Imagine Nation

What your eyes may see:
Colorful. Playful. Fun. Stimulating. The entrance area has an ice-​cream and coffee shop. They make coffee ice cream as some of the flavors. There are many tables in that area to sit down and enjoy a scoop. Once you pass the cash register it is play time from here, with lots of science type stuff that kids from the ages 3 to 8 could enjoy. Water, sand, bubbles, books, wind, paint, etc. There is a small animal room where people check out turtles, snacks, spiders, and even cockroaches. There is a small McDonaldized playscape. Kinda hard to see any kids going in and out of there, but kids seem to mainly enjoy it. Some rooms you can play as a dentist or artist, other rooms were assisted by staff. I enjoyed the pseudo kitchen and grocery store, where kids can kinda do their rendition of master chef. They seem to have loads of toy/​play food for you to have.
Parking was hard to get to for their parking lot, since the streets were one way. The staff were pretty friendly and helpful.

This place is great for the pre-​k through elementary school crowd. Staff is friendly and there is a lot to do. Every time we go 7 year old begs to go back. Lots of fun.

As others have said, this place is best suited for 2 — 6 or at the very least walking around. We went to check it out with my 11 month old who doesn’t fully walk yet. She was able to enjoy the instrument area and that was about it.
It wasn’t the cleanest place I’ve seen but it wasn’t filthy either. It definitely a well used children’s museum. Considering the staff was teen girls from the Boys N Girls Club of Bristol it was cleaner then you’d expect.
The highlight of this place though is the new soda bar. They serve Turkey Hill Ice Cream and the milk shakes are fantastic. Almost worth the trip by itself.
We will definitely be coming back once my daughter is old enough to enjoy it.

While this place was awesome ten years ago, it is VERY dirty now. There were a lot of teen workers just standing around when they should have been disinfecting. There were some fun things to do there, but when we saw the rabbit cage, we were so disgusted. The poor rabbit had been sitting in a week’s worth of feces… it was even in its food bowl. The bunny’s cage did not drop it down, instead, the animal was sleeping right in it. No clean food, no water. When we asked a worker when it was going to be cleaned, the answer was «at the end of the day, a company comes to care for the cage. «Apparently, no one cared to keep this bunny fed, clean & watered. This will give you an idea of the sanitation at this museum.
We spent about an hour here. There really wasn’t that much to do with a toddler. No soap or paper towels in the the bathroom either. A one time trip for us. We won’t be back.

Imagine Nation Children’s Museum is a good experience for a toddler. We have been to Kid City Children’s Museum in Middletown and the Children’s Museum in West Hartford, and both are a superior value and experience in comparison. That said, Imagine Nation certainly holds its own. Waterworld, ESPN Sports Center, Thumper the rabbit and the live animals room were the most interesting and engaging rooms. The main downside to this facility is the dearth of visible staff. There is no one really available to assist you. Additionally some of the rooms just seems like germ wonderlands that never get wiped down with disinfectant. The pre-​school room was a bit of a mess and I was praying that my son would not put anything in his mouth or even put his hands in his mouth after we left that room. I had the same feeling in the hospital themed room. Those baby dolls looked rough! I will visit again because it’s close to home and admission is only $ 7 for non-​members, but there are definitely more educational, better maintained children’s museums in the Greater Hartford area.

WORST PLACE EVER! The rudest staff I have ever encountered.
We went last December for a holiday festival and paid $ 10 a person (child and adult) to get in. It wasn’t at all what they promised.
Now, we just left Daisy’s Birthday Bash. WHAT A JOKE! It said it was from 4 – 6 and the pig was outta there by 5. There were no activities or anything like they promised. Also, it cost $ 4 a person (there were 2 adults and 1 child… each paid the same) to walk in take a snap shot with the pig and leave.
When I asked the woman at the front what exactly I paid for she turned and walked away! RUDE!!! I will NEVER go back again!

This is a good place for kids from 2 + years. It is a very small place. But, many options are available for kids within this small building.
For a winter day in CT when you have very few options to take your kids out, this place is a nice one for a good fun.
The kids will definitely love this place. Our 3 year old loved it.

A wonderful place, our 3 and 6 year olds love this hands-​on exploratorium. Everything can be touched, picked up and played with. It is filled with simple, durable things that stimulate all the senses. We are having our little girl’s 4^th birthday party there next week. There will be plenty for all the other kids to explore.

I was underwhelmed by our one visit to Imagine Nation. There are several children’s discovery museums in Connecticut and I would put this one near the bottom of the list as far as quality. It may be good for little ones, but our kids are 4 and 6 and Imagine Nation only kept their interest for about 1 ½ — usually, we have to drag them out of these types of places. Their favorite exhibit — the huge drawing table near the entrance, where they could pick the colors and designs for a giant drawing and then watch it happen right before their eyes.