Whether you want to know about giant dinosaurs, Native American history or stars, the New Jersey State Museum has content for your interests.
Home to one of the largest planetariums between New York and Philadelphia, the museum has the collection and enthusiasm of a much larger institution. See American Inuit tools and textiles, tiny troglodytes encased in stone and flags carried into the Civil War by New Jersey soldiers.
Marvel at the size of displayed fossils in the paleontology exhibit, from the very big to the very small. Learn about the dinosaurs that once roamed the New Jersey area and how they affected the animals that live here today.
Watch your kids gaze in awe at one of the planetarium shows, which range in complexity and length for children of all ages. Don’t forget the changing exhibits, which include varied subjects from vintage toys to New Jersey during World War I.
Learn about the region’s pre-colonial history in the archaeology exhibit. It consists of over 2 million specimens. Admire the collection of Native American arts and reconstructions of different dwellings, as well as a small selection of West African and Asian art.
Browse the museum’s fine art collection, which especially focuses on the work of African-American artists and abstract painters of the 1930s and 1940s.
End your visit on the grass while eating a picnic lunch, staring up at the modern sculpture on the lawn as you chat about what you saw and learned.
The New Jersey State Museum is in the heart of downtown Trenton, next to the New Jersey State House and the Old Barracks Museum. Walk to the museum in 20 minutes from the public transportation hub at the Trenton Transit Center or drive in 5 minutes. Free parking is limited inside the state house lot, but metered parking is available within walking distance along the street and in lots.
Pay a suggested donation to enter the museum. Planetarium shows add an extra charge. The museum is closed on Mondays, but opens to the public the rest of the week during business hours.
