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Best Children's Museums in Central New Jersey

1. Hunterdon Art Museum – Clinton

This regional art center houses a collection of contemporary art and offers a wide selection of art classes and workshops for kids and a popular summer camp program. Visit its website to explore a variety of exhibits and events.

2. Rutgers Geology Museum – New Brunswick

Located on College Avenue campus, this FREE museum is small but worth a visit for any budding geologists. You'll find dinosaur footprints, rare minerals (some that fluoresce), and a mastodon skeleton, all from New Jersey! There's also an Egyptian mummy on display. Be sure to check out the annual open house in the winter.  

3. The Monmouth Museum – Lincroft

Located on the Brookdale Community College campus, the Monmouth Museum is a great resource for local families. In addition to its expansive art gallery, the museum houses two wings specifically for children: the Wonder Wing for ages 6 and under and the Becker Children’s Wing for ages 7-12. The Wonder Wing provides an interactive seashore environment complete with a pirate ship, treehouse, kelp forest, and whale slide for little ones to explore. In the Becker Wing, exhibits are based on cultural history and science, including the current exhibit, Ancients to Astronauts: How We Communicate.

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Step back in time at The Old Barracks Museum, which tells the story of colonial life in New Jersey. Photo courtesy of the museum

4. The Old Barracks Museum – Trenton

The Old Barracks Museum brings Colonial America and Revolutionary War-era New Jersey to life through demonstrations, exhibits, and other interactive programming for kids and adults. The Old Barracks building is a relic of Colonial-era New Jersey, built to house the British soldiers during the French and Indian War in 1758.

5. The New Jersey Museum of Transportation – Farmingdale

Founded in 1952, the Pine Creek Railroad is one of the country’s longest-running narrow gauge railway exhibits. The museum contains many rare antique pieces of railway equipment and structures, but best of all, you can hop aboard and ride the train. Check out the website for operating hours, admission info, and special events.

6. New Jersey State Museum – Trenton

This museum's exhibits shine a spotlight on history, art, and science. You can see models of Native American houses, learn about WWI, and check out dinosaur fossils found right in New Jersey. The museum hosts exciting new events monthly. Best of all, this museum is FREE!

7. Princeton University Art Museum – Princeton

This family-friendly museum houses an impressive collection of more than 100,000 works of art, from ancient to contemporary, across mediums. Make a day of it and visit the Cotsen Children's Library on the Princeton Campus. 

Best Children's Museums in South New Jersey

8. Battleship New Jersey – Camden

Located a short stroll up the waterfront from the fabulous Adventure Aquarium, you'll find the Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial. America's most decorated battleship is an impressive sight—even more so once you're aboard. You're free to explore the ship from a sailor's perspective—climb into a bunk or a gun turret—and even go where a regular sailor couldn't: the admiral's chair. See our full write-up on the battleship here. 

Tuckerton Seaport Museums shows was life was like in a coastal fishing village in New Jersey.

9. Tuckerton Seaport Museum – Tuckerton

This open-air museum gives you a glimpse into what life was like in a New Jersey coastal village. Your admission to the museum lets you wander around the old fishing village's historic shops, take a walk on the nature trail, peek around the museum, go up to the lighthouse, and even take a boat ride!

Historic Cold Spring Village provides a glimpse into life in the 19th century.

10. Historic Cold Spring Village – Cape May

This village, the largest open-air living history museum in New Jersey, provides a historical perspective of life in the 1800's. This museum is fun for all ages, with puppet shows for kids, farm animals to visit with, and even examples of toys from the 19th century for your kids to play with. Check the website for events, which can make your trip back in time even more enjoyable! 

NAS Wildwood Aviation Museum is great for kids because they can climb on and in almost everything there.

11. NAS Wildwood Aviation Museum – Cape May

If your child likes helicopters, jeeps, and aircraft, this is the place for to be! Located in a giant old wooden hanger, the best part about this museum is your kids can climb aboard almost everything in here and press all the buttons! And for beer lovers, be sure to check out one of our favorite New Jersey breweries, the Cape May Brewery, which is nearby and which you can read about in our write-up of family-friendly breweries. 

12. Harriet Tubman Museum – Cape May

This fairly new museum at the Jersey Shore explores the life and legacy of Harriet Tubman as well as Cape May's role in the abolitionist movement. You can also take an Underground Railroad Trolly tour before or after your visit (separate from the museum). The museum is closed in January, and be sure to check the museum website for hours before you go.

13. Edelman Fossil Park and Museum – Mantua

Part of Rowan University, this exciting new dinosaur museum is set to open in March 2025! There will be real fossils, real scientists to talk with, live animal exhibits, full-scale reconstructions of dinosaurs, and a quarry dig. 

14. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! – Atlantic City

Searching for something out of the ordinary to do with the kiddos? You can’t go wrong with a visit to Ripley’s “Odditorium” in Atlantic City. Bizarre artifacts, including the world’s smallest production car and a shrunken human head, share the floor with hands-on exhibits and unusual artwork. Adventurous older kids (and adults) should check out the Laser Maze Challenge. Do you think you can successfully navigate a room filled with lasers without breaking a beam?

15. New Jersey Maritime Museum – Beach Haven

This nonprofit museum is dedicated to preserving maritime history. See shipwreck artifacts, historical photos, navigational equipment, diving gear, and much more at this museum, which houses the most extensive maritime history collection of artifacts in New Jersey.

Unless noted, photos by Lisa Warden

This post was originally published 2014 and has since been updated.