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    New Jersey State Museum

    4.0 (34 reviews)
    Open 9:00 am - 4:45 pm

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    Hollie R.

    A clean, quirky, accessible museum on a safe block in Trenton, with kind and knowledgeable staff. Nicely curated fine arts floor, interesting Delaware Indian section, children-focused gift shop, and pleasant planetarium. The natural history wing has many NJ-themed examples of present and prehistoric animals. Couldn't find a public parking lot, but there was street parking around. There is a sizable eating area but the snack/soda machine wouldn't take $5 *or* credit cards. Eat and hydrate before arriving. Free entry.

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    John K.

    There is a photography exhibit right now of photos by Grant Castner . These are pictures of New Jersey in the late 19th and early 20th century. There is a focus on the Trenton area. Castner appears to have been an accomplished photographer but the real interest here is historical.Well worth your time! The museum is free and there is some parking in the back. The permanent collection is interesting. They have a good collection of paintings and a cute little natural history section.This is not a museum that is going to wow you but it's worthwhile.

    Stephanie G.

    Free museums are awesome, and so is free street parking on weekends. There are multiple floors of vast history of NJ from prehistoric times to Native Americans and Early colonists to the Civil War. There was some great natural history fossils and fine art examples. It's a good way to spend a few hours just to see some interesting exhibits. They also rotate, so it's worth keeping an eye out occasionally to see what's up next. Also, the gift shop is decent. We saw an ornament with a painting I didn't recognize, and the gift shop employee gave us directions to see it, so we bought the ornament and it's a nice little souvenir.

    Marlyn V.

    Everytime I come here I am on awe that it is FREE to enter and that no one is here! It is one of the few places that is free and open Sundays. I love to bring my son here, we have been coming since he was 1. They have programs for young explorers on select weekends that are creative and interactive (usually you have to ore register though). Each floor has something interesting, whether it is the native American exhibit, the planetarium, the animals, the children s play area or the modern art. The museum gives for a great day of educational and beautiful artwork during frigid winter months that there is nothing to do. For a few dollars you can also see a planetary show. We saw a laser one that I thought was terrible but my two year old enjoyed. It was about 30 minutes long and I actually liked the area before entering the planetarium much more with the flow in the dark planets and giant moving moon. Overall, it is a great place to check out at least once in the area and then hop over to grab some delicious local food nearby.

    Fossil

    The museum was very cool. The natural history section was nice with many fossils and fun facts about dinosaurs in New Jersey. There's also an art section with many great paintings and some very ominous ones.

    Christopher C.

    A place like this needs to come with a disclosure of sorts. If, you are one of those gadget wielding lunatics that can't stand to be off your phone for more than eight seconds at a time because you think that the entire world will stop if you're not checking in on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and Pinterest at the same time then don't come here. Also since I'll assume that if you're one of those people who behave that way you've made the "choice" to raise your mutant offspring the same way, then please leave them at home as well because they'll also have a miserable time here. Now, if you're not a socially challenged freak show with the attention span of a hummingbird wing flap then yes, this place will be right up your alley. You've got four floors of stuff ranging from the Planetarium and some Native American displays in the basement to various fossils and stuffed animals on the first floor to some artwork on the second floor to various NJ artifacts on the third floor. We came on a very rainy Christmas Eve and aside of a pretty good crowd at the Planetarium for the 2pm X-Mas themed laser show maybe we saw five other people the three hours we were there on the other floors actually looking at displays. If you go, parking during the week when the Government is open is tough as more than likely you will have to park a few blocks away and pay a good $10 in one of the area garages. On weekends it's a much different story as you can hit much closer and cheaper parking. In terms of food, they have two vending machines in the building and after that you're on your own although there is a Subway about two blocks away that is open everyday until at least six. Admission is free (although a donation would be nice) with the only cost being for the planetarium shows and even that can be done cheaper as they put discounts on Living Social or Groupon several times a year. You could easily make a day of dorkery between coming here, taking a tour of the State House and then going to the Old Barracks Museum as all three are within walking distance of each other and the Subway. (CM's review is far better than mine at explaining why this place is not a two or three star experience.)

    Sharyn N.

    Fun museum, lots to look at. We saw the planetarium show and it was the reason I'm giving 4 starts... the show deserved no stars (little star that could) it was a cartoon and poorly written...super cheesy and not worth paying for..

    Front entrance of the museum.
    Kimberly C.

    My husband and I bought a Living Social deal to their planetarium show. Finally got around to checking this place out. It has a good location in downtown historic Trenton. It's no Museum of Natural History, but it has some interesting exhibits on local New Jersey. The Planetarium show was great! It really felt like we were in the middle of nowhere staring at the stars. I love star gazing... It makes me feel connected with the universe. This place is good to bring the kiddos to!

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    28 days ago

    It's a hidden gem, especially the basement is full of indigenous history. A must visit if you want to learn about the "real Americans"

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    3 years ago

    The third floor is amazing. I've never been here despite living in Trenton for most of my life. Was pleasantly surprised!

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    Ask the Community - New Jersey State Museum

    Review Highlights - New Jersey State Museum

    Third floor has quilts (design your own quilt project), furniture, more things about NJ's history.

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    Grounds For Sculpture

    Grounds For Sculpture

    4.6
    (733 reviews)
    3.1 mi

    Can you tell which are statues?…read more Years ago I went to Grounds For Sculpture, a 42 acre outdoor and indoor art exhibit with gorgeous gardens and every type of art you can learn and imagine. My boys were too young to appreciate it back then. This time we did it differently. Prior to going, we did a lesson on different types of art. We created slides to help teach us different types of art. I have included the slides so you can share these to your kids as an art lesson. While we were at the Grounds For Sculpture, I have to tell you... the way the Realism Art, Pop Art, and Abstract Impression Art Blended with its natural surroundings, my eyes began to play tricks on me! For a split second, regular people sitting on a bench looked like statues too! It's very well done! This place creates a dream like state. Go to the Meadow section first! It's a lot of walking so don't go on a hot day. #groundsforsculpture #nj #art

    This may sound overly exuberant, but I love this place!…read more Founded in 1992 by J. Seward Johnson (a Johnson & Johnson heir) his goal was to build a contemporary sculpture garden for the public to enjoy. The property was initially the site of the Jersey fairgrounds and later the Trenton Speedway. (It's so peaceful and lovely here, it's hard to imagine the raucous noise of racecars.) We signed up for a walking tour -- free with the price of admission -- which runs for about an hour. In addition, friendly docents walking around the grounds stopped to chat offering great information -- even some juicy gossip! Be sure to pull up the app on your phone which we found helpful. The garden is closed Tuesday. One of the sites said admission is timed, but mid-week we were able to simply show up. Note that veterans and seniors pay reduced admission. Parking is free and there's a restaurant/coffee shop in the welcome center that's an inviting place to refuel. The photos I snapped are the garden's realistic representations, but there's a whole host of contemporary sculpture, all very different with their own stories.

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    Van Gogh sculpture
    Van Gogh sculpture
    Grounds For Sculpture
    Found this untitled sculpture tucked away down a narrow path

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    Found this untitled sculpture tucked away down a narrow path
    Ellarslie Trenton City Museum

    Ellarslie Trenton City Museum

    4.7
    (3 reviews)
    1.4 mi

    Parking was a breeze. It was such a wonderful stroll up to…read morethe front door because of the cherry blossom blooming right out front!! The staff is so welcoming! I was here to see a program where the three artists shared their history and the story behind their pieces. It really was so charming and precious. And I enjoyed seeing their works. There were also some instruments there so when the conversations ended, you could still just look at the art and there was somebody on the piano and there was a gentleman also on the drums and it was so wonderful to be in that space and to enjoy it this way. I look forward to coming back again!! I'm very grateful to the staff for caring for us all & the artist were very fun, inspiring, wonderfully interesting and engaging. It seems that they also found this day very special too. Lots of laughter.

    The Ellerslie Museum of the City of Trenton is truly a gem. It is set in the beautiful and bucolic…read moreCadwalder Park, which was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (of Central Park fame). So when you approach the stately mansion that houses the museum, you get to experience the lovely park as well. Once inside there is so much to see. Upstairs is the permanent exhibit of Trenton pottery. The other exhibits throughout the building vary from mixed media, photography, illustration, paintings, textiles...it is always something interesting. Molly's Museum Store is also chock full of handmade items that make wonderful gifts. The Ellerslie is also host to many different events for example poetry slams, chocolate and wine evenings, concerts, Sunday socials and much more. It is a wonderful spot and a perfect way to spend the day.

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    Ellarslie Trenton City Museum
    Ellarslie Trenton City Museum
    Ellarslie Trenton City Museum

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    New Jersey State Police Museum & Learning Center

    New Jersey State Police Museum & Learning Center

    3.7
    (3 reviews)
    4.5 mi

    This place was amazing. Nice size, free, staff are officers and they're friendly. Everything is…read moredisplayed in an organized way and descriptive. They even have a crime scene simulator

    When I was a child I went to the New Jersey State Police Museum, and a recent Monday I decided to…read morecheck it out again. The museum is located on the NJ State Police Headquarters campus (base?) so to get to the museum you need to stop at the guard house, show your ID and get a visitor's pass. Then it is just a short ride up the road and a right and you are looking at the parking lot. There is ton of parking (for buses too). Walk directly across the lot and there is the museum. There is no cost for the museum. When I arrived around 11 I was the first visitor of the day, so the Trooper in the museum chatted with me a bit and turned on some of the videos for me. They do require you to sign into their guest book that you came. I spent about 2 hours walking around the museum reading all the exhibits. I didn't watch all the videos and I didn't play with some of the interactive ones. And that was just me alone. If you are a history buff, love NJ or law enforcement, or like the off-the-beaten path places you should check this place out. There are two parts of the museum there is the new part which has most of the exhibits. But the older museum is a replicate of the log cabins that were used by the NJSP for many years. I believe they do lectures in there for groups, but they also have a number of vehicles that have been used over the years. I did spend a lot of time reading about the officers who lost their lives in the line of duty and paying my respects at the memorial garden right outside the museum. While there is no gift shop inside the museum, in the parking lot there is a trailer with a shop in it. There was a LOT of NJSP sweatshirts, t-shirts, and other apparel. They accept credit card. Proceeds go to the Former Troopers Family Foundation.

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    New Jersey State Police Museum & Learning Center
    New Jersey State Police Museum & Learning Center
    New Jersey State Police Museum & Learning Center

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    New Jersey State Museum - museums - Updated July 2026

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