FREE worthwhile museum, open until 6pm most nights!…read more I had exactly one hour (not enough time) at this museum before we needed to leave for a 3:30pm showtime at the State Theater NJ, which is an easy 15-min walk away. While a great stop to pair with theater, an hour is not enough time to see the full permanent collection let alone the temporary exhibits. I recommend at least 2h for this museum. The Soviet art was very exciting to me. I love Russian 20th C writers as well as those of the two centuries before. But this collection focuses on the times of Solzhenitsyn and just after Chekhov / Tolstoy. It was so wonderful to see the visual art counterpart to the literary works of the era. The Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University offers FREE admission to everyone (as does nearby Princeton Art Museum). However, in both cases, you need to research parking because this is all overwrought university town systems, designed to nickel-and-dime, wasting your day navigating garages for available spots, adding apps to pay, or keeping track of tickets. I digress for this nuisance that really beats fun out of the experience. Nonetheless, the museum itself is a worthy stop if you are in the area. I highly recommend pairing with a visit to Rutgers Gardens (see my other reviews), just a 7min drive away, with free admission and a free parking lot!

Beautiful free to the public art museum on the campus of Rutgers University New Brunswick campus…read more There's a very nice selection of art and sculptures and also rotating exhibits when I went it was Andy Warhol. It's definitely worth a visit and there's plenty of parking and restaurants in the area around the museum. Plus the whole area is a nice place for a walk. It's definitely worth a visit it's one of my favorite museums

This place was pretty interesting. I remember going here a few years back just for kicks! The…read moreplace is pretty old! Just like a fellow yelper Lauren T. said here, Indiana Jones must have an office here. The place has a couple of exhibits: Museum exhibits include a wide variety of anthropological, geological and natural history of different specimens of animals and humans. Some of the highlights of the museum collection that I remember was: A dinosaur trackway from Towaco, NJ, with a model of Grallator, the small carnivorous dinosaur. My favorite was the big mastodon from Salem County, NJ. this was found in 1869. The skeleton was mounted in 1896 and remounted in 1932. Pretty big elephant if you tell me! An Egyptian mummy. This 2,400 year old mummy was brought to Rutgers by a missionary of the Dutch Reformed Church. This was awesome! Mineral exhibits featuring the zeolite minerals of Paterson, NJ, and the zinc minerals of Franklin, NJ. Oh yeah they also do birthday parties here for kids. They do three Saturdays a month. Kids get to learn about historical remains! And I hear they get goodie bags at the end of the party. Check this place out. You may actually enjoy it.

This is a small museum and great for kids, but I was really concerned with the safety of the top…read morelevel of the museum. You enter it through a small spiral staircase that's hard to maneuver. The top banister is decades old and very shaky. I was there with three young kids - which is what the museum is best for - and I was very nervous on that top level. It was also difficult to get to the museum itself because there's no elevator.

First time visit…read more Limited street parking Clean and quiet Bar is available Seeing a theater Murder Mystery

It is a very nice and modern theater inside the art center. No bad seats in this small space. The…read morestage and sound is excellent. Lobby has a bar and the play I went to see was very well done.

I checked this place out because of a recent Civil War reenactment event, and I was incredibly…read moreimpressed. It could have been an all day event and I wish I had come earlier because I missed some things like the weapons demonstration. Aside from the regular buildings, there was a camp set up with soldiers, nurses, doctors, cooks, and other professionals that would have been part of a civil war brigade. The reenactors were extremely knowledge and informative with various props and photos from the era. We did get sucked into the singing presentations at the tavern featuring the Libby Prison Band and Matthew Dodd singing period stories and telling comical tales. They alternated presenting on the hour with new songs each hour. For a free presentation, it was thorough, entertaining, and thoughtful. There was plenty of parking and a small gift shop (not too many site specific souvenirs though). I will keep an eye on the calendar and return for future events.

Wonderful place to learn NJ history. I grew up in NJ and…read moredidn't learn about it until a recent visit with a friend.

Love visiting Rutgers Gardens through the seasons! If you come in fall, don't expect much in bloom,…read morebut this place is wonderful to hike and stroll through with its various paths. If you visit in spring or summer, get ready for stunning flora and fauna that is cared for by Rutgers staff and students. I adore the lilacs that's smell delicious and envelope a walkway like a natural ceiling. So amazing! Also, I adore the wide open fields and spaces that lend themselves perfectly for a picnic or spot to lay down a blanket and enjoy a nap out in the open. PS. Very romantic spot- if you're coming here for a date, you will not be disappointed!

Really this should be a 4.5 but I rounded up to five to encourage people to come. Really worth it!…read more So let me tell you the negatives first, some of which were covered by some other reviewers. First, there are ticks and you should spray before you start. Second, the directions to get off Route 1 to the gardens is confusing, even for someone from New Jersey who is used to jug handles, but you'll get there eventually. Third, you can hear the traffic from route 1 as you walk through various parts of the gardens and the adjacent woods. And fourth, some toilets are in sad shape. To me, no showstoppers but more you should be aware. Best thing is to print out a map of Rutgers Gardens and Helyar Woods first. It's good to have with you as you walk about although signs are about. This is a really a beautiful garden set out in a very approachable way. Well documented and you can use those maps so you can find and explore the Asian Hill garden, Holly Collection, the Succulent Gardens and, my favorite, the Bamboo Grove. All in all there are 23 gardens and 8 structures, most of which are research sites. The gardens are adjacent to the Helyar Woods. The woods has 7 viewpoint spots and 5 marked trails ranging in length from 0.4 MI to 1.6 MI. Within the forest is a forested wetland, a meadows, a pine grove and just plain old Forest. Most of the trees are old-growth beech, birch, maple and oak trees. It's really wonderful. Note the gardens are closed on Mondays.

Museum always a has interesting things on exhibit. Exhibits change throughout the year so it's…read morealways nice to come back and see what's on exhibit. Right now it's Treasures of Middlesex County. Very interesting to see all the objects

After passing the Cornelius Lowe House virtually every day for the past 6 years, I finally made a…read moreconscious decision to try and visit. About 6 months later, based on my gf's suggestion we finally visited. I expected that this historical house would be full of historical furniture or reenactors or something old timey. However, this was not the case. The house actually serves as a small rotating museum exhibition space. During our visit, they had an exhibit on NJ Diners. There are only two floors of the house so it isn't a huge museum by any means. The exhibit took about an hour for me to read through everything and I though it was pretty interesting. I'm not sure how often they rotate the exhibits out but I'd certainly come back when they do. The house was unexpectedly air conditioned. The self guided tour was totally free. Also, the workers seemed really friendly. The only hitch is parking is confusing. The main driveway is a super narrow and scary road right off of River Road. Don't go in here. Parking is actually plentiful behind the house, which is in the lot of the visitor center on Rutgers Busch Campus. Some signs showing where to park would have been helpful.

Call me biased because this is where I had my first internship, but I love this little gallery. It…read moreis hidden off of George Street and a little hard to find, but worth the small hunt. The artist is a very kind and talented person with a beautiful style. I always loved seeing what he had just finished and what pieces he was working on. There is not a lot of foot traffic, as you might suspect, so if you pop in, you'll most likely have the place to yourself to wander and admire. It won't take you too long, as it is just one room. In addition to showcasing the owners work, they also highlight artists work from all over, depending on what their current exhibition is highlighting. Everything is worth seeing, but I especially loved when they had a photography exhibition. If you are looking for a place to pop into while in one of my favorite towns, you should make Alfa one of your stops.

it's such a nice space. great to have a show if u are an emerging artist. staff is very friendly.read more

Saw a play called Chicken & Biscuits tonight. This was my first time back since the major…read morerenovation and merger with New Brunswick Performing Arts Center a couple years back. The stage play area itself is now called the Arthur Laurents Theatre. The room is very cozy and intimate. It feels a tad smaller than the old Crossroads theatre but not by much. It was a great show. Lighting and sound quality are top notch and seating is very comfortable. I recommend supporting this company because the production quality has always been high and because it is so important to support the smaller, local theatre scene.

Amazing one man show masterfully performed by the son of Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee! Highly…read morerecommend!

I love libraries. I…read moreconsider the North Brunswick Library my home library though I don't live in this town. I've been going to this library for many years. Though it's a smaller library compared to East Brunswick, there is something for everyone. They have a decent children's section with a small play and game area, computers for the patrons to use, a quiet study room, young adult section, tons of DVDs, games, books on cds, magazines, and of course books! Sometimes I like coming here and perusing the book titles for a good read. They even have foreign language books and movies. There is a lot of seating, tables, and places to study or get your work done. The staff is helpful and nice. If you are a member of another library in Middlesex county, you can have other books or items shipped to this library and pick it up when it arrives. Super convenient! If you need to print something in color, it costs $.25! Such a good deal! Black & white are $.10 each. If you're not a fan of rambunctious tweens, I would avoid going here between 3-4PM during the weekdays. Most kids just don't know how to act in libraries. Love this place and am thankful for all they do for the community.

I am extremely happy about this library. The process to get my library card was smooth and the…read moreworkers here are welcoming and nice. I was surprised by the amount of new books that they have and of course, the classics. This library is neat, has a lot of seating and study areas, and the workers are nice. I love coming here!