“Learning is by nature, curiosity.” — Plato

If you don't go, you won't know. Well, here's opportunity knocking on your door – to find out more and just walk in to places and sate your curiosity – Connecticut Open House Day Saturday, June 8, 2019, is the day to go explore all sorts of places and venues. Try a new skill, bring the family, find out more about the human history kept by those who love and respect their communities. The past and present intertwine, storytelling augmented by new technologies. But not much beats walking into a new site, the aroma and the conversations. (Also the international visitors met along the way, travel details shared.)

Great scenic beauty, rivers, backroads, interstates to get you there. Rivers, large and small; the great tidal river that is the Connecticut (source near Canada to Long Island Sound) and meandering tributaries. Culture and history, exceptional libraries mirror each community and function as a hub for information and events. Farms, orchards, berry picking. Farm stores and stands. Access to ancient hills and minutes to the ocean, salt marshes, plus rich deep soils, good water. Houses that stood before the nation was founded. Benedict Arnold, forts and harbors. Trains, bridges, ferries. Trollies. Submarines, innovation, inventors. Aviation, aerospace, airports. Museums, world-class science, knowledge applied. Bookstores. Artifacts, collections, archives. Trails, hundreds of miles of marked trails. Parks, greenways, arboretums, gardens. Dams and viaducts, flood control. Art, architecture. Universities and colleges that offer programs, outings, forums, bus trips. Weather that is always changing, four distinct seasons, incredible geology. This is Connecticut. Where abolitionist John Brown was born. Homes of so many writers, poets, playwrights and authors, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain, Eugene O'Neill and Wallace Stevens. (Many, not all, now museums open to the public.) Edwin Way Teale, Gladys Taber. Artists. Athletes. Firebrands. Determination personified, Venture Smith. Entertainers. Singer Marian Anderson. Technology, education. Those who found a way around traditional learning. Eli Whitney; Samuel Colt and his wife, Elizabeth, who outlived her husband and children, became a businesswoman and philanthropist. Beatrice Fox Auerbach. Paul Newman. Eric Sloane. Tapping Reeve. And yes, P.T. Barnum.

More than 200 places to visit that offer free or discounted admission. Learn more about participating properties at this link to the official state tourism site. Find listings by town or activity. A valid Connecticut driver's license is required at some locations.

True, that there is always something more to learn. So how well do you know your own backyard – about all the nooks and crannies of the state in which you live? Communities hold treasures of human stories, makers, innovation, competition, beauty, artistry, gardens, authors, architecture. Be sure to notice the dedication of those who work to safeguard these places for current and future generations.

Lakeville: Lime Rock Park, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., free admission to the park includes the opportunity to picnic on the hillside while watching Hooked on Driving, America’s #1 non-competitive performance driving program on track from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free hot dog; obtain coupon on entry/open house. On the midway/autocross, eEuroFest swap meet and car show, $10 admission.

Bristol: New England Carousel Museum, 95 Riverside Ave., free admission, 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Less well known is the Museum of Fire History opened to the public on the second floor of the building in 2002. Also, Bushnell Park Carousel, Hartford, open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., offering free rides for children.

Here's a description: “Carlyle Barnes donated his fire equipment and memorabilia collection as well as funding to create this new splendid museum.” 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.”

Bridgeport: Barnum Museum, free admission, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., free guided tours through the gallery. All visitors will receive a red nose and Barnum bookmarks.

Two places to learn more about Native American culture: Institute for American Indian Studies (IAIS), free admission from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., last admission at 4:30 p.m.; tours, children’s crafts, storytelling and demonstrations of traditional Native American technology. Participate in hands-on history and connect with a culture that has more than 10,000 years of history; Washington, CT.

Danbury Museum & Historical Society, free admission, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; includes tours and a special exhibition.

Shore Line Trolley Museum, East Haven; the “oldest operating trolley museum in the U.S.” offering half price admission.

Museum, education and research center opened its doors in 1975 as an outgrowth of local efforts to recover New England's, then largely unknown, indigenous history.

Uncasville: Tantaquidgeon Museum, 10 a.m to 4 p.m., take a tour of the oldest Indian-owned and -operated museum in America.

Meriden: Andrews Homestead (circa 1760), free admission, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 424 West Main St., one of the oldest homes in Meriden. Parking is in lot shared with Benjamin Franklin Elementary School. Silver, Parker products, Handel lamps, exquisite artistry, design, workmanship. For those interested, the MHS community tag sale is also June 8, Bernice Morehouse Research Center’s parking lot 1090 Hanover Ave. Meriden. Rain date is June 15.

Solomon Goffe House (also known as 1711 Inn), North Colony Road, free admission, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; built by an old trail used by Native Americans – that later became known as the Old Colony Road, one of the oldest roads in the state.

Hartford: Connecticut’s Old State House, free, noon until 4 p.m.

Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, free, 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.; inside, masterpieces of art, Colt collection. But be sure to take time to walk around the structure and look at the architecture, incredible carvings and lesser-known details.

Connecticut Historical Society Museum & Library, free admission to the galleries, 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Connecticut State Library, open for visitors, 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.; see all of the exhibits on display in the Museum of Connecticut History. Free Frisbies and pencils.

Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Celebrate Harriet Beecher Stowe’s birthday with free admission and a lot of family activities.

Middletown: Godfrey Memorial Library, free tours of the resources and facility, 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. This library is a membership-based genealogical and local history library and non-members usually pay a fee of $15 per day. Incredible resources for research family roots.

Middlesex County Historical Society the General Mansfield House, Main Street, free admission 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wesleyan Potters, open house, noon to 4 p.m. Come in and try pottery, weaving and jewelry making free of charge; “Clay Olympics” at 2 p.m.

Across the Connecticut River in Portland: Ruth Callander House Museum, free admission 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. In conjunction with the publication of “Portland Farms: Then and Now,” by Susanne Anderson-Woronoff, there will be a special mini-exhibit of Portland’s farming history. The author will be available to sign the book; postcard reprints will be available at no cost while supplies last.

Essex: Connecticut River Museum, 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., offering morning programs, tours, crafts and stories in the museum and aboard the ship “Onrust.” Programs are free with admission. Essex Steam Train & Riverboat, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets, 20% off regular price. Pratt House, free guided tours of the historic 1732 house, 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.

Windsor Locks: New England Air Museum, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., offering half off regular price admission. A great destination. Wishing for an augmented reality/mixed reality exhibit that would allow for the experience and sounds of an active flightline, make it interactive. An engine going to full power, a heavy-lift helicopter in a hover, taxiing in.