Reviews of New Jersey State Museum (Museum)

Rafa11 r

I never saw skeletons before

Emilio Folden

What an interesting museum! It's great for kids too!

Bill Furman

Free museum. Great diversity

Rich Cohen

Just the right size. Just the right price. The Planetarium was extra but worth it. Very safe with plenty of weekend parking.

Rebeca Olvera

Not bad. There were a few good exhibits, planetarium was the highlight though.

Ali Almasi

This place is an undiscovered treasure in the town! Definitely recommend it. I loved the old stuff section, and the animal section. It's funny I asked my Instagram followers if the Dinasours are playing or fighting, and 76% said playing!

Rawr

The people there are racist to paterson people and make sure everyone else didnt have a chaperone and only my school

Gwendolyn Cobb

Not many places in Trenton to like but this museum is one of the nicer places to go. Lots of outdoor tables for eating your bag lunch.

Valerie Cappello

Self tour was nice. Not sure we saw everything. Saddly we had to miss planetarium

Kate Doukas

3 floors of history. Really advise to visit planetarium.

Maryam Suluki

Blew my 5 year old grandson away. The Wow's from him made the trip memorable for me. I learned quite a few new things also. Exhibits not overwhelming, information easy to see and read. We went after the school crowd left which allowed us opportunity to relax and see everything at our leisure.

Dee Snow

This place has all kinds of rooms with different things such as art indian artifacts dinosaurs etc.

zelipha Gitari

we went on a Monday morning and unfortunately the museum was clossed.

JJ Setaro

A hidden gem. Great variety of artifacts to see. Who knew so many artifacts were procured from NJ, but not all are from the state. It made a great memory and talking point for my children and I. I recommend going to their website for information on planetarium shows and offerings. When we were there they hosted a lunar workshop in their makerspace. Fun for all ages.

Vishal Nagpal

Nice and small museum, liked artifacts on New Jersey's history and planetarium show.

Adrian Flores

My son loves is here. Like the fact it’s close to home and it’s free. Rainy days we head here and read more into what we already love seeing

Mark Bean

Don't go expecting the Smithsonian. It's a very nice but modest museum. A great place to take young ones when the weather is bad and they need space to move around. The planetarium is great.

Sean Karyczak

Interesting place to learn about NJ history. The planaterium was also very fun. Great place to spend an afternoon.

Jenna Alger

It's free!!! Has tons of interesting things to learn about and discover!

Trisha Bolkowski

Great museum with free admission. Nice place to take a quick day trip to and learn!

Charlene Bell

We really enjoyed or visit here! I especially loved the WWI poster exhibit! There were actually!my a few interactive parts to some tof the exhibits, but they were geared more toward kids (didn't stop me lol!). We saw the Dark Universe show at the planetarium which was very cool, but we missed out on looking at the displays in the planetarium (our timing was bad). I'd say we got there around 11:30 am & left right as they were closing (exhibits close at 4:45pm), this included the 30 minute planetarium show. The gift shop had a lot of cool stuff, including local artisan items. It was very fun & we're glad we went! We'd come back too!

Lexi M

Very intelligent

Catbark

Has some neat things on display and a typically expensive gift shop. Good for pokestops.

Lisa V

very nice museum---we enjoyed it

Leon Crawford Sr

This Museum has a little bit of everything. Things for the very young. Things for Grandparents. The best gift shop in NJ.

Yepitsstlldavid lol

i like it you learn something there and a lot of stuff to look at

William scott

Not sure if your supposed to pay no one asked for money good afternoon with the wife

Warren Connelly

Nice facility... glad it's there..

Asad Mahmood

Nice place for a kids outing. Planetarium is also nice

Sajid Ali

Must visit! Croc exhibit is impressive. Make sure you go to every floor and the planetarium. Lots of free parking on weekends. The museum has free entry.

Henry Holbrook

Nice little museum. More geared for younger kids, elementary to maybe 7th grade.

Brian Valachovic

A great collection. Something for everyone. The WWI poster collection was extraordinary and the laser shows at the planetarium are fantastic.

Jane Pauling

Great gift shop with a lot of NJ handicrafts and products.

Astra Martinez

The museum is a nice place to constantly visit with changing exhibits each as interesting as the last.

Rick C

Great place to go and see a little of New Jersey history

Prabhu Selvaraj

Good for families with kids. Not too crowded. Well maintained.

Tom DeShields

Great little museum! Free too. Takes donations

Marcia Miller

The planetarium was great. It was a Magic Tree house story. It kept my3 yr old granddaughter's attention. The museum is nice but smallish. Interesting archeological displays.

Gina G.

Cool museum with lots to explore and very friendly and helpful staff.

Sabrina Slack

Good place for cheap family activity. No admission, donation only.

exploring with the lamas

Free and awesome place to visit

Dawn Peters

This museum is small compared to others I've been to. Very glad it was free/donation. The dinosaur fossil area was the highlight.

Joseph Delbo

I love this place I spent a lot of time here as a kid and enjoy this place as an adult. Can't wait to have my own kids to share this experience with them

Holly Prugar

A true jem! This museum was very impressive! The staff was extremely friendly! The gift shop is first class! This is a free museum! Museum shop sales go to support the museum. The museum store is a must see! This is a smaller museum with a whole lot to offer. My boyfriend and I spent two hours here. There is a very nice variety on display. The displays are well thought-out. There is something for everyone here. Unfortunately, we arrived too late in the day for a planetarium show. There is a super cool interactive globe outside of the planetarium. We especially enjoyed the pretty big things exhibit, the fine arts collection, and the natural history hall. It is worth noting, the only food or drink available on premises is from a vending machine. Bathrooms are conveniently located on every floor. There are two elevators that make traveling from floor to floor easy. Parking is in a lot on weekends, but I believe on the street during the week. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience! Highly recommend!

Valerie Bee

Had a great time with my family, my 4 year old loved seeing the vintage toys and playing with the Legos. There was plenty to see and that staff was very friendly.

Vincent Bleach

Good overall. Bit more interactive things for kids would be ok. Kids love to touch.

Elizabeth Bruggemann

Amazing history! Someone took time out to explain what fossils he was working on. Very informative and friendly!

Karl Werner

An interesting place to spend a few hours and learn about New Jersey.

Lilly Laurel

Great place to visit

Addonis Jones

My daughter favorite place

Jagannath Mishra

Nice place and enough to see inside. Peaceful location.

MsReggae78

Very beautiful

Rick Hasney

Everyone loves dinosaurs!

Margaret Doliet

It a nice place to take your family at.

Steven Markowitz

Great museum for an afternoon. Not very large but great exhibits and a good amount of interactive ones

WILLIAMS DE PAZ

Awesome place to spend some family time

Elvis Tegum

Great activity with kids

President Glitch

I got to see rad dinosaur skeletons enough said

Nicholas Tomaselli

Interesting exhibits and a gift shop with good gifts. Some exhibits were interactive there was even an area where you could make your own puppet show. In my opinion the best thing by far was the fossil exhibition, which contains some pretty impressive fossils.

Suvajit Bid

Not so appealing and happening museum. Little but good collection for NJ history. Planetorium is okay.

G Aquino

I was really underwhelmed. I expected a more comprehensive collection given New Jersey's relatively long history - as one of the thirteen colonies and then as a state. The history portion was limited to several small galleries and the rest was science (for kids) and art. The art gallery wasn't even Jersey-centric, but a mix of pieces from everywhere that the museum has acquired over the years. Some serious curatorial work is in order - one that presents a cohesive story of the state and its people. They could also use the art space to promote local artists and their work.

Naomi Capasso

Had a great two hours with a toddler. Really family friendly. Didn't try the planetarium but there were plenty of interactive exhibits and the discovery zone is a perfect break for a rambunctious little one. Bravo to the think tank running the center, we are excited to see what plans are in store for level two and we will definitely be back soon!

Samantha Moy

Lots to see and learn. Was dull for the 12yr old I took but I loved the history.

John Venditti

Kids like to go there. Good experience.

Joseph Jacob

Lots of things to see. The planetarium was a great bonus. Admission is free but $7/adults for planetarium. Groupon has good offers.

Claudia Ndenge

Very beautiful and informative. Unfortunately we missed the planetarium show but you can still see it without a guide though.

Chris Kavanagh

Great free museum with childrens activities Planetarium is not free but exhibits are. Good rainy day ornany day fun.

Meg Adams

Museum far exceeded expectations and my only real critique is that they should do a better job showing off all the amazing things their website - especially what they have for kids. We were reluctant to go because we were not certain it would have enough to hold young children's interest. If I had known (ahead of time) all that was contained on floor 2 I would have spent more time there. On that note there were two amazing play spaces within the exhibits in the second floor (toy exhibit -the foam blue blocks and legos, natural history exhibit - tent, books, coloring, dress up, comfy seating areas, etc). There were also hands on interactive things in other parts too. The visual art galleries displayed a diverse assortment of artists (well known and local NJ). It was a great collection. The NJ history artifacts were also very interesting. The first floor has nice gathering spaces that overlook the Delaware River. The museum is true to it's word of being a 4-in-1 museum. We did not check out the planetarium because it was nearing lunch time but I was told it was the largest in the state. Beyond this, the staff was amazingly friendly and helpful. We drove over an hour to get there and it was well worth the trip. Also, (not sure if this is the norm) there was no one there on the Sunday morning we visited. It was easy to secure parking right in front of the museum and it was so peaceful and low-key within the museum. Meant to also add - the museum is cash only by donation. We had little cash on hand and felt bad that we could not donate more to visit.

Elijah Tard III

"Dinosaurs at dusk" was entertaining for my kids, and they enjoyed the artifacts as well.

Karimah Hanif

The musesm was nice and the children had a lot of fun. The only minor issue was the planetarium presentation we saw. I feel it would have been more educational for the children, (ages 3 to 8) if it was more about the Solar System and less about Ancient Mayan Gods.

Carlos Sierra

Fun times great actors

Jacqueline Berry

It a. Place to take the family it not crowed and the planetarium shows are great for all ages...

Bridget Delaney

Really nice! Great for all ages!

Lisa Pellegrino

Excellent experience, and the planetarium is stellar! Treat yourself to this Trenton treasure, such a wonderful way to spend the day. Free parking and no entrance fee! So much to see on the 3 levels, and the planetarium is totally worth the admission fee. Nothing like outer space to inspire wonder and awe!

Amanda Moore

This free museum has exhibits for nativeAmericans, the civil war, art, and natural sciences. The third floor had a play area for kids. The planetarium was more geared towards younger children. I enjoyed myself and would go back.

Ashok Parmar

Very informative and historical place

Anthony Corrado

This museum and Planetarium are pretty nice. It's ideal for younger museum goers or for a stop on your way to other adventures. I went with a friend and her 5 year old daughter and the museum held all of our interest for a couple of hours. A great mix of fine art, Paleontology, geology, and local native artifacts (anthropology).

Kyle Coleman

Very well maintained.

Nathalie Pagan

So, the area is quite a ghost town on a Sunday but the museum itself is interesting. It's free admission but you can leave a donation in the front but the planetarium requires a fee. Nice museum if you don't want to make a whole day at a place.

Cath Susla

My husband and I visited the museum and enjoyed it. We arrived late in the day so we're there about an hour but enjoyed the time we were there and plan to go back. It is free and the museum has lots of information and history. We loved the art collection. It was clean and each floor has a security guard on the floor. It's a really nice place and everyone we spoke with there was helpful. I would recommend it.

Giuseppe Burgarella

The Planetarium is very nice, for every age: I suggest it for any kid from kindergarten to 100 years :) The museum is quite beautiful.

Lawrence Greenberg

Go Trenton! I don't even know this place existed. Very nice.

John Dugan

I went to see the NJ Civil War battle flags. Great exhibit.

Dave Krause

Free admission. Street parking is free on weekends. Planetarium is not free, but less than $10 a ticket. Most exhibits are "No Touch", but there is an small kids area that will keep young ones occupied for 30 minutes or so. No food concessions, but there is a space to eat what you bring in. Worth the trip if you are in the area.

Patrick Ryan

Not the most expansive museum but really good for younger kids who don’t have the attention span for a larger place.

Sharon Leggett

It's been so long since I've been here but really enjoyed the displays ( Jersey Crocs, Flags of the Civil War,the Apollo missions and the Native Americans in NJ) Also went to the Planetarium and watched Sesame Street talk about stars!

gladys valentin

Amazing. My grandson loved it and so did I

Jessica Schaefer

Quite a bit here! We were surprised that we spent so much time. Three kids 18m / 4 / 7yrs were all happy to browse and enjoyed both the art and history as well as the fabulously done, bright and open kids area and fossil / animal area. Planetarium is smaller than I remember it being when I was 10, show was good but a bit long for the younger two and scary for the 4yr old (was about weather on the planets... so fire and storms and spacecraft deploying parachutes which makes a big boom... seems like the room is spinning, which it isn't, but still I'd recommend the show for over 5). Staff was excellent and very engaging.

Marc Daniele

I love it because it's always fairly quiet. Great place to bring my son. It's a little small but for kids it's a great place to go

Nancy Mincey

Wonderful family trip and a lot of historical facts about New Jersey.

yun-yi lin

Beautiful museum

Karen Schauer

Never even knew this place existed. Went with a kids field trip. I was really amazed at this place and it kept the kids looking and interested. Worth a trip for sure.

Joshua Seright

Very family friendly museum great attractions but some unsavory employees

Phillip Parker

My kids loved the exhibits and so did I.

Matthew Hovey

Plan to spend anout 3 hours here. Decent state run museum. Limited parking

Brigitte Saket

Pretty cool museum if you're a fan, there is lot to look at, great for kids too!

Jordan Vazquez

A good place to go with the family on a sunny day.

E Kazu

Overlooked museum. nice art collection

Paresh Trivedi

Not to see much. It may not be meaningful visit. Out of date museum!

Susan Hartt-Perez

It is full of well thought out displays. It has a nice mix of interactive displays for young children to play with & learn from .

A Marshal

Interesting collection of New Jersey related historical items. Not too big, not too small - just the right size to keep children occupied without becoming bored. Some of the fine art is not relative to New Jersey but still interesting to the collection.

Eric Tricklandq

Good place to visit. Decent environment. All the stuffs are well maintained.

Sharon Colavita

Such a wonderful place

rocquel barretto

Nice little cultural area, planetarium too.

Ashley Back

It was ok. The planetarium was cool

Dennis Brooks

Fantastic exhibits on local native American archaeology from their huge collection. State Museum itself in need of a cash injection... Time stood still for much of it for some decades and looks like the Soviet 70's

Diana Santiago

It was just ok and not there museums fault, just the time spent was short on school trip, but definitely want to come back and visit with my family.

Jason Dubowitch

Visited the Planetarium for the CapCom Go! Apollo Story for the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. The show was great for a pretty low price. The accompanying exhibit in the museum was kind of small though and did not have too much to see, but it was informative.

Susan Glachman

Free museum, great way to spend a cold day. They have paleontologists working in an open room on the natural history floor! They answer questions and show you their work, it's really great. There are a lot of toys and books for a toddler in the play area. The rest of the museum is a little boring for a small child, I'd like to get back and really look at the WWI art and the Native American exhibits sans-toddler.

Alison Merle

Clean, interesting, up to date, polite staff and easy parking. In the better area of trenton, obviously.

Liz Fagan

Great free experience

Bev

My grandson loved the museum and planetarium

SLReflections Photography

The entrance is hard to get to or find but once inside we love it! The showings are always great and informative and then the museum is fantastic to look around. There's so much to see and look at. The gift shop is cool...a bit pricy though. Overall great visit!

Chris Scaturo

Pretty solid NJ theme museum, takes about 2 hours to take it in. The planetarium is awesome because, you know, they are all awesome.

Anna Calaiaro

What a completely wonderful way to jazz up a hot Sunday afternoon, the exhibits we're all explained with great personal stories, it made you proud to be a NJ son or daughter, amazing wealth of information, exhibits accessable to all, clean facilities, a real nice time. Kept us occupied for several hours and something for everyone, Lots of interactive exhibits for the children. I'm definitely going to visit regularly, enjoyed the natural history exhibits and native art the most, the flags we're so amazing and I learned a lot at 61 years, great time for seniors, elevators and lots of places to rest , gaze and enjoy.

Greg C

Small museum with interesting historical items. The art exhibits were underwhelming. That space is better used for historical items. The staff were not friendly. Gift shop staff were obsessed with occupancy and made customers feel rushed and uncomfortable. The front desk security were nasty. Forcing adults to wear backpacks in reverse (in front of you) is ridiculous and condescending.

Anthony Jackson

A nice place to take a girl on the first date

Lindsey Barrett

Great exhibits. Parking can be a pain though.

Jiuntae

It has very cool things

Tyrone Miller

The kids will love the planetarium

Brendan Maier

Awesome place for young and old. Great for families

Vinanti Thakur

Nice place for kids!!

Jose Leonado Aceituno

Great place

Cheri Wortmann

Great place to take the family. Staff is great.

Diamond Toweh

Really enjoyed my self

Tony DeOliveira

The museum was great and very interesting. if you go to the planetarium, the earlier showings are geared mostly for children. I believe 2 p.m. and onwards are more for the adult crowd.

Pierre Demassey

Fun place for kids and it's free. Taxes at work I guess.

Ryan Foster

This place is one of the best uses of my tax dollar as a NJ resident. It has an impressive line up of exhibits for kids and adults alike. I've taken my daughters here multiple times and no trip is complete without a stop at the Discovery Den. They have a blast and it's hard to pry them away when it's time to leave!

John Davis Jr.

NJ. It’s time to upgrade your museum. The exhibits were great but the overall building in need of a tear down.

Dawn Paul

It was a rainy day but I still enjoyed my self

Christopher Ley

I really wanted to give it five stars. Great exhibits and lots of Jersey based information and attractions. The planetarium was great and all the kids loved it. Here's the problem, I went with my four kids one of which is in diapers. None of the men's restrooms had a changing table. I mean is this 1955? I asked a women there if the ladies room had one and she said it did. Didn't do me any good, i had to change him on the floor like an idiot.

John Kocsis

Haven't been here in decades and don't quite remember what it was like back then but i really enjoyed being there the other day.

Greg Hilliard

Great place to take the kids, never gets old and there is always something new to see

2k sub no vid challenge

Amazing historical artifacts until the end every one in the group was getting tired there was nothing to sit down on

Patrick Smith

Very nice museum for a day trip. Donations can be made but not required making it accessible to everyone. Nice exhibits.

Brianna Uber

As a free museum, you can't beat it. We were there too late in the day to visit the planetarium. We spent just about an hour there, but could have easily spent more time. There are 3 floors to the museum with something for everyone. There are interactive exhibits for children.

Playz_Z

Nice people and good small museum

Karl Muessig

Grandchildren loved the visit except they wanted to know where the big dinosaur went

Clarisa Gonzalez-Lenahan

Great exhibits

J R

Small museum that is good for a couple hour outing with young children. Wouldnt take older ones there. Best part is the planetarium.

Min Cedeno

Nice museum, wish the planetarium opened earlier on weekends.

Parth Patel

The best museum in NJ that nobody knows about! It's Iike a smaller version of the Museum of Natural History in NYC

Brian Boyle

Great place to take the family. Learn about NJ history and art. Great gift shop with local artisans

Shanna Williams

Great museum with tons of exhibits. Free parking in the garage.

BeiBei Luo

Have fun there. They have kids area, that's well designed, my kid loves it

Vvinit Prasad

Must visit place... Very calm and pleasent place...

Brandon van Zelst

So long as your expectations are reasonable for a small museum, it's an excellent way to spend an hour or two. It's a very nice mixture of art, natural science and New Jersey artifacts

Nicole

I'm glad me and my sister came here. We're fans of NJ as well as fans of this museum. Our favorite exhibit, which was PERFECT for kids, the animals and dinosaur room, was interactive and fun and informative. Signage regarding which animals are found where would be helpful. There were things like toucans and jaguars, stuffed. The taxidermy was amazing but I was confused why some of it was in a museum about our great state. Walked through 2/3 of the exhibits in less than an hour. Cute little shop with lots of NJ paraphernalia. Loved some of them for gifts or tchotchkes. One Andy Warhol print of Jackie O. And one Roy Liechtenstein pop art. Would recommend.

marguerite murphy

Wonderful experience and things inside that i never would have thought rhey had. They even have couch set from the Titanic! They have things from indians... so exciting. And they have a planetarium in the building. We made it an all day event

Margot N

Free! Planetarium is additional cost

Patrick Millar

Loved the museum with my grandson. He really enjoyed it also.

Kyle Kelly

Small collection of mostly new jersey based art and artifacts. Only a five dollar donation and plenty of parking around the area. Great for a rainy weekend.

sandra mccarthan

Was amazingly great place for events

karlajudith _Vlogs

It was nice and really interesting, but I feel like they should add more artifacts, like rocks and minerals, My dad made us Lea early, so we didn't experience much, but I love it, definitely will go again

Laneecia freeman

This place is great lot's to look at plenty of history to learn. Also they have a planetarium to see the sky and an auditorium where they have show's. Cost is great and don't forget to donate

Suzan Lindsey

Wowww!!! What an Awesome Museum for Everyone!!❤❤❤

Eric Sanders

Very nice great place to learn of NJ historic past and importance

Frances Whitney

It was a nice museum but I wouldn't go out of my way to get there. I expected more of a higher quality of the antiquities. I felt it was sparse and lacking pizzazz. The staff was very nice.