Derived from the Greek root astron for star, and nomos for arrangement or law, astronomy represents…read morea world that is both mysterious and grandiose. It's a story about glimmering celestial objects and the immensity of the cosmos. It's tough to find dark skies so close to New York City. But with the right location and guidance, astronomy lovers have a great time stargazing in NJ. Located at the Buzz Aldrin Astronomical Center (named after the famous Montclair native and second person to ever set foot on the moon) in Voorhees State Park, NJAA Observatory is open every Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon from June 1 through October 31, where my partner and I went last night as first-timers. The facility features a 26-inch Cassegrain telescope, which is the largest in New Jersey, as well as two smaller ones and a binocular setup around the grounds. Upon entering, we were greeted by a number of knowledgeable volunteers @D.Ann S who explained the different buildings and their respective scopes and capabilities and all the benefits of joining NJAA, whose membership is roughly $40 for the year. They answered questions from the young children or the young at heart. We started out at their auditorium and split the group of 30 between viewing the moon with smaller telescopes outside or viewing the stars with the larger one upstairs. The images of the craters and seas of the moon were amazing. One of the staff pointed out the site of the first moon landing. Due to the clouds, it was not possible to view the larger one clearly. This is an amazing little environment for all ages that was well worth the stop, which we can recommend.

My first time here was OUT OF THIS WORLD, pun intended. It's a small-ish operation and the entire…read morestaff is warm, welcoming, knowledgeable, and willing to answer any question you have. They have great patience and don't rush you when you're trying to star gaze. They explain everything you see and some of what you don't. I loved the gentleman who gave us their back story and all the tea on how they came to be THE place that houses THE largest telescope in the ENTIRE state of New Jersey. Star gazing is cool, dare I say, romantic, and so fun! I recommend it at least once. You'll be hooked!

A beautiful place for a picnic, events, and weddings. It's huge, with lots to do. Even if you get…read morelost, it will be a fun experience with lots to do and discover. I look forward to going back next year.

I work here, and aside from the 1.5-hour plus commute, it's a glorious place to work. Stunning…read moregrounds, fragrant air, wildlife galore. It's also inspiring to be in the company of some of the finest scientific minds of our time.

The Edge and City Climb combo was such a good experience. The Edge itself has amazing views, but…read moreadding the City Climb made it feel way more memorable. Climbing up the side of the building was a little nerve wracking at first, but the staff made me feel safe and talked me through everything. Once I got to the top, the view was unbelievable and worth every bit of it. You can check out my full review and everything I did on Instagram and TikTok: @travelnistaonthemove

I was very disappointed with Edge. Originally, I had wanted to do the City Climb experience, but…read morethey were doing renovations to it, and it wasn't available. In hindsight, it was for the best. As it was, I paid extra for priority access, which allows you to skip the lines. But there was no line to get in, and no line for the elevator up. There was a line for the elevator down that I got to skip, but it was only about 10 people, so I basically saved 5 minutes. The whole experience took me about 15-20 minutes. With Top of Rock, you've got the beam, the lift, and the short fun little movie at the beginning, with Empire, you have the historical aspect of it, and with Summit 1, you have the ballroom. There's nothing special or drawing to Edge. The views are ok, but the deck is on the smaller side of the ones I've been to. Security was a little rude and off-putting. The first security guard said I set the alarm off and sends me over to the side. That guy waves me through, then the original guy starts freaking out for me to stop. I go back to the 2nd, and I'm like you waived me through, and he just keeps saying it's ok. And pawing at my stuff, mind I had a clear bag so you see everything in case I set an alarm off. Anyway, It better be ok, I went to stop, and YOU waived me through. Overall, of the observation decks I've done, Edge has been the worst. 1. Top of the Rock 2. Summit 1 3. One Times Square 4. Empire State 5. Edge

Going to the Top of the Rock is a good experience. Has a short film presentation before head up to…read morethe observation decks. I'll speak to the Beam Experience next, but before I do....do note, I give this place 5 stars overall, as it is an iconic NY building worth visiting. There's far more to see at this building, than just the observation deck I speak to in this review. . Now, what I personally found a rip off, is the Beam Experience. It costs $20 a head, in addition to your base observation ticket price. Not worth it at all and here's why: - You sit on the beam and strap in. - It goes straight up (5-6 seconds). - Pauses briefly and turns 180 to face outward (6-7 seconds). - It pauses again as it faces outward (9-10 seconds). - it turns back toward the Top of the Rock building and takes your pic (7-8 seconds). - Beam lowers back to roof top (5 seconds). . As you can see, it is so brief in duration. And there's nothing that makes you feel vulnerable at all. Or you're not any higher, actually lower, than an observation deck you can be in and be higher than folks on the beam experience. The only way the beam experience may be worth it to you....is for your to be highly nostalgic.....and want to sit on a steel beam....up in the air a bit....and technically be like those guys eating lunch on a beam all those years ago....in kinda the same place as those workers did way back when. If you don't know, that classic of the workers on the beam; occurred during the building of the Rockefeller Building. But as I see it, this beam experience isn't worth it at all.

I was extremely disappointed with the FIFA Watch Party at Top of the Rock…read more I had been looking forward to this match for months and expected an unforgettable experience. Instead, it turned into one of the most poorly organized events I've ever attended. The venue was severely overcrowded, and there were far too few TVs for the number of people admitted. Most guests, including us, couldn't even watch the game because there simply wasn't enough viewing space. We spent the event walking around trying to find a place where we could see a screen, but it was impossible. This event was clearly oversold without proper planning or consideration for the guest experience. We paid specifically to watch the FIFA final, but ended up missing most of the match. We left feeling frustrated, disappointed, and honestly scammed. This was not the experience that was advertised or promised. I hope Top of the Rock takes responsibility for what happened and provides refunds to the affected guests, while making sure events like this are organized much better in the future.

An Unforgettable, Interactive NYC Skyline Experience…read more What a truly fantastic experience! We booked our tickets well in advance and *tried* to time our slot for the sunset. Even with the heavy crowds and a long, congested line inside that definitely could have used some better ventilation, the entire experience was absolutely worth the money. A Massive Hit with the Kids: We took our young boys, and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Even though they had already visited the Empire State Building on our trip, the interactive installations here kept them completely engaged. They especially loved the room with the floating silver balloons, in addition to the stunning mirror installation. Perfect Photo Ops: There are fun opportunities throughout the exhibit to capture family photos with the city skyline as a backdrop. Convenient Location: We ended our memorable visit with an easy, stress-free family dinner right next door at the Grand Central Station food court, which was incredibly convenient. Pro Tip: Be sure to bring sunglasses to combat the sunlight + mirrors.

There is no shortage of high places in New York City where you can pay a substantial amount of…read moremoney to stare at Manhattan from above. SUMMIT One Vanderbilt decided that an extraordinary view was not quite enough, so they wrapped the experience in Kenzo Digital's massive mirror installations, added floating silver balloons, built glass-bottomed skyboxes, and tossed in an exterior elevator for good measure. I brought the family this past weekend, and everyone had a great time. The perspective from three levels spanning the 91st through 93rd floors is genuinely spectacular. The floor-to-ceiling glass offers crisp, dramatic angles on the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, Central Park, and the surrounding Midtown skyline. The individual rooms are surreal, disorienting, and almost aggressively engineered for social media. The main mirrored space, known as Transcendence, multiplies the skyline and every person in the room into an endless pattern of optical confusion. Over in Affinity, walking through dozens of lightweight silver spheres feels like stepping into a giant pinball machine. For those who enjoy a quick hit of vertigo, Levitation features transparent glass ledges extending out over the building, letting you look straight down a 1,063-foot drop onto Madison Avenue. My fear of heights encouraged me to pass on this particular opportunity. One practical warning: bring sunglasses. When the sun broke through the clouds during our visit, the mirrored floors and walls bounced intense sunlight from every conceivable angle. On a completely clear summer afternoon, the experience must come pretty close to standing inside a solar panel. We skipped Ascent, the exterior glass elevator that rides up the outside of the building. Watching it from the outdoor terrace was enough for me. It looks interesting, but the view from the main observation decks is already so high that paying extra for a glass elevator ride feels unnecessary. We also passed on drinks and bites at Apres, the lounge on the top level, though the menu prices looked about where you would expect for a cocktail served 93 stories above the sidewalk. I would like to return at night. After dark, I imagine seeing the illuminated city grid reflected across all those mirrors must be an entirely different experience. It gets four stars instead of five primarily because it is a steep investment for a family, and much of what you are paying for is a classic skyline view wrapped inside an elaborate optical funhouse. But if you want a top-tier observation deck combined with genuinely creative immersive spaces, SUMMIT delivers a lot of fun. Everyone in the family left happy, which is never a guarantee.

In 19th century London, a crackpot Victorian engineer named Alexander Stanhope St. George dreamed…read moreup an undersea tunnel to serve as a speedy traffic conduit from London to New York. (He hated travel by boat) His traffic corridor was never realized, but his enterprising great grandson Paul St. George recently discovered the mysterious blueprints of his great-grandfather's incomplete dig. The younger St. George has installed fiberoptic cables running under the Atlantic, through the completed tunnel, from the Brooklyn Bridge to London's Tower Bridge, allowing New Yorkers and Londoners to greet each other in real time, across the pond! St. George's story is so intriguing and fanciful--and it really is quite a marvel to wave at our friends over in London and see them wave back. In fact, it's so much fun to tickle our brains with St. George's fantasy, don't you dare think for a second about skype, cellphones, the internet, streaming video or other inventions of our non-Victorian age, or your creeping doubts may just ruin this enchanting tale. Go see it for yourself, until June 15th.

I wish it would have been here permanently. They could easily make it a paid attraction. It was the…read morefirst time I did anything like this. Since then I have called people and waved from web cams. But this was just too cool and so much fun! I e-mailed people in London to meet me at a certain time in front of the Telectroscope and they did. Look at the picture I have. It is priceless. It is a family in London and see the bridge in the background!. I wish it would come back!

We had a GREAT experience at One World Observatory, from bottom to top. We were there on a midweek…read morevisit so not crowded at all. The staff is exceptional and everyone we interacted with was incredibly kind and helpful including security. People, this is a touristy activity so go into it with that mindset. If you are military you get a 50% discount and those in your party get 20% so worth going down to the human manned ticket office. Once atop the views are gorgeous (even when cloudy) and exhibit information interesting. We decided to have a drink in the bar as we were celebrating my husband's birthday which was a milestone one. The bar staff was amazing , mixing up some delish drinks and buying my husband his. We absolutely LOVED Nicole who was helpful, fun, and had a magical personality. Yup the drink prices are up there (pardon the pun) but it's no different than any other view type establishment and I've done a few in fact I found them less than some places. Highlights of the day- drinks at the top and hanging with Nicole.

A mixed bag. I sprung for the VIP tour, which I usually try and do with things like this, since it…read moregets me through the lines quicker. And our guide, Phillip was great. Personable and knowledgeable I can only say good things about me. But the Observatory as a whole was disappointing. There's no outdoor part to it, and the views are pretty standard compared to the other observation towers. I would say its also simple compared to the other decks, where they have other draws like Top of the Rock having the lift and beam, Summit 1 having the ballroom and glass floors, etc. There's nothing like that here. Overall, I rank it 5/6 of the observation decks I've done. 1. Top of the Rock 2. Summit 1 3. One Times Square 4. Empire State 5. One World 6. Edge

Lush hilly terrain. The Arboretum is fenced in so deer can't bother the native plants. It turned…read moreinto a lovely day, so the birds are out. I can sit here for hours just watching the leaves sway. There are walking trails, plenty of benches, and a Stone house that has exhibits and information. Park is open all year round, but apparently the Stone house is only open on certain days. It is not open now.

Very quiet, so peaceful here. Another great place to do some bird watching. There are lots of…read moredifferent types of wildflowers and trees. Hilly walking trails. We love this place. Street parking is easy to find.

50 trains running. Fabulous man made displays of historical settings. Not to be missed! Good…read morelocation for childrens birthday parties. Started as a hobby that turned into a wonderful museum! A must see for train collectors

This place has been on my radar for a while but I wasn't sure if it would be worth the ride…read moreconsidering some bad reviews. Well... I'm so happy we made it there. My 2 and 3 year old said it was the coolest day ever. It's not the most stunning of buildings and a bit bizarre during certain parts of the tour but it had character and the kids LOVED it. Outdoor train was running and such a blast. Staff were kind and helpful. Overall great experience: