What a nifty place! In downtown Bridgeport, right in front of the People's Bank HQ is the P.T…read more Barnum Museum - it is a great piece of local history. We got the free passes from the Milford Library last August and proceeded to bring the kids on a very HOT Wednesday afternoon to utilize the AC. What a pleasant surprise! We were the only patrons that day and had the run of the place. People's Bank also sponsored a recycling exhibit in the "Gallery" that was particularly thought provoking. http://www.barnum-museum.org/

The Barnum Museum is a staple to any visit to Brisgeport, as the man basically built the city. The…read moreentrance and tours are completely free, but they encourage donations at the front desk. The tour guides keep up on their research and are able to answer any question you may possibly have about Barnum and the city. I love visiting the Barnum Museum! They've done so much since my last visit! The pink walls are beautiful. It was a pleasure going through the tour with Cherise, who was very knowledgeable and adorable, and to meet the director, Kathy. Can't wait to see what's in store next!

"If a man could be two places at one time I'd be with you…read moreTomorrow and today Beside you all the way" (Bread) The Fairfield Art Museum has a split personality! That's because their wonderful painting and sculpture exhibits can be found in two separate and distinct buildings. The two locations are known as the Bellarmine Hall Galleries and the Walsh Gallery. You can walk from one to the other by following Bellarmine Road, it was a fairly easy walk. The Bellarmine Galleries are on the lower level of Fairfield University's main building. The space had previously been used for basement storage and underwent a multi-million-dollar renovation that opened the museum in 2010. They have some permanent exhibits dating from antiquity through the centuries, and many of them are religious themed. The paintings and artifacts are beautiful. The rotating exhibit displayed photographs. 'Famous & Family: Through the Lens of Trude Fleischmann'. She was a groundbreaking photographer that lived from 1895-1990. She loved taking portrait photos and I saw portraits of Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Leopold Stokowski among the 100 photos on display. The second museum space is known as the Walsh Gallery, and you'll find it inside the Quick Art Center. It's used to showcase special exhibitions and today's exhibition featured selections from Ireland's Great Hunger Museum. The exhibit looks at the impact of the Irish Famine of 1845-1852 through artwork produced by Irish and Irish American artists. Some of the paintings and sculptures were truly haunting, especially "Famine Ship", a sculpture crafted in 2000 by John Behan. His sculpture looks like an ordinary three masted ship, but if you look closely at the masts and the riggings you'll unveil dozens of intertwined bodies representing those that perished along the journey from Ireland to America. There was a guard and a very helpful docent in Bellarmine, and a guard with no docent at Walsh. Both halves of the museum are free and the walk along the campus from one to the other was very scenic and enjoyable. In fact, the art on Fairfield's campus isn't restricted to the museum. We saw plenty of public art sculptures all over the university grounds.

This museum is split between two buildings on the Fairfield University campus. I suppose they're…read morewithin walking distance of one another, but it would be a longer, uphill walk and both have parking nearby. The Bellarmine Hall Gallery is on the basement of a beautiful stone building sitting on top of the hilly campus. There is handicapped parking off O'Neil Way, and parking directly in front of the building (four spots). The hall has a lot of beautiful religious art from the 1500s, 1600s.. They are associated with the Met, and have other small examples of art from other cultures, some dating back to BCE. There is also a rotating exhibit, which at this time, the rotating exhibit is Japanese lacquer boxes. The Walsh Gallery is located in the Quick Art Center, and seems to be rotating exhibits. At this time, they have pieces from six Cuban artists. Both Galleries have extremely beautiful pieces and detailed descriptions explaining what you're looking at. Admission is free. Since both Galleries are on campus, check before going to make sure nothing has changed due to school breaks.

This place was super fun! It was bigger than I thought and…read morewith so many things for the kids, things that they can touch and learn from, it was very clean and the staff was also very very nice. They have some special activities as well on certain days at certain times that are educational and fun, we got to participate in a science demonstration about sound waves and that was cool. They also have a planetarium, it's small but the kids love it. I also really enjoy the fact that there's a place for the adults to sit, sometimes I end up with the kids backpacks and such that a nice bench is so helpful. The whole place was nice and clean and organized, which I was also surprised since kids tend to make a mess. The ticket for adult is - $18 And kids are - $15 They can spend as much time as they want in each section, it's deff worth every penny, so if you have any little ones, I highly recommend checking this place out.

It was fun for the kids and adults. Staff was friendly and engaging…read more There was enough for different age categories. Well definitely be going back.

Since the previous person's review was regarding a special event held in 2017, I submit my positive…read morereview based on at least 12 visits between 1997 and 2023. We started going when my kids were preteens and they've loved it since, and so have I. This is not an entertainment venue. There's no movie, no snacks, no gift shop.. Sometimes there is a lecture by an expert. It's a real working telescope facility manned by volunteer astronomers highly informed, interested in educating, sharing their telescopes. The Big Telescope is very impressive, housed in a small dome on the roof of a 3 story concrete building (that used to be a radar platform during the era of Nike Anti-aircraft Missles. It's generally only open to the public on Wed nights when the sky is clear, but check their website for latest schedule. Have fun. Be flexible. Dress warm.

Just had a really disappointing visit to the Westport Astronomical Society. We went to get some…read moreglasses for the great American eclipse and arrived about 1 1/2 hours early to try to beat the rush. To our surprise we happened to arrive just as they were setting up the tent. It seemed that we just beat the rush because a line started to quickly form behind us. Then we received the bad news....they weren't going to start selling the glasses until 1:00! The prime viewing time is 1:30-2:45 and they weren't starting sales of the glasses until 1:00?! That seemed like a horrible idea for a once in a lifetime event so my gf went to ask if there was any way we could get even just one pair of the glasses because we're taking them to her father in Norwalk who's a quadriplegic and unable to access the observatory grounds which would require a long ride up a crappy road in his power chair. The director, Alex, said no. That by itself bothered me, but not as much as the way he said it. He said it like a guy that was way too excited about being able to say no. I understand rules and having to say no, but in this case, it feels like an exception could have been allowed and even if it couldn't, the guy was just a world class a**hole in the way he handled it. Nice job making what should have been an exciting event for the whole country something that's totally handicapped unfriendly. I don't know what it's like on a normal day and after meeting Alex, I'm not gonna find out.

The Housatonic Museum of Art is a fantastic resource both for college students and the entire…read morecommunity. In the few times I've visited, I've seen everything from photography and sculptures created by students to real Warhol and Picasso paintings. The location is easily accessible in downtown Bridgeport with plenty of parking in the garage and the train station just a few blocks away.

This is a small museum located on the Housatonic Community College campus, a quick few turns off…read moreRoute 8. The roads and campus were really quiet on Saturday, and parking seemed to be available in their parking garage for visitors. Whether there were visitor designated spots, I wasn't 100% clear so I pulled into the first available spot. The museum is located in Lafayette Hall and while there was a security guard located in the general area, there doesn't seem to be an employee on the weekend to provide information or answer questions on the art. The signage was not the most comprehensive I've seen, and it was very small (two rooms that seem to be for rotating exhibits, a hallway exhibit on Little Liberia, and other older pieces on the second floor). On the other hand, it was also free. The art was beautiful, the Little Liberia exhibit very interesting, and it must be great for students who will be on campus already to be able to enjoy the works of art. As a visitor, particularly on the weekends, you may want to note this will be a quick stop and have plans for the remainder of the day.