10 Things to Do at the Institute for American Indian Studies
Located in Washington, Connecticut in the heart of Litchfield County, the Institute for American Indian Studies celebrates the largely unknown Indigenous history of New England. Opened in 1975, the 15 acre complex includes indoor exhibits, an outdoor replicated Algonkian Village, hiking trails, and even a Wigwam Escape Room experience. The Algonkian people inhabited much of the northeastern United States up until the 1700s and includes over 100 distinct groups and communities. The museum is very hands on and docents are eager to share anecdotal stories and explain the significance of artifacts on display. (Definitely ask for an atlatl demonstration!)
6 Family Friendly Places to Hike in Western Connecticut
One of the good things to come out of the COVID 19 pandemic for our family is the desire to spend more time outdoors. While we have always enjoyed outdoor spots like the beach, the zoo, and various parks, we’ve never really been “hikers.” Until 2020, we also didn’t have many opportunities to explore many Connecticut state parks. Connecticut has 110 state parks and hundreds of hiking trails. Check out this overview on Visit Connecticut.com, with links to alphabetized lists of parks and information. We’ve been fortunate to have time this past year to “hit the trails.” We’ll be sharing many of them in the coming weeks, including tips for hiking with kids in general, but this week we’re starting with six spots in the northwestern part of Connecticut that we like: