What a wonderful museum! The guide who has worked/volunteered here is very knowledgeable and passionate. I totally recommend this place, especially if you love carousels.

My reason for visiting Connecticut was to visit this museum after following their Facebook posts. It did not disappoint. The displays were fantastic as well as the mini tour! My ONLY suggestion would be to identify each animal with a date and carver (if known). I am not knowledgeable enough to recognize the carvers, but the staff knew about each animal. Thank you for a great visit!

The staff here is wonderful! The entry fee is reasonable and the collection of horses is very large.

I went to check out the museum soon after I had moved to the area and was very impressed. The items on display show wonderful craftsmanship. I think it is a wonderful place to bring young children, and adults alike who like carousels and the history related to carousels. You even get a token for a free ride in one of the carousels. It also has an attached Firehouse museum which was very cool. Worth checking it out, definitely.

Loved it , have it displayed very nicely , still working on projects which was nice to see. An amazing sight the way they have it set up

Really cool museum and very interesting facts learned. The pieces are incredibly detailed and the Docent was very knowledgeable and delightful. She turned on the music machine and let us ride the indoor carousel!

It was cute. We got a personal tour which was great. The carousel was not operational because of covid which was a bummer. They had some great old pieces. You also get acess to the little fire museum upstairs which is cool.

This is a great place to bring your family and especially your children.

It was great to step away from work for an hour and admire the past. What a great collection of carousel history.

The New England Carousel Museum is dedicated to the acquisition, restoration, and preservation of operating carousels and carousel memorabilia and the creation of new carousel material, for the education and pleasure of the general public. The main mission of the New England Carousel Museum, a non-profit organization, is to preserve and protect antique wooden carousels and carousel pieces. Visitors travel back in time when visiting this museum. Now on view, over 100 years of carousel art and history are on view in our Main Gallery and throughout our 33,000 square foot building. See examples from turn of the century carvers like Dentzel, Herschell Spillman and Stein and Goldstein. A sample carving bay, hands on activities for little ones and the Venetian indoor carousel make this the perfect family or group outing.

I took my 3 1/2 year old grandson here and it my have been a little too much for him at this age, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The staff was very helpful and pleasant. I would definitely return with other family members.

This place is fantastic!! We took our 4 kids (ages 8, 6, 4 and 10 months) and they loved it!! We loved it too! Such a fun place to explore and learn. Much bigger than we expected it to be and the price was GREAT! our tour guide, Elaine was WONDERFUL! She was great with the kids, so much fun and every informative. Highly recommend. Makes a great homeschool field trip too. Be sure to go through the Fire history as well!We will definitely be coming back soon.

Very quiet place amazing history

Amazing museum and wonderful staff.

Great stop for a family day trip. The guides are very friendly and knowledgeable, and were great with the kids. In addition to the beautiful carousel art, there is also a Fire Museum, a Greek Art exhibit and currently a Tattoo history exhibit, though that is a temporary installation. The carousel animals are a reminder of the days when craftsmen were artists who took pride in their work.

Enchanting place..like being on a tume machine..

The carousel horses are beautiful works of art from a bygone era. There is a small carousel to ride on, too, if you are under a 165 lbs.

Worth the trip. Amazing staff!

People are super friendly great environment.

Amazing place. Was there for a ceremony upstairs a couple times. Just walking thru the place is amazing. From the carousel pieses to the firefighter memorabilia its a must see for yourself and the kids worth the trip.

Great place!! The kids will love it.

I view to the past, with a small room for firefighter tools. The shop that performs restoration on carousel horses is something that I can appreciate. The room is big enough for birthdays and family gatherings.

Absolutely amazing place! Brings you right back in time!. My granddaughter was in awe!. We will definitely be returning!!.

Awesome displays, they even have a small working carousel.

If you love carousels a must see we enjoyed it. They also rent it out for weddings or parties. We spent about an hour there. You even get a carousel ride

Sort of chessey at first but really fun to see the working carousel. The painted horses, etc are really cool. Ride the carousel if you weigh less than 165 lbs....

Unique! Lots of interesting info. No person to give the tour the day we were there. Wish the headphone tour contained lots more info.

So worth checking out once in your life.

Fun place to spend an hour or two. Nice collection of beautiful carousel houses and other animals. Also a craft area where the kids have a lot of fun. Fire history museum upstairs is also nice.

Absolutely beautiful place. Just love this place and will definitely be back again. So nice to walk around and see the detail.

A wonderful place and our tour guide was wonder. Thank you for an amazing time!

Whimsical and cute this museum boasts an inclusive carousel ride and a gorgeous second floor event venue.

Son having his wedding here.Staff is very accommodating and pleasant to work with. Plenty of interesting distractions for the guests, carousel ride, restoration of horses etc. from carousels across the world. Beautiful facility.

Best place for Gathering and Party. Ellaine, Cassandra, Shannon and Athalie are simply amazing. They helped with each and everything andf made all the guests comfortable. Huge support and easy process.Love you guys, you made our party extra special.

We held our wedding and reception here over the weekend and it was great. The staff were friendly and extremely helpful from planning right through to the end if the evening.

Awesome place to hang out!!Events are structured very well to ensure youll have a great time . From birthday parties to other themes definetly a great place to look into!

Such a fun place!! Definitely do the walking tour- Youll learn a lot

OMG, Such a very cool place to get married at and to visit. You MUST check this place out!!

The grandkids loved this place and the history of the industry is very interesting. The kids even got a ride on a little merry go round.

A great display if horses.... Only a little child friendly. Child section is growing.

Great place for families and children to learn about the history of carousels. They have hands on activities for children. Its a lot of fun.

Awesome tour. Great place to spend a couple hours on a weekend. Look for a groupon

This museum is a nice trip for the whole family members specially in a cold day in the winter.The museum is small but full of variety of carousels in shapes, colors, dates and how they been carved from simple to sophisticated.Our tour guy Nick was very informative and passionate about carousels.The Carrousel museum is in the 1st floor, where is also a carousel ride. The 2nd floor is the museum of Fire history. All include in the tour.

Although crowded due to the annual Santa shoot, the museum was quite well prepared for all the families.The parking was nearby and easy, as well as the clean restrooms. We came early and didnt have too long a wait to get a great shot on Santas lap. Elsa was great too. The crafts were helpful to calm down the littlest ones. We will come again soon to get a better ride on the indoor Carousel as it was overloaded to the max.

Comprehensive collection and exhibits of carousel animals from key locations and times in American history. Includes an actual working carousel! Also a firefighter history exhibit upstairs. Which is next to a large quaint banquet hall with chandeliers and lighted columns. Great for birthday parties and weddings!

Hidden gem that the kids love and excellent place for birthday parties.

This is a true, hidden gem! You could either view the museum yourself, or go on the guided tour, which I highly recommend! The guide gives you history of the different type of carousel horses. So much information that you probably didnt know! There are detailed write ups about every horse in the museum. Then go upstairs to the Firemans Museum. Again, so much information and history. I would highly recommend making a special trip here!!

Great place to visit- so many wonderful animals, stories and info! Would have loved to see a catalog for purchase of their collection. Maybe there will be one available in the future- great fundraiser idea!

Very good place to visit

Wow, Ive never seen so many old wooden horses in one place before in my life! Plus its really 3 museums in one. Also the event venue upstairs is very nice.

More interesting than you might think

Great little place to take your child to to pass the time away in CT. Went for family birthday party of a family member. All the girls had a great time.

This museum is delightful. It has displays of a wide variety of antique carousel animals. Theres also a working carousel and attached museums about firefighting history and Hellenic history (the later appears to be confined to a replica of a Greek building on the top floor of the carousel museum.There is an elevator, and I believe the museum is handicap accessible.

Very nice. Good tour guide. Would recommend.

Love the upstairs room for renting out and having a party ...

The staff is very knowledgeable about the history of the carousel not just in New England but wide. Elaine is a walking, talking encyclopedia and she is willing to educate anyone who has the desire to learn. She made our experience at the NECM much more than we had hoped for. We plan to return at least once more this year and we will make sure to visit at least once a year, as they are always adding new features and new pieces are always being donated to the museum and put on display.

Very nice and enjoyable. Worth the money just to see haow they are made and the different animals.

Fun place to spend a couple hours.

This was a fantastic little museum. Great for an afternoon if youre interested in the history of carousels.

Great place. Had our granddaughter birthday there. Wonderful

The staff was very knowledgeable and friendly and really cared about restoring the carousel horses. When in Connecticut again I would love to visit the museum again because they are always getting new old horses to restore. This is a very kid friendly place.

This place is very cool. We had our own guide who explained so many things. We got a lot out of this museum because of our guide. The entire tour took about 1.5 hours.

Lots of childhood memories. Great tour guide well versed in the history of carousels.

The New England Carousel Museum in Bristol CT is a nice find. A small museum by many standards, a medium sized museum by other standard, however for me it is just right. It is focused on the carousel and the animals that are carved and put on those carousels. With a wonderful sampling of the carousel animals, a working carousel for the children, and a party room to bring a birthday or holiday party to a great setting the Carousel Museum is beautiful. So colorful and playful. Now add to this a master carver who can create new animals, and repair aged animals and you have something really special. It turns out that animals needing repair are shipped here and the craftsmen repair and return them. Wow! There are animals in the process of construction so one can experience the process of creation. So, if in Bristol, make this a stop for sure. Oh es and did I say the staff is so helpful and knowledgeable, well they are! I can hear the tunes now.... Lets go.

This is a Great place for birthday parties especially if your child likes Carousels and/or firefighters/equipment. Love this place.

Get the tour. This place is like a bad trip through grandmas trinket collection without it. The tour gives you a context in which to appreciate the carousel museum. Then its interesting. The Egyptian museum is one room and very out of place expect little.The firefighter museum is small but interesting in a small museum way.

What a wonderful wedding venue! Will keep guest if all ages entertained and visually pleasing to the eye! The help here is wonderful. Come to the new england carousel museum, and i promise you wont be disappointed!

Beautiful and worth it...great carved masterpieces.

Wonderful array of different styles and carved horses and animals.. Cathy our guide was informative and nice personality. I am a carousel buff and managed to learn more!

When my friends and I go on trips together, we often like to to stop off at quirky & unusual places to break up the ride and make the trip more interesting. On our latest weekend getaway, we deiced to check out the New England Carousel Museum. We were pretty disappointed. While the carousel horses were quite nice, the museum is small, dimly lit, understaffed, and dusty. One of my friends actually had a hard time breathing after a while from the dust. The staff was OK I guess, we had to wait about 10 min to get in because no on was there to sell us tickets. Not a big deal, but a little annoying. We were pretty much done after 25 min, not really worth the 2 hour detour.I suppose if you had a very young child with a short attention span, this would be a good place to check out. There was a birthday party going on while we were there and the kids seemed to really be enjoying themselves.One thing I really want to make clear it that the surrounding area SUCKS. Its very run down, dirty and I wouldnt want to be there after dark, maybe thats why the museum closes at 5!

Great place to see some of the most beautiful Carousel pieces of ART in the world. Make sure you visit the Firefighters museum which is included in the admission price, in a building next to the Carousel Museum!

Nice museum.

Wonderful! Traveled from NJ on Sunday, June 24, 2018. My senses were overwhelmed! Thinking I would be there about 15 minutes, I ended up staying almost two hours. Every item had an explanation. There was even an unfinished horse showing how they are may (didnt know they are hollow inside). The staff is friendly and informative. It well worth the 240 mile round-trip drive.

We waited in line for 2 hours to see Santa Claus and it was so hot inside. My grandsons had to wait in line for 2 hours to get their face painted and they got to do nothing else because it took the whole time waiting in line. There were far to many people shoved into a place not big enough to hold that many people. They only had one person painting faces and two people making animal balloons. They did not have enough staff for as many people that were there. Some of the staff was snobby and not very friendly which is unexceptable at a childrens event. I am not sure if I will ever go back to another event.

Old world charm! It also has Fire museum and Greek museum!

Fun place, lots of history

The staff were very welcoming and accommodating. We went with special needs clients and they were very patient and friendly no matter how many questions were asked.

Never knew it was there. Kind of neat for the kds. Not a hole lot to do. It was cool to see but I not something I would do more than once.

Fun for kids of all ages! They have great events too!

Went for a Princess Tea Party with my daughter. It was a nice place

This place is great for people who are interested in the history and mechanics of carousels, great for smaller children as it contains a working caroseul inside the building (one ride is free with admission) and it shows the history (local and national), of the carosuels as well.On top of that, this building houses a fire history museum, and a Macedonian exhibit. The price of entry is pretty low for three different attractions. Spend a few hours here and enjoy the history.

We attended a wedding here. Great venue.

I love it here - the staff are lovely and the exhibits are so pretty and interesting! They also have a fire service history section.

We had a great time at the masquerade party

This place was amazing. I love everything about it it was like a fairytale to rent to get married

Nice museum. Woman who greeted me and the four children I had with me was great. Older woman inside seemed unhappy and felt she didnt like children. She really sort of ruined the visit.

Very interesting. The tour guide was very knowledgeable

This was a great place to visit. All the beautiful carved horses and other animals were great. Staff was pretty good and informative. And the Carousel ride was fun.

Great venue for a wedding or really awesome place for a day visit. Brought back many happy childhood memories.

Very nice place. Very courteous and friendly staff. The kids loved the carousel ride over and over again.

Great fire museum!

We had a lot of fun in the carousel museum. My 7 and 8 years old were very interested.

If you love carousels this is the place to go. But if you dont like merry-go-rounds you better find a different Museum.

Small but cool place. Room upstairs for events is so unique, nice experience.

While the Carousel horses are absolutely beautiful...The staff was less than helpful. We drove an hour, only to wait ten min at the front desk to pay to walk around one room of horses. We were told that there was an upstairs that we needed a tour guide to enter with. I dont know where they were so we just left. Sorry, unless they are with a group, I dont think that the staff is very attentive. Not worth the drive or the money.

Staff was great

Carousel lovers must visit this place in Bristol.

Cute experience for the kids

The main attraction, the working carousel, was much smaller than I expected and didnt play any music while operating. If youre looking for a good carousel ride, the one in Buckland mall is much better. That being said, my 3 year old had a great time at the Carousel Museums carnival the first weekend of December. The balloon animals and face painting were a big hit. The lines were very long but luckily my daughter didnt mind. Without the extra carnival activities we probably would have only stayed 30 mins, but we ended up staying a couple of hours.

They have a very nice display of various carousel horses and other animals that were used in other carousels around the world. There is even a carousel that you can ride inside the building.