USS Nautilus

Great memorial. Staffed by veterans. Great place to take the family@

It was free but we ended up giving a donation because this was a very cool museum to visit! Small but packed with really cool exhibits and the submarine was very cool to walk through. It is small but as someone with claustrophobia, going in with not many other people inside didn't make me anxious at all. Definitely recommend giving it a visit if you have a free afternoon.

Very interesting and unique museum. Free. If you are in Groton, you must visit. The first atomic submarine 'Nautilus' is there and you can go inside.

Visiting the USS Nautilus is a must if you are in South Eastern CT. This museum is full with awesome exibits. The grounds it is on constantly have various military ceremonies going on all the time. The Historic Submarine Natilus is awesome. Knowing the part this submarine played in ushering in the atomic age of submarines is really meaningful to me. It is cool place to spend a couple hours. Did I mention it is free?

The pictures I shared are of a promotion ceremony. The man is being promoted to the rank of Captain. The picture of the Sailors facing each other is the most important part of the ceremony because the new Captain is swearing and oath of allegiance to support an defend the Constitution. The other picture is the part of the ceremony where the old rank is removed and replaced by the new rank. The people who get to do this honor are people who provided the support and encouragement for the Captain to make it. It was an awesome ceremony. Hope you liked it.

This thing is so cool! I mean where else can you walk around in a submarine?! And on top of that it's free. Even on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend it wasn't that busy so we were able to walk right in. They built up everything so that there are nice stairs going down into the submarine and you're on a linear path that is one way through the whole thing. It's nice because you know you're not going to miss anything and you just follow the path through. They have built a lot of glass walls so you can't touch anything, but they have little signs around explaining what things are. They have some mannequins playing the roles of sailors, But as you peek around corners, you're bound to be frightened a time or two when you're staring down a mannequin where you didn't expect one. My wife did this at 34 weeks pregnant so that should give you a certain gauge of the accessibility, but there are a few doors that are tough to get through because you have to lift your legs up and duck down low and there are a bunch of stairs throughout as well. They may have used an elevator for JFK, but they don't use it for you so get ready to take all those stairs . Plenty of handrails and signs telling you to watch your head. By my estimation, you're only exploring about 2/3 of the submarine or less because I'm sure the other parts are classified still, but either way it is a cool experience. If you're claustrophobic, it actually isn't as bad as you might think. The submarine sits only halfway submerged so it's acting more like a boat So if you think you will feel claustrophobic just time it so you're not going down with a big group of other people that way you won't ever feel trapped. It only took us 20 minutes or so to walk through, but if you wanted to get out of there quickly, you could probably get back out in 3 minutes or less with a pep in your step.

Donation based entry, so many displays and things for kids (and adults) to touch. The self guided tour of the submarine has some tight areas, and is one way traffic, I do not recommend if you’re claustrophobic. We spent about an hour and a half there.

Free museum? YES! It is! Went on vacation and brought the kids here. It's free (you can make donations too). You get to see all the histories about submarines, different types, the modernizations of them. Then you can actually board on one and browse through their limited area inside it. Kids were very interested but I felt they were too young to understand a lot of them. I will have to bring them back again when they are a little bit older.

Great place for adults and kids! Very interesting museum and great bonus FREE ADMISSION!!!

Cool place. You can enter real submarine, see the interior and try to imagine living there for the timespan of a mission. There is also an museum with history of submarines, origin of nuclear power as a propeller source. In addition there is no fee.

What a place to visit. The museum, although small, had plenty to offer. Interactive displays and a small theater that played a 50-minute movie. We thought that might be too long, but it was so interesting, it flew by! The Nautilus itself was amazing. I will say that there was only one other family (of 5) on it at the same time as us (6), so we had plenty of time to look and experience everything.
What a gem!

The U.S. Nautilus is an historic and world renowned U.S submarine, and an absolute “must see” attraction in the state of Connecticut.

The U.S. Nautilus is recognized as the world’s first operational nuclear powered submarine. It is located at the Submarine Force Library & Museum which is positioned near the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut.

When celebrating my wife’s birthday in September of 2024, I brought her and myself for a visit to the U. S. Nautilus, and we thoroughly enjoyed our exploration of this amazing ship!!!

When touring the submarine, my wife and I were able to visit and view many of the ship’s diverse sections ranging from the sailer’s bed rooms, the captain’s quarters, the kitchen and dining areas, the gallery, the control room, and the attack center. We learned that the Nautilus was fully launched in 1954 and was capable of carrying over a 100 navy sailors. The ship was in operation from 1954-1980.

We also learned that the submarine’s nuclear propulsion system allowed her to stay under the water far longer than previously built submarines, and that it was able to travel to farther remote locations, most notably the North Pole in the 1950’s.

Due to its pioneering technological capabilities and design, and its huge impact on naval history, the USS Nautilus is listed on the U.S.National Register Of Historic Places, and has been designated as a National Historic Landmark.

Visiting the USS Nautilus gave me and my wife a chance to view and understand the layout, interior design and setting of a submarine, and provided a glimpse of what life is life for a Navy sailor.

Both my wife and I highly recommend for everyone to visit and explore this outstanding historic landmark!!!

How cool was this place.

On arrival Naval FD on scene tending to a medical emergency. Staff was very attentive to the person by greeting guest out by cars and suggesting to view the pieces outside the museum while medical care was given and PT taken out. As an EMS provider, 5 Stars.

Once all clear, we went inside with kids and had plenty for their eyes to browse and their hands to touch.

This place is kid friendly!

The submarine was out of this world. The manikins in uniform forever sealed in action of what was done I. The room was an amazing way to commemorate the men that served on this vessel.

It was managed so that the tour would not be over crowded. There are even guided tours at the top of the hour.

It’s also pretty cool to see the US Base next door.

Took my husband and kids here for Fathers Day , awesome museum with rich military history. The best part is going inside the USS Nautilus to explore the marvelous submarine

Great museum! It's FREE! If you are in the area definitely stop by! Small so it doesn't take much time. The walk through the forward half of the sub they say will take 30-45 mins...it took us more like 15 mins.
The rings out front showing the diameter of the sub hulls is an amazing visual!