place for ALL kids was the cornerstone of each room!” ~Sandy Malmquist