new jersey state museum

This is the main attraction at the library. Shows for young children are very good and the kids seem to get excited!

The planetarium is obviously the larger draw here. They offer varying shows for various ages. The shows for the younger kids are engaging, interesting and age appropriate. It's awesome to see a 4 & 6 year old engaged and hear them talk about it after. The museum itself is very small, but the interactive parts and exhibits work for younger kids. I wouldn't necessarily bring impatient teenagers here, the fossils are cool- there just aren't a lot. It's a small place but it seems like it's growing. Well go back for sure.

My trip through Trenton was for work, but I was able to slip out and find some attractions. I visited the State Museum, which was in a great location and all, but lacked a lot of displays, information, and interesting insights. I have visited many museums before, both big and small, and even accepting that it was small before going, it was surprisingly sparse. I wouldn't recommend it unless you had absolutely nothing else to do.

nano installation is a tiny little area with about 5 tiny little displays no bigger than a large office cubicle. Please ignore anything that says nano!!!!!!!!!!!! The dinosaur area is closed which I wish was mentioned on web site since that was my plan b. The dinosaur experts were educational and informative. Also you must bring cash no credit cards for payment upon admission. . bring your own lunch no cafe. The 911 exhibit was tear jerking and the movie of the newark riots pretty jaw dropping. There was No laser display at 11.00 as mentioned on site sorry to sound like a sour puss but id like to kick some nano butt .

Many natural history exhibits grace this modern structure, which includes a planetarium (admission fee). Galleries include modern art, classical items, and a host of historical relics from centuries past.The gift shop is small but full of stylish and practical gifts.I would consider it a must for sightseeing. You can see all the exhibits in about two hours or so.

Great place to learn about NJ. New exhibits all the time. Everything's free except for a small fee for the planetarium. Staff are always friendly and helpful. Convenient parking next to the museum.

The NJ State Museum is a classic tiny museum with a very large charter. They are supposed to bring everything there is to know about the Garden State into about 6 exhibit halls. So there are Native American exhibits wonderfully treated that you'll randomly discover while walking through the basement hallway. And there's a wide-ranging history exhibit with the permissively random title of "pretty big things". Billing itself as "4 Museums In One", it contains small Archeology, Art, Culture, and Natural History halls peppered throughout its 4 floors.While it may be crowded during school days, there's always elbow room when I've been there on weekends. And it's free with only the tiniest pressure to request a donation.Look for the tiny driveway/parking sign just to the north of the museum. It says parking is Restricted and then, in a small reminder, it says that Museum parking is allowed. Sure, it's a little confusing. Parking for the Museum has about 30 spots near the end of the driveway, and you'll need to climb the steps to the plaza to enter. There are another couple dozen spots around back to the left right near the Planetarium entrance. It's connected to the museum, but its a bit of a hike along the basement corridor to the stairs to the main Museum entrance.The docent at the front desk will be more than happy to talk you through the jumbled halls. There's a large collection of maps presented right on the first floor, a small random natural history exhibit just ahead along the windows, and an art exhibit along the windows on the side. I didn't quite understand why there was a moving dino right by the front door except, of course, just for the fun of it.Any kid that loves to learn will enjoy spending time here. Most museums these days use electronics, videos, or hands-on exhibits to keep the attention of younger humans. But I suspect without a great deal to spend, the NJ state museum has little of that. In a few of the rooms we came across lesser attempts to keep kids busy, like a crayon table in the middle of the Map exhibit. But mostly this was a single media not-hands-on kind of place.Yet there is so much to see and learn here. The historical maps start from when one could first discern a feature of NJ (typically - Sandy Hook) from ancient mariner's maps all the way through today's single-purpose maps, with one of the last ones showing a brochure published just after it opened. We spent most of our time here. So much to see and learn, especially if you're from New Jersey. You can watch how your city appears and evolves over the centuries. I homed in on my town but I also like to watch how Bordentown evolved (it was originally a major shipping hub), the canals over time, and how the resort area of the Water Gap appeared and disappeared. (I was hoping to see more about the Tocks Island mess, but I didn't notice anything relevant to it.) And this was the first time I saw the maps showing the division of East Jersey from West Jersey (the dividing line follows roughly the west border of Ocean County all the way up and down the state). With most maps posted at adult height, I don't think this hall would be of great interest to kids.If you've been to any Natural History museum at all, the NJ State Museum 1st floor exhibit will be a bit of a disappointment. It's a small collection, and the learning is mostly visual with few descriptions of what we're looking at and why.We then took the elevator up to the top floor for the "Pretty Big Things" exhibit on the top floor. This had a random (eclectic?) collection of various Jersey-ana like a carved life size statue of Abe Lincoln, a chair made from logs of every state in the union, and several items that were displayed at the 1876 exhibition in Philadelphia. The descriptions on the wall were great, and every one is worth a read. Even the ones I thought would be boring (about quilts) were well-written and engaging. And behind the wall is a great small collection of odd-looking items that were the subject of a "what is this" guessing game. There is a security guard up here sitting back in the corner who clearly was bored.Anyway, we then took the stairs down to the art exhibit on the 2nd floor. It's a varied collection and showing evolution of art (mostly paintings) evolved over time. And it has Jersey-ana spread throughout with, for example, landscapes of Bordentown.Then down in the basement were a couple of really informative gallaries about the Native Americans from New Jersey. They showed a bit of anthropology, they had a life-size archeology dig, and then several displays on culture. This seemed to be the most kid-oriented part of the museum and - luckily so - because it's just down the hall from the Planetarium which is clearly a kids place.Visited January 2014Finally, you'll find the Planetarium all the way at the back of the basement hallway. It has some tired posters with a few facts on them, but otherwise there isn't a great deal of info there until you actually see the show. The ticket booth is a hole in the wall on the left side of the lobby, and it opens about 20 minutes before each show. They open the doors to the Planetarium hall about 5 minutes before the show. If you go, make sure you pick a show that actually uses the great Planetarium star machine. We saw "to space and back" which was disappointing as it was just a movie shown on the dome of the planetarium. They were also pitching a laser show which - as far as I can tell - also won't use the star machine. So I'd suggest you check before going. The planetarium, unlike the museum, charges an entrance fee - $7 for adults & $5 for kids.

That is why they have to put out those signs. Its hard to tell from the street whether it is open or not. It looks abandon, and there is little else to go see in Trenton. What is inside is as desolate as will. I agree with Joyce G, and her "Lost City" evaluation.

I had family visiting from Florida, and we went to the museum. It had something for everyone! The kids loved the dinosaur fossils and the hands-on exhibits. The adults enjoyed the native history and relics as well as the antiques display. Great visit for the value!

Avoid Trenton, NJ at all cost. The city is one big waste dump. Nothing but gangs , not even a decent resturant in the whole city. I live outside of the city now, but was born and raised there. It is definetly not as it was back then. I never go into the city at all.

When I visited this Museum i didnt think it had much to offer on the inside. From the outside it looks fairly big but once you're inside it seemed things were scattered about with an abundance of unused space. There seemed to be no real flow to the place. The shows and planetarium and such were for schools only which I felt took far too much away from the experience. I dont recall being particularly wowed by anything they had on display so i walked out feeling like I had wasted my time driving all the way down to Trenton. It's not the worst museum I've ever been in but I wouldn't exactly endorse it to anyone who has not been there already. I doubt i would ever voluntarily go back myself either. It was just sorely lacking.

This is a wonderful way to get your little ones started on the museum experience. The place is small so you can easily go through it in a few hours which I think is wonderful if you are taking young children for the first time. They won't be overwhelmed or bored and there is a wide variety of things inside. Best of all entrance to the museum is free. There is also a small planetarium on site with multiple shows available for a fee. We took our children, 6 and 7, and they had a great time. Parking on weekends is on site and free.

Excellent exhibitions for all ages. Well worth a first date, with children, etc. Not good for nighttime.

I haven't been there in a few years, but friends have and they said they enjoyed going there. It was educational & their children had an experience of their lives. Today families do not have to go to expensive amusement parks all the time, to have an enjoyable day, visit State musems and State parks and have as much fun as we did in the "good old days".You will be surprised and so will your children. This type of fun is different, but you must be the one to try it, to see first hand.Bob Lecato Mercerville, NJ. A Trentonian @ Heart !!

The museum is great for families. They have a regular museum plus planetarium which is excellent. A great morning or afternoon for the whole family.