Morristown, NJ
March 2016
I just realized that I have never written a word about this place, the Morris Museum in Morristown NJ. We have gone there every year for the past three years. It is a very kid friendly museum, with classes and exhibits that cater to kids, yet it has plenty appeal for adults. There is plenty to see: we have come when they had the Lego exhibition, there are amazing trains, fossil collection and much more. You can spend a good hour walking around and exploring. Their collections and displays change often, and they have several permanent exhibitions, but the heart of this museum is the Murtogh D. Guinness collection of automata and instruments: musical machines and living dolls. It is an amazing collection and nothing of the sort did I see before. They run live demos every Tuesday through Sunday at 2 pm, it is free to attend with admission.
Let me tell you what we usually do. We come there at about 12:30 with passes from our library’s museum program, which makes the admission free for us, but even if you have to pay it’s not a lot: $10.00 for adults, and $7.00 for children and seniors. We make sure to show up on a day where there will be a demonstration for the music machines. The demonstration is amazing, and your visit to the museum will not be complete about it. We have attended it three times, and each time had a different guide. However one guide in particular was great with the younger kids and catered to their non-stop questions and curiosities. He managed to hold the attention of even the youngest (I’m talking 3 to 4 year olds here), I believe his name is Bob. If you have younger kids, I highly recommend calling the museum and asking what day he will be doing the demo. I do believe that the folks that do the demos are volunteers, and all of the guides were great, but out of the three that we got to see, his lecture was the most fun for the younger crowd.
The Guinness collection truly is the heart of the museum. In fact the museum was built in order to house it, so a visit to this museum is not complete without seeing this amazing collection.
Something else I would love to do, and we haven’t gotten to do it yet. The museum is home to the Bickford Theatre and puts on performances and plays for both kids and adults. They also offer programs for homeschoolers. I am looking forward to exploring this wonderful place even more!
Like all the wonderful places we visit, here is a link to their WEBSITE with hours and admission prices, as well as directions, ongoing exhibitions, and much more.
Here are a few photographs of our previous visits:
