Learn History, Unique Attractions and Fascinating Exhibits at the Museums!

Whether you’re a history buff, a video game connoisseur, a toy lover or you just want to spend a day inside learning something – there is definitely a museum for you. Explore some unique attractions, fascinating exhibits and some quirky but cool places that you would have never known existed. Expand beyond your child’s comfort zone, get transported back into your childhood and marvel at how you used to see the world. Wow, bet it’s changed quite a bit!

PINBALL HALL OF FAME MUSEUM ARCADE
Asbury Park Boardwalk, 1000 Ocean Ave, Asbury Park
See and play over 200 retro games at the Silverball Pinball Museum in Asbury Park. You pay by the hour one flat price to play as many games as you want within the time frame. The museum is a fascinating walk through the evolution of the pinball machine — from very simple machines to complicated models. They also have an onsite café with a variety of classic boardwalk food from pizza, pretzels, funnel cakes, and ice cream.

TOY WORLD EXHIBIT AT NJ STATE MUSEUM
Thru April 30, 2017, 205 West State Street, Trenton, NJ.  609.282.6464
Be transported to back to another era in the fun NEW exhibition spotlighting the history and innovation of toy manufacturing in New Jersey. Everyone knows that the spaces on the Monopoly game are named for Atlantic City streets. But did you know that the inventor of the spring-loaded mechanism found on pinball machines lived and worked in Jersey City?  Or that Lionel – the biggest name in model railroading – had factories in Hillside and Irvington? Or that one of the country’s largest makers of tinplate mechanical toys was located just off Broad Street in downtown Burlington? Or that a factory in the Chambersburg neighborhood of Trenton earned the nickname “World’s Largest Doll House” because it manufactured hundreds of thousands of dolls each year?  A fun-filled exhibition focuses on the little known stories of the important role New Jersey played in the history of the American toy industry.

THOMAS EDISON NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK
211 Main Street, West Orange.  973.736.0550x11
Stand in the very workplace where Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, storage battery and motion picture camera. Visit the laboratory complex with 20,000 sq ft of exhibit space
including 2 floors of main laboratory building previously closed to the public. Spend an hour or a day through this self guided experience.

WRITTEN IN THE ROCKS, FOSSIL TALES OF NJ
NJ State Museum, 205 West State Street, Trenton, NJ.  609.282.6464
The exhibition presents 10 unique fossil stories that offer intriguing clues about our ever-changing planet, how life on Earth has evolved and adapted… or gone extinct. Step back 3.5 billion years to explore the geology of New Jersey, the oldest fossils from the state and the progression of life here. Learn about the evolution of turtles, fish, mammals and birds. Meet New Jersey’s own Dryptosaurus, the world’s first known carnivorous dinosaur, reconstructed and displayed for the first time ever! Discover Ice Age animals and their modern day relatives. Interactive timeline demonstrates the enormity of geologic time. On long term view in the Natural History Hall.

OLD BARRACKS MUSEUM
is a state and national landmark for interpreting colonial life, providing engaging interactive experiences in “living history”, illustrating the turning point of the American Revolution. Their programs, exhibits, and collections inspire curiosity and illuminate similarities and differences between 18th-century lives and ours.

MEGA MODEL TRAINS EXHIBIT
Thru Feb 26, 2017.  Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown
Watch model trains zip across a 288-square-foot landscape featuring city and pastoral scenes. This exhibition includes three separate tracks and dozens of interactive working accessories.

ENGINEERING BRICK ART  
Thru February 26, 2017.  Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown
The LEGO© brick has sparked the imagination of artists near and far. Explore how this simple toy has been transformed into a medium of art and design. From fast food to famous works of art, this exhibition features more than thirty LEGO© brick marvels.