Imagine Nation is a learning. Center and children's museum. There are three levels and exhibits for kids from toddlers and up to elementary aged. There is a parking lot and street parking. There were so many interactive and hands on play areas. They even had an animal exhibit. There is a water play, music, engineering, area (and more). My kids enjoyed it and we were there for a couple of hours. If you have kids, I highly recommend. read more

ImagiNation constantly updates their facilities and we have been going to this place for years. They adjust their rooms and facility for changing child interests. They have a lot of Open Ended play and they offer some real cool opportunities to let your child explore their imagination. They have an Art room, a Animal exhibit room, a doctors office area that looks EXACTLY like a doctors office, an kitchen area built to look like a kitchen, a place to put on a play with stage lights and so much more. We loved the new changes so much we got a family season pass. This is not only the perfect place to bring kids on a weekend but a cool place for parties. They are a non-profit Childrens Museum but put ALOT of thought into making it more like an experience than anything else. Bring your kid (s) and you wont regret it. Just be aware though that parking is accessed from the street behind the museum so it might be confusing at first. Enjoy read more

this place is not open to the public. it is only open for parties or daycare. I went there with my grandson and there are notes on all the doors that they are no longer open to the public. read more

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. read more

Imagine Nation, A Museum Early Learning Center - From parking lot. - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me - Bristol, Connecticut

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This place is awesome if you have kids (or if you're just an overgrown adult child). I've worked with Imagine Nation a few times helping with certain events they put on for kids. The kids are always happy here, and from an outside POV I've never seen any problems! They have a cafe for you to eat, they plan events for your kids to participate in, there's always something cool going on.... I can't wait to have kids just to bring them here! Great place right in the heart of Bristol! read more

A lot for kids to do with interactive rooms -- not like some other children museums that have just puzzles in a room

So i must apologize, got my kids museums messed up.. I originally stote this on the kids place in Middletown (another 4-5 star place). So this little gem tucked away in Bristol was quite a surprise. 3 floors of activities, from a full play kitchen, barn, rabbit you can pet, snakes and turtles and a bird (can't pet the bird). A play fishing pond, kaleidoscopes, and well... There's just quite a bit of space for playing. And something else that's kinda unique, at least, I haven't seen any in the other kids play areas that I've been to, there's a little snack shop. read more

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. read more

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. read more

Imagine Nation, A Museum Early Learning Center - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me - Bristol, Connecticut

We took our boys here yesterday for a play date with another family. 3 kids total (ages 2 and 1.5). I thought the price was fair considering I've been to other children places and they all seem to be in-line. There is a lot for kids to do there. A nice kitchen area when you first walk in with lots of props. There's sand play, blocks, water play, music play, science area, and a room with a few animals. We got to see a snake, bird, bearded dragon, and turtle. Our kids has a good time. There is a cafe, but I can't really comment on that as we didn't get anything. The one complaint that I have, and it's a big one, is the staff. Of the few people I saw, only the front entrance greeter was friendly. One staff member came running down the stairs almost knocking my son over, who's 2! I called her out and she turned around without an apology and kept walking. She knew very well she grazed my son. The young girl walking around cleaning up the rooms looked absolutely miserable. No smile, greeting, nothing except a frown. I also saw her pull out her cell phone multiple times while she was walking around. The woman mopping up the water room was also rather unfriendly when she had us move while she mopped. This issue was enough for me to take my business elsewhere next time. read more

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. read more

This is a super cute little museum with a lot of cool exhibits. My kids really enjoyed the light floor thing. I'm not sure what it is called, but they walk on it and jump and dance on it, and the lights change color, and little games play on it, that they can manipulate with the weight of their bodies on the floor. They spent, no lie, at least two hours playing on this thing. There are lots of other cute parts of the musem and much of it is science related. They begged me to get a membership and are harassing me to take them back. read more

Compared to the other childrens Museums in the state this one seems a little run down however, it is close to our house and a quick place to take my 2 year olds out to when there is nothing else to do. They have a good time though, they love the "fishing" and animals there. They know them all by name and ask often to go and visit Ruby the turtle and Oreo the bunny. We joined for the year to take advantage of the ACM program where you can visit the other participating museums in the state for free. read more

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. read more

This is a nice museum. I did not notice it to be dirty as other reviews stated. I liked the exhibits and my kids had fun. The actual staff and the cafe were great but some of the volunteers ruined the experience for us. I will say that the TEEN volunteers were all awesome, from the art studio to the animal room. However, the older lady volunteers need some training or to go volunteer at an art museum or something. They very strict, bad with kids, not friendly, and several times made us all feel bad. Offer a class for them on positive guidance for children, child development, professionalism, or maybe delegate them to paperwork in the basement. They made us not want to return. read more

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 4th birthday party there next week. There will be plenty for all the other kids to explore. read more

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 1/2 - 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. read more

This place is so exciting for kids. So much for them to engage in. There are 3 floors of activities. We had 4 seven year olds and one six year old and had to drag them out. There are many volunteers picking up after the kids which keeps it very clean. They especially liked the building room, the ESPN sports center, the dentist office, the tool room, and the water games. There is so much more however. I gave only four stars for a few reasons. The floors although packed with activity areas are mostly on an open floor space in a circular design with the middle of the circle blocked with wall space. With several children this makes it difficult to keep on eye on all of them as they were interested in different things. There is a parking lot behind the museum however we were asked to move our car after being there 2 hours because they were setting up the lot for an event. A notice on their website or at the parking lot entrance would have been nice. Also it is on a one way street and needs to be entered through the back of the museum. The Cafe we did not like at all. Kids menu included chicken nugget which they were out of, a individual size pizza that was made with cheddar cheese and grilled cheese also made from cheddar. The day we were there, there was only one person handling everything from taking orders, cooking, doing dishes, and cleaning tables. She was overwhelmed and was proved in our order. One order was missing, all 5 kids drinks were wrong, and it took a long time for orders to be ready. She had to wash the serving baskets to serve our orders and the food came in wet serving baskets. Had we known there were a few picnic tables outside we would have packed lunch. All being said, the museum is a must! And check your library for discounted passes. read more

Took our under 2 year old here and she loved it. Didn't want to leave and had fun in nearly every room. Did not get to enter the water room as there was water all over the ground and it looked dangerous. Would definitely go back as it kept her so busy. read more

Nice place to take your kids. They have 3 stories of nonstop play. They have puzzles, arts and crafts, animals, computers, play houses, and more. read more

I took my son (1 1/2 year old) here for the Happy Hearts event. My son went into the room with the blue blocks. He was excited to play with them. There was a activity set up in there. There was not one sign posted that the blocks weren't allowed to be touched. The staff member in there rudely told me that they aren't allowed to be played with. I apologized and went to get my son who continued to try and play. She than huffed at me and told me that there is a fragile activity set up and they aren't allowed to be played with. For one why have toys out if children can't use them. And two the women doesn't need to be so rude about it. He is 1 1/12 years old. He doesn't understand why they have toys out for no playing. Never going back here. This place was awful. Better off doing the drive to Middletown and going to Kid City. read more

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. read more

Ms. Alie Fields made our experience amazing and special. My boys loved the food she made and it was so colorful and healthy and they loved it. Her warm personality and kindness with my children is what made out experience great. The front desk Megan Fields was so helpful and knowledgeable with the museum and the studios. We also had a class with Mrs. Rachel and she was great and so loving with my kids. Then we popped on over to the art studio and had a fun time with Mrs. Karen and her energy and warmth was great. Thank you for a great time and worth every penny!!! read more

Had a fantastic birthday party here today! The facility is awesome, staff is great, you couldn't ask for a better experience. Don't forget to ask for animal introduction add-on for your party. read more

Pretty cool place for the little ones. Very colorful, lots to do. My 5 year old son had an awesome time while on a playdate with his friend. My only complaint ... in the kitchen/market place/restaurant area ... they had aprons. Great! Dress up is fun. But then quick as a flash, my son found a chef's hat and plopped it on his head. Had I spotted the hat first, I would never allow that. I don't even know where the hat came from. It was probably shoved into a cabinet or the oven. In this day & age, you do not offer kids shared hats! You just don't! All it takes is for one child with lice to wear that hat. If you have disposable hats that kids can have to take home, great. If not, then just don't. There was also a hooded rain coat hanging in the "Kindergarten" area. Not a hat, but it still encourages kids to put the hood on their heads. Other than this little issue, I loved the place. It was perfectly colorful & noisy as any kid place should be! read more