Stamford Museum and Nature Center

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The Stamford Museum and Nature Center is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of art, the natural and agricultural sciences, and history.^[1] Located at 39 Scofieldtown Road in Stamford, Connecticut, the center covers 118 acres of land in north of the Merritt Parkway. The facilities include:

Heckscher Farm - a 10 acre working farm with barns, a maple sugar house, organic vegetable garden, open pastures, a chicken coop, pig pen and many heritage breeds of farm animals.^[2]

Henri Bendel Mansion Museum building - built for New York designer and department store owner Henri Willis Bendel (1868 - 1936) and designed in the late 1920s by architect Perry Barker in a Tudor style, the mansion features lead-framed glass windows, half-timbered walls, gargoyles, a slate roof and multiple chimneys.^[3]

The museum's collections focus on New England natural history, 19th and 20th century American art, farming implements, and American and Native American art and culture. In addition to exhibits based on its collections, the museum features special outside exhibits each year.

Edith & Robert Graham Otter Pond - an outdoor pool area with two river otters.

Overbrook Nature Center - The nature center contains an interactive exhibit area with small local animals and a classroom.

Wheels in the Woods Trail #7 - a nature trail designed to be universally accessible by people of all abilities, which leads along Poorhouse Brook.

Observatory - The observatory houses a 22-inch research telescope, and is used for research by the Fairfield County Astronomical Society. The public can use the observatory on Friday evenings from 8 to 10 PM, and is located behind the Heckscher Farm just off Scofieldtown Road.

Planetarium - The planetarium is located in the Museum building and is open to the public on the second Sunday of each month at 3 P.M.

Nature's Playground - a playground built with nature themes.

Other Facilities - There are trails through 80 acres of the center's property, and the trails at the north end connect with the 88-acre Bartlett Arboretum. There is a lake, picnic area and gift shop near the main parking area.