The New England Carousel Museum was founded in Bristol, Connecticut, as a non-profit, educational organization in 1990.
Thousands of visitors come to the New England Carousel Museum each year just to see the lovely carousel horses.
They leave our Museum filled with a new and growing respect for the carousel both as an art form and as an important part of our heritage. We create wonderful programming for children and adults that is educational and fun. We are in the business of educating the public about the carousel, and we want to educate and nurture a new generation of carousel lovers to help preserve carousels for the future. The Museum's purpose is to bring to its audience an awareness and appreciation of carousel art and history and our exhibitions and programs focus on achieving these goals. We believe that awareness is the first step toward preservation and that our job is to help the visitor take the first step.
It has been a busy few years for the Carousel Museum. In December 1998, the Carousel Museum Board of Directors purchased the 33,000 sq. ft. building to create a permanent home for the Museum and to create The Bristol Center for Arts and Culture.
In 1998 the New England Carousel Museum was awarded the contract to manage the magnificent historic Bushnell Park Carousel, located in downtown Hartford. The Museum staff has added an educational component to the Bushnell recreational experience called Spin and Learn and we have formalized the operating procedures and safety practices. This year, we received financial support from the City of Hartford to add a fire suppressant system to the wooden carousel pavilion.
