Reviews of Connecticut Historical Society Museum and Library (Museum)

Melissa Freeman

We have visited the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS) Museum in Hartford, Connecticut multiple times, most recently on Saturday, January 5, 2019, and have always enjoyed it. Both the permanent and special exhibits in this museum have consistently been nice representations of Connecticut’s history. Although we only were able to spend about an hour and a half at the museum this time, we estimate that it would take at least two hours to see this museum and appreciate all that it has to offer. Admission into this museum was free because it was the first Saturday of the month but museum passes may be available at your local library for free admission on other days.

Mary M. Zawacki

Really wonderful facility with great collections and interpretation. A one-stop shop for learning about the vast history of CT. Plus the rotating exhibit at the time was exceptionally well done.

Jeff Carr

Very educational and the exhibitions are fantastic

JDRoyalty

This is for the fans of Mark Twain and those who are fans of haunted houses. Nice for a family trip or education experience. Ya Boy @JDRoyalty

Ciara Jaden

Great place to relive historical artifacts. It is always an amazing experience here. Love it. 5 stars for sure.

Cyndi Leigh

This place is a gem! The exhibits are beautiful and filled with amazing items from Connecticut's history. I have never seen such a diverse collection in such a beautiful setting. We spent about 4 hours in the museum. We are going back to check out the library next time. It was easy to get to and there's loads of safe, free parking.

Mustafa Hamadah

A lot of information you can learn about CT by visiting CT Historical Society Museum in Hartford. The museum is open for public for free first Saturday each month. However, I was surprised to see the size of the museum and the artifacts they have I thought since it's named CT historical society, I thought it would be bigger and the most museum that has artifacts in the state.

Chad Christian

The big sign said museum and looked interesting so we stopped to explore further. The first red flag we encountered was being charged $8.00 per person in a “not for profit” organization. Their bio says “Our mission is to inspire and foster a life-long interest in history through exhibitions, programs, and Connecticut-related collections, because improving knowledge of the past enhances understanding of the present and the ability to meet the challenges of the future.” As we started walking around we quickly realized we had been swindled out of our money. We thought the Katharine Hepburn exhibit upstairs would be interesting but as we walked through the windowless dark lit rooms all we saw were her old trousers and clothes, no pretty wax figures, no life-size posters of any of her movies, nothing. Thank goodness Katharine is not around to see her life’s work so poorly represented. The other two or three exhibits you could fit on a single shelf. Out of all the museums I have visited in the United States it’s the worst so please learn a history lesson from me and be sure to pick one of the other “real” museums if you want to see something interesting. I really should give it 1 star but I feel bad doing that.

Michael Maniscalco

Went with the kids and had a great time. Alot you can learn here.

Wayne Geiser

We visited on Smithsonian Museum Day. We came for the tavern sign exhibit but found a number of other interesting exhibits while wandering around.

karen luna

The place is large and well organized, when you enter someone tells you where you should go. The duration in depends on how fast you see things but it is between half an hour and an hour. On the second floor there are many fun and educational activities for children. We went today because it was free the entrance but if you have to pay l don’t know how much.

Christopher Perry

Very cool history museum with exhibits for young and old alike. Friendly staff and lots of information. Tiny soap souvenirs shaped like gravestones.

Darren Lowe

This is so worth the trip that we returned again this year. There is so much history here and there are such helpful people at this place that you should take the time to visit and do some research. Just remember, not open on Mondays! We signed up for a behind the scenes tour and were blown away!! You can't imagine the items of historic value that we saw! Thank you for making this possible!

Bethany Connecticut

An unexpected treasure! We've lived in the area for years and just went for the first time. I went with my five year old son, and expected it might be kind of dreary for him, but we both had a wonderful time. They have tons of clever hands on exhibits. These start at the entrance (where you can put a real acorn into jars to say whether you're a history nut, are a hard nut to crack, aren't sure, or your family is full of nuts--the last is most popular) and include colonial toys and clothes you can try, and places to time yourself as an assembly line worker putting together wwii mess kits. Plus the other exhibits, from a British soldier's red coat to an astronaut's model spacesuit made in Connecticut, were interesting and educational as well. This was one of the best, and, at $4 each, certainly the highest value, museum experiences we've had in the area.

Zakiyya Sewprashad

I went there will my class as a trip with my teacher the collection of fashion was amazing in 1800 it was mind blow to see what people would where and there style of there houses which was amazing I would to go again for a another a great experiment all over again I want to thank all the staff at the museum for there good job for show everyone what it was like back then so Thank You Very Much.

Seth

Great layout with lots of history! You can easily spend a couple hours here and learn a lot!

Courtney Pixler

There is very little of interest in the museum. Sparse collections with little curatorial effort. If you are a professional historian/geneologist be forewarned, they make you pay admission to research. I have been to archives all around the nation and never once been charged. Disappointing.

Heather Bressette

Wow what a place!! I'm at a loss for words! Nice place.definitely will go back