They are open limited hours, but it's worth a visit to a guy who was annoyed by a bunch of…read moredifferent spellings all over the place. Or in other words, he saw value in unifying the country through singular coded spelling choices, including ditching some British spellings. This suggestion for "tung" never caught on though. It's not a big house, but they do provide a video background and an iPad introduction where in each room you can play audio on the family, the room, and other background information. Since we were the only ones there, playing the audio was great. If a bunch of people were there, individual audio could get annoying. But there was a lot of good information to play as much or as little as needed. There's a small gift shop, and the whole thing should take about an hour. It's a neat little historical site for someone of whom we have all read their work.

The Noah Webster House is a very cool museum where you'll learn all about "The Father of American…read moreScholarship and Education." Of course Noah Webster is most well-known for publishing his dictionary, but he also created the "Blue-Backed Speller," which taught generations of children how to spell and read, and played an integral role in advocating for copyright reform. Here's the scoop on this interesting little museum in West Hartford: The museum is open Monday-Sat, 1-4PM. Adult admission is $14. The museum is actually the location of Webster's childhood home. Parking is available on site. Once inside, you will receive an iPad, which will guide you through each room in the house. You can also use your smartphone to scan a QR code and download the tablet tour on your phone. There is a short 15-minute film about Webster's life that you can watch prior to starting the self-guided tour. You can then use the iPad to navigate your way from room-to-room, and the iPad includes an audio narration about the room, what it was used for, etc. Photography/video is allowed. After finishing the tour of the house, there is an educational/demonstration room that you can visit where staff give various presentations on different topics. The day I went, a staff member was demonstrating how the Webster family used to card and spin wool. It was pretty cool! These demonstrations are part of the museum's "Life on the Webster Farm: Work Days" educational series, and are generally the second or third Saturday of each month (visit their website for the full list of dates). Before leaving, you can check out the gift shop which has Noah Webster and West Hartford souvenirs and memorabilia. After I finished at the museum, I took the short drive to Blue Back Square, which I learned was named after Webster's "Blue-Backed Speller." There you'll find a statute of Webster in front of the West Hartford Public Library, as well as the "Webster Walk" with various murals and artwork. Overall, a very educational experience about one of our nation's Founding Fathers!

Heublein Tower is located in Talcott Mountain State Park. There were plenty of parking spaces and a…read morefew trails that lead up to the "castle". The main Tower Trail is 1.25-miles one-way; most of it were up hill and on rocky gravel. There were a couple of lookouts before reaching the tower; beautiful views but becareful, it's very steep. There were a couple of benches and waste receptacles along the way. The tower up close was magnificent and the land is full of history. There was the old garage that's used as an information center with benches and a video. A huge picnic pavilion and BBQ pit. The Tower was built to look like a German castle. There are 6-stories; bedrooms, living rooms, restrooms, and the ballroom which is now called the observation deck are in it. There were signs showing what certain areas were. This building was Gilbert Heublein's summer home, then The Hartford Times, then the State of CT. Many parties and famous people have traversed these steps; Dwight D. Eisenhower and Prescott Bush to name a couple. The observation deck is where the showstopper is; 360-degree views of Connecticut, it's a priceless and breathtaking view. Thank you to Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and Friends of Heublein for up keeping and keeping this local and historical gem alive. I highly recommend the moderate hike up, if you're able to. Bring bug spray, water, sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, and your best hiking boots!

The Science Center has a lot of interactive exhibits. There is plenty to read, if you want to, but…read morehonestly, the children I saw were jumping in and participating in the many hands-on exhibits. Some of the favorites were the air cannons where they tested their skills keeping a ball aloft while moving it toward a 'hoop' to drop the ball through. The interactive downhill ski machine was also visited often. The day we visited, a group of high school students were there with a display on aerodynamics. They had visual displays of air moving objects and then the children were allowed to build their own paper airplane, put it into a wind tunnel and see how well their design flew. They very much enjoyed that. There is a huge megalodon static display with a wide open mouth to show just how much one could eat in a bite. All the kids wanted to crawl inside, which of course is not allowed, but it was certainly large enough to swallow all of them whole! The shark exhibit had lots of information and a video game they could use to make a shark eat a squid. They enjoyed that as well. The admission is quite expensive, which I understand as everything is quite expensive these days and there are plenty of staff on hand in each exhibit to answer questions. Then there's maintenance, electricity, etc. At one time the Science Center offered passes through the libraries for half off admission which would certainly be helpful to families straining to live within a budget. Camp groups were in house during our visit so perhaps they choose to focus their giving back to the community in that way instead of offering the library passes. A sandwich shop and an ice cream shop are on the first floor along with the gift shop. The gift shop has a variety of items from games to jewelry at a variety of price points. Some exhibit spaces have restrooms and water fountains. Ask a staff member for directions. Very long, steep staircases lead between exhibits and you have to exit the exhibit on the correct side to access these stair cases. An elevator bank runs from the lobby to each floor as well. They do have a parking garage, which was full when we visited. The Convention Center parking garage is just across the street and a short walk away.

CT Science Center is located in Hartford and is a hands on science museum. There are many exhibits…read morein all the science fields that you can explore; it's also for all ages too. My favorite was the butterfly encounter; there is a room just for butterflies and they do land on you. There is a parking garage available. There are 4 levels open to the public. My family and I enjoyed the exhibits. There were plenty to keep us all busy. My children enjoyed the play kitchen, dinosaurs, and butterflies. Blue Chip Creamery is also located there. I highly recommend it and can't wait to go back soon.

We started coming here earlier last year for one of their cool events. This is an elegant,…read morebeautifully appointed & well cared for authentic historic mansion. The owners have put So much into keeping up this gorgeous property and surrounding grounds. It really shows! Today we attended their formal st. Patty's day tea. The presentation is perfection and the food was appropriate and so tasty! A great assortment for all tastes. John gave us a tour. It's huge and every room is so cool! Laura is just lovely. They are so warm and friendly. We LOVE coming here for their events. Don't miss this gem!!

This place is like stepping back in time. Super cute! The owners are super kind and gave me a great…read morebit of insight into the place itself and town. I will absolutely be coming back! The town is awesome and gorgeous. It was the perfect writing and paint getaway for me and my little doggy! It's very special highly recommend!

One of the many hidden little treasures scattered around Simsbury…read more Eno goes way back to 1932, and over the years has served Simsbury as a courthouse, a city hall, an auditorium, and government offices. Today, it's proudly listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is used for community classes, meetings, and Senior Services. I have attended a book sale, a Veterans Day or Memorial Day program, and a music recital here. The brick building is gorgeous inside and out. I attended a music recital at Eno last night and the acoustics were great The large auditorium has a high vaulted ceiling, gorgeous ornate windows on both sides, and roomy seats. We had a great time. You can rent the building out for private functions too.

One of the professional organizations I belong to had our end of the year meeting and awards…read moreceremony here tonight. It was my first visit to the Gallery and I walked out pretty impressed. We were in a big room with a bar off to the side, a big central area for the dining tables, podium and speaker, and a big alcove off to the other side for the buffet dinner stations. Dinner was terrific- salad and pasta and potatoes and fish and chicken and vegetables and two carving stations. Dessert was a big slab of vanilla ice cream cake with a chocolate crust and chocolate syrup drizzle. The servers and bartenders we encountered were all very professional and pleasant. I spoke to our group member that organized the dinner and was pleasantly surprised at the very reasonable cost for our meal. I'm pretty sure we will book a few more meetings there for our 2018-19 year.

Today we celebrated my sister bestie Mrs. Waynette Best 50th Birthday. The Gallery prepared a…read moredelicious buffet dinner. Chicken Picante, mixed veggies, baked potatoes, penne pasta with ala vodka and bake cod was tender and scrumptious. They also had a carving station with bake ham & roast beef was banging. Ok got to go there's ooen bar. Check out the pics.

I attended a friend's birthday party here. Wow! What a beautiful venue! The hall was large enough…read morefor 8 tables of 10 people with a roomy dance floor, a stage for the DJ and a bar. All of the food was excellent- the appetizers, the meal and the desserts were delicious and arranged beautifully! The ladies room was clean and had a long mirror so we could check ourselves out before returning back to the party.

Spent an afternoon here following a funeral for a reception. Plenty of space. Parking can be tricky…read moreif there are too many cars, but it's doable if people know how to drive. Very clean facility. Food was catered and very good. Lots of floor space for everyone to move around. Nice outdoor patio with seating if the weather is right.

I'm always at Mills Pond Park and the Canton Gate is near the entrance to this park. Thanks to Dan…read moreR.'s (FTR) review, I will add my input. It's on top of a small hill so it's not hard to miss. When I first saw it, I was curious and had to investigate. The structure looked old with quite a bit of rust on it; it looked like an abstract artwork because I couldn't tell what it's supposed to be. I saw fish engraved on it and what looked like a doorway. In the early 1990s, this 17-ft sculpture was created by David Boyajian; it was a gift to the town by the Canton Creative Arts Council. It was dedicated in September 1992. The town of Canton's notable landmarks are the Collins axe Factory and the Farmington River; this was where the inspiration for the sculpture came from per the sculptor. Overall, a decent structure where I like to take a moment, ponder, and reflect.

"Brown eyed girl, precious flower We have come to this…read morefateful hour And our love cannot wait Meet me at the gate" (Black Crowes) When you drive up the entrance to Mills Pond Park, you'll see an imposing structure on a hill to your right. There sits a 17-foot-high bronze and steel sculpture known as the Canton Gate. Its backstory dates to the '90's when the Canton Creative Arts Council decided to build something to thank their supporters. They sponsored a competition for local artists to submit their public art entries. The 1992 winning entry was crafted by David Boyajian, an artist and teacher from Hartford. His abstract design honors and incorporates historical, natural, and architectural elements of Canton, the Farmington River and the Collins Company factory. I saw a limestone block that represents the river bottom, images of birds, fish, cascading waters, and a door inspired by the one at an old local axe factory. While researching this review, I learned a cool fact - the artwork is listed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database. Now that's pretty cool, don't you think?