Things to Do in Cromwell

For more than 50 years, Lutz Children’s Museum has delighted children with hands-on exhibits designed to introduce young learners to history, science, and nature. A re-creation of Main Street à la 1943—scaled for visitors aged 2–10—winds through the museum’s clean interior and displays fixtures of that time, including storefronts, a school, and an Internet café. The museum reaches back even further into time by showcasing an interactive farm from the 1800s, which invites kids to dress up as farm animals, milk an inanimate cow, and climb about in a hay loft. After exploring history and cultivating agricultural knowledge, budding young adventurers can fraternize with up to 50 live animals, such as Bounce the chinchilla, who is cared for by a trained and licensed staff of other chinchillas.

Lutz Children's Museum also hosts school-outreach programs, concerts, pedagogical special events and activities, and a nearby nature center, where beautiful trails line 52 acres of preserved woods. To combat modern meteorologists' fear of their own shadows, the museum additionally hosts the official Connecticut state groundhog.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society Connecticut Chapter supports the families of those living with the challenging autoimmune disease and spreads state-wide awareness via grassroots and national initiatives. Among its main goals, the Connecticut chapter is instrumental in bringing essential services directly to the state's more than 6,000 MS sufferers. A national nonprofit organization, members are also involved in public policy advocacy for the funding of promising scientific research into the causes and potential treatments of the disease, and for legislation beneficial to those affected by MS. The untiring Connecticut chapter members keep busy year-round by organizing annual fundraising events such as sponsored luncheons, banquets, and the annual MS Golf Classic. Once a year, the chapter holds a gala that honors a Citizen of the Year for humanitarian efforts and draws sponsorship revenue with high-profile entertainment such as Neil Diamond, who will perform at the 2012 Gala on June 16.