Where-To-Go Wednesday - New Jersey State Museum and Planetarium

What: New Jersey State Museum and Planeterium

Where: 205 West State Street
             Trenton, NJ

Who: Ages 3 and up

Our view: We went to the New Jersey State Museum not expecting much, and we were pleasantly surprised.  The museum has several different areas including a fine art section and a natural history section. Some of the exhibits are permanent and some of them change perodically. A special feature of the museum is section that highlights objects and documents of the people who have lived in New Jersey from the 17th century to today. The museum is surprisingly more child friendly than we expected it to be with specific places within exhibits where touching the exhibit is encouraged. There are also several interactive areas where kids can participate in activities, such as, decorating their own state seals or drawing their own maps or doing a puzzle of the United States. The Planetarium has several different shows which may or may not change over time. The shows are geared to different ages, such as, a show geared to little ones featuring Big Bird and other Sesame Street characters discovering the sun, the moon and the stars, a show more geared to elementary school age children answering questions such as how the sun and the moon work together, and shows geared more to teenagers and adults regarding how technology created to explore space has helped us in so many other ways. Just be warned, if you or children suffer from motion sickness, the Planetarium show might not be a good idea for you. Also, just because a child is old enough to enjoy the Bird Bird Planetarium show does not mean they are ready for the museum. The museum itself is probably better for kids 5 and older and some areas even for older kids depending on your child's age, interests and attention span.. The museum is small, and it doesn't take more than a few hours to go through the whole thing including the Planetarium show. The museum is free but suggested donations rates are $5.00 for adults and children 12 and over and $4.00 for seniors and students with valid ID.  The Planetarium is $7.00 for adults, $5.00 for children 12 and under or per person for groups of 15 or more.  The museum is open Sunday to Tuesdays from 9:00 to 4:45 and closed on Mondays and any other New Jersey state holiday. However, even in the summer or during school holidays I would recommend going on a weekend. On weekends you can park in the adjacent lot. On weekdays only metered parking or paid lot parking is available because the adjacent lot is reserved for state workers. If you  are interested in seeing a particular Planetarium show call or check the web-site before you go to check dates and times.

And that's our view. For more information, go to New Jersey Department of State - NJ State Museum and/or see tomorrow's Talking Topic post.