(Update) Recently, I visited the Morris museum to view the new Jo- El Lopez (Digital Divine) exhibit and the new immersive exhibit of "Perennial Land". Jo-El Lopez's art focuses on the layered commentary on family, spirituality, and community. The artist features the color purple in each of pictures. The Immersive exhibit is low keyed, compared to many other immersive exhibits in the NY area. Despite being low-keyed, it's highly impressive! The exhibit combines beautifully flowing landscapes and human's impact on nature. Run time is about approx.15 mins. This viewing room has several benches for excellent 360° viewing. The Digital Divine exhibit runs from 10/3/25 - 2/8/26 The Immersive exhibit runs from 11/7/25 - 4/5/26. The museum has a large parking area. Check out the Morris Museum soon. Think you'll enjoy it! read more

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If you're into museums and art exhibits, Morris Museum has some cool events. It is not free (unless you have membership), so remember to check for admission pricing before you go. The parking lot isn't the biggest, but I do appreciate the on-site free parking. I check their calendar of events at least bi-monthly for upcoming exhibitions and/or music events, especially during summer. It's a quiet space and I enjoy roaming the exhibits at a leisurely stroll to really take it all in. read more

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The Morris Museum is a decent way of killing a few hours should you find yourself in Morristown, NJ. They participate in the Bank of America Museums on Us program for complimentary admission to cardholders the first full weekend of every month. I found their Guinness collection of mechanical music and automata particularly well done and unique, as the exhibit does a great job of capturing a very niche part of music and motion history that you don't find at other museums. I wasn't overly impressed with the rest of their permanent collection as it seemed to be a hodgepodge of exhibits having to do with US history, dinosaurs, Native Americans, model trains, and modern/contemporary art. The first time I visited, they had a special performance going on in their theater, and on my last visit, they had a huge wedding party taking pictures and having a reception in their main atrium area, occasionally blasting loud music during museum hours, detracting from the overall experience a bit. It's something to be aware of that if you visit on a weekend, the museum may be hosting a special performance or an event. Overall I'd rate the Morris Museum a 3.5/5 for a smaller city museum. While I wouldn't recommend driving from afar to visit the museum, it's right around the corner from free attractions like Morristown National Historical Park, Washington's Headquarters, and Frelinghuysen Arboretum, so it's a nice place to piece together a visit along with other local area sights. read more

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My boys always have a blast here! We usually spend about 2 hours here. 1 hour to walk around the museums and another hour to spend at the spake lab. Make sure you get a spark lab ticket once yet there, it gets pretty packed in the weekend! read more

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I really enjoyed this museum. Went to wonderful exhibition. They have a huge model train and children's area. I did not bring a child nor did I take one. But I think children would really enjoy it. There was a theater, I don't believe a cafe of any kind. read more

Visited the museum for jazz show.to hear show. It is located right off a major thru way which allowed easy access. Parking was ample and theatre was intimate and comfortable. read more

This museum is a really nice to spend a few hours. It's big enough to keep your interest for 3-4 hours, but not so big that you'll feel you've missed anything. The current big attraction is their collection (on loan from the Guiness beer making family) of automatons, i.e., music boxes, moving dummies, self-playing pianos (and more impressively - entire self-playing bands!), and music boxes of all sizes. There is some really cool stuff, from music boxes contained on the surface of a ring (super small) to giant music boxes that need an entire book to play the music. Although the automatons don't run on their own, a tour guide will take you through the exhibit and play many of the coolest things (and take you to the basement where many more are being stored, including some risque automatons). They also had a neat station where you can make your own punch card and run it through a music box to make music. Beyond this, there's a relatively small dino exhibit (although it is cool that you can touch some of the fossils), artwork, and geodes. They also currently have a full exhibit on art that captures things in motion, but I was honestly not too impressed with it (but I'm also generally not a fine art lover). The gift shop could also stand to sell more interesting things (at least more local goods). Overall, we enjoyed the museum and thought it was a great way to spend our time between lunch and dinner. read more

My only regret is that we didn't come here sooner! Not the largest museum you've ever been to, but perfect for the attention span of a toddler. There was plenty to do with the trains, spark lab, dinosaur exhibit, musical instruments, and more. Our 3 year old had a great time, and there were so many hands on options that made this mama happy. Another benefit- this museum participates in Bank of Americas first weekend program so we were able to go for feee to check it out. read more

A gem in Morristown always love it here!! very creative they also have a theater lots of great exhibits and lots for families and kids around holidays and summer read more

I enjoyed coming here. A lot of things to see, and do. Great for kids on a hot summer day or a day off from school. Many fun exhibits. (My library had museum passes to borrow for this museum check before your library before hand.) read more

Terrific and valuable spot in Morris County. The concerts in the auditorium are great (Southside Johnny a highlight), and the rotating exhibits are well worthy. The automaton collection is AMAZING! read more

Morris Museum - Looking forward to this! Seeing Southside in a 312 seat theater will be terrific! - Museums Near Me - Morristown, New Jersey

This is a great local museum, which has rotating exhibits and shows in their theater. Our kids have enjoyed many of them over the years. The permanent exhibits like the dinosaurs and trains are also favorites. It's a relatively small museum - can probably get through it all in a couple hours (which is about the longest our kids could make it anyway). There is also an area where the kids can touch and explore. And while this review is very kids-focused, there is plenty to see for adults and various adult programs and shows as well. We saw the holiday magic show this year, which the kids absolutely loved! Will return for other special family fun days (looks like Dr. Suess day in March). There is one large caveat that dropped the rating from 4 stars to 3. I would definitely avoid the "Touch the Music" show. Of course, this is absolutely awesome in theory - what kid doesn't want to try playing a trumpet, violin, etc? However, the woman who runs it is very unfriendly to both kids and adults. I have tried the show twice, and both times have seen her make kids cry. The goal is to make younger children enjoy learning about music, and this ends up accomplishing the exact opposite. Will definitely be back to the museum for other events and just to visit. read more

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If you think you know how to say "automata," then you'll probably be surprised to hear how it's repeatedly pronounced at the Morris Museum in the short videos you'll watch in the Automata section of the museum. I swear I left with a nondescript yet vaguely foreign accent. My husband finally convinced me to give up some family time on a recent trip up to NJ for the two of us to take a side trip to the Morris Museum ($10 per adult). I acquiesced and was pleasantly surprised by this cute little museum. They have exhibits on dinosaurs, native Americans, trains, geodes and stones AND their crown jewel, the Automata. This was the reason behind our visit. Automata are essentially the first really basic robots. The museum has a huge variety of automata from those that make sounds and music to ones that move in complicated ways. While this is a museum and the Automata are encased and protected in climate controlled boxes, there are tons of videos of the Automata in action. Since we were there on a Friday after Labor Day, the place was empty so we had it to ourselves. It was lovely moving from case to case and pushing all the buttons. Having visited this exhibit first, the others were just Okay. Bottom Line: Come for the Automata! read more

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The gallery itself is quite small, but we adore the set up for our friend's wedding (10/22/2022, Saturday). All the chairs and the decor were removed in a blink of an eye, right after the ceremony, while everyone stormed into another room for the cocktail hour. Tall ceiling/windows/columns were everywhere, especially where the couple had their reception. Towards the end of the night, the ceremony area became the party room which was great. It really draws the line where the event/program going to be! It is a big venue, hence, it does require lots of decor. Or else, it might look a little empty. If you're looking for a rustic and an artist space, you might want to consider Morris Museum! It was a very well thought wedding, and we enjoyed it every much! read more

Coming here was not my idea but by the time we left it certainly was. It's funny how that works. As an affiliate of the Smithsonian, Morris is an exquisitely curated small museum which on our visit managed to stop me in my tracks with an amazing walk through the world of 19th century mechanical music players and their anthropomorphic companions, musical "automata" (mechanical humans and animals.) These devices were the original "boom boxes" of their day and were all the rage among the affluent of the period whose size and complexity were considered dramatic symbols of wealth and gentility. All wonderfully complex creations and a huge industry that was all but obliterated in the early 20th century by the advent of recorded sound and radio. I would have been satisfied right there but the Morris also featured a gallery retrospective on the work of celebrated rock photographer Bob Gruen (I'm sure the inventors of the aforementioned music boxes could have never envisioned Led Zeppelin.) There was also a fascinating floor to ceiling look into the world and works of modern graffitiists or as they are properly referred to among the cognoscenti of the form... "aerosol artists." You could do far worse with a spare $10. The Morris Museum is highly recommended. read more

This museum may seem small, but there's lots to see! What's great is that you can see entire collections in a short amount of time without collapsing from exhaustion. They have a handful of permanent collections including a super cool "Mechanical Music & Automata" exhibit with simple turn-crank instruments, elaborate player pianos, a hands-on paper-punch song maker, and gear concepts- good for all ages. They also have a permanent and colorful "Rock & Minerals" exhibit from all over the world. I never grow tired of these. Their temporary exhibits change every few months and they feature at least 2 at a time. In the recent past, they've had a massive train set, dollhouse miniatures, and fiber and glass art where I couldn't stop staring! The Dinosaur exhibit's slightly run down but their other features are well-worth a visit. In fact, I can't wait to see their new Lego art exhibit! This is my family's go-to museum. read more

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The staff at Morris museum was absolutely wonderful, they gave a great tour of the museum and engaged kids that attended the museum a great experience that they'll remember always. Thank you read more

The Morris Museum offer education, inspiration and entertainment all for the price of a movie ticket. It's a Blue Star museum and a landmark destination for the arts and sciences. There are three levels to the museum which house permanent and visiting exhibitions throughout the year.. Presently showing is an exhibit called "Everyday People" paintings by Mel Leipzig and Aerosol Graffiti , Street Art which filled me with wonderment and contained some creative and exceptionally well done pieces. An interactive display called Pompom Mirror by Daniel Rozin seemed to gain a lot of attention, especially from kids. All exhibits were done in world class fashion with professional set-ups, lighting and labeling. I was surprised to see the diversity of permanent themes, rocks and minerals , American Indians, digging dinosaurs, mammals, trains and railroads and the Guinness Mechanical Instrument collection. The Bickford Theater produces productions which have won awards and acclaim and has allowed the theater to draw first class professional actors and directors. Since it's recent collaboration with the Smithsonian the museum will continue to provide exceptional exhibits and a wonderful experience for both young and old. It was interesting to learn that the museum has a loan program for schools and educators., an outreach program and a professional development program. Corporate and private events, as well as, birthday parties can be arranged. My kids are too old at this point but it is a great idea. Free parking and handicap facilities are available. Admission for military families is free. It is a wonderful resource for all. read more

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The first exhibition I came across was titled, "For the culture, by the culture". The art was exquisite, yet the exhibition lacked in descriptive information. Each artifact in the museum was displayed with an artists or art historians comment concerning what the art piece was about, not true with this exhibit. The art was nice, but the curation was half-hearted at best. read more

My wife and I brought our 2 year old grandson to the Morris Museum yesterday. What a wonderful place. From the intricate setup of model trains to the dinosaur fossil experience. The collections and exhibits were fascinating and some even interactive. The helpful staff couldn't have been friendlier. A classroom setup, for all ages with fun things to do, was one of our grandson's favorite spots. He did not want to leave, which anyone within earshot could confirm. LOL! read more

Great small museum, the spark lab was fun and the staff throughout were very helpful.

I also stopped by to see the Lego exhibition that Nicole L. alluded to. $10 for entry, unless you had a BoA card or were a corporate sponsor or member, of course. The parking lot entry was off Normandy Parkway - forget about trying from Columbia Turnpike. The parking lot stretches from the front around the side, and there's more parking in a deck behind the building built into the hill. A large section said "for motorcycles" but people were parking there with their minivans and more. The museum itself is a large home converted into a museum, with additional space built out in the back in a large atrium and event/dining space added later. The first room to the right as you enter the home is decorated nicely. The museum was built to facilitate learning by young children from 3-8 years of age. Which means, you have a lot of hands-on puzzles (bring your liquid antibacterial wipes), and exhibits meant to impress the kids with touch or animals or concrete ideas to relate with. A teddy bear tea was going on during the Saturday I went - a lot of little girls running around with their teddy bears. The musical automation room is actually in, behind the theater. Never would have discovered it without someone pointing it out to me. There's a lot of hands-on activities and puzzles (some that puzzled the adults!), and two floors of exhibits ranging from the train diorama and the replicated dinosaur bones exhibit. There was a temporary exhibit of the Lego artist (though not all of the pieces were interesting), and a motorcycle exhibit from the early Harleys up to the modern custom-built bikes. Interesting for the adults, though kids were just rushing through when they realized they couldn't touch. Dolls all over from travels by museum donors help to speak to young kids. Like Nicole and Di noted, helpful staff, though most were focused on the big event that day. No recording or photography allowed, but not really well displayed or enforced. Plenty of people with cameras flashing around. Overall, not a bad place to hit up, free parking, and a few things to keep the kids interested for a while, but as an adult, if you've been to the Natural History Museum or even the Liberty Science Center, this is a shorter, smaller version of a mishmash of different museums, and makes for an interesting day for the little ones, but less so for adults. Shorter is probably good for kids - short attention spans and all. Bring the kids, but be prepared for a bit of boredom your second, third... twentieth time (from comments from some of the parents there). read more

My husband and I came here for our cousin's wedding reception. The museum is beautiful and they set it up quite nicely. The guest were able to venture about and check out the exhibits during the evening. There are areas where they can set up tables, food, a bar and even a dance floor! The museum is not huge so it is perfect for an intimate gathering. It has multiple levels and you're free to wander. I think she picked a wonderful, unique venue and we had a great night. Morris Museum is a great alternative to the traditional. read more

PROS: - great to take kids - a lot of interesting and great exhibitions - doesn't get crowded - can view the whole thing in less than 2hrs at leisure - you can rent out several areas to host your events This is a great walkable museum. They have lots of figurines, dioramas, and things for kids to get involved with. The museum flows well and is pretty modern in look. I highly recommend it for kids. read more

Fun place to take kids. However, I found it just as interesting. Great balance of kids activities and learning for adults. read more

Morris Museum - Loft - Museums Near Me - Morristown, New Jersey

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This was a very nice find on a hot summer day, with grandkids in tow. It's small but we managed to spend 2 hours there. The highlights for the kids were the "lab" where there were many interactive, hands-on activities for all ages and then the very active train set-up in its own room. Pushing buttons activated lights, sounds, and actions. Upstairs was a rather limited dinosaur area but the kids liked it. The staff was friendly. There's a small gift shop with very affordable items to purchase on the way out. read more

This is a fainting place to handout with kids, or adults. Every month, the first weekend is free if you present the staff with BoA card. We were there for that reason. we also encounter a large group of audience for a show that day. A show in a museum? Turn out it has a small theater play variety of shows for a very affordable price. The museum is currently exhibit several interesting topics, beside it permanent property like the Rock and Animal. The glass exhibition is beautiful in the main floor. Behind it is a collection of doll from 1800~1950. My wife was here a few weeks ago. In that quite afternoon, she is the visitor there, surrounded by all these dolls staring and waiving at her. It was a fun but horrible memory...^-^ read more

You know... I really wanted to like this place more, but some things I just can't overlook... First, with the pros. The staff are all super nice. I called Kathy (director of something or other) for more info about their new Lego exhibition. Left a message and got a call back a few days later (which is pretty good since there are places where I've left messages and hadn't gotten a response at all for the last few weeks). Kathy was very helpful and mentioned that the Morris Museum participates in the Bank of America museum program where the first Sat. of every month is free for members w/ a BoA card. She went on to talk about the museum hours, other days when the museum is free, etc. The employee at the front desk was also very nice and gave me a pin for my baby's box of memories. The parking lot was filled w/ trees and made the museum seem almost as if it were surrounded by a small forest. The place is very kid friendly, filled w/ tons of puzzles, winding corridors (which are much more interesting to kids, although they might drive parents a bit crazy) and cool exhibits such as a mechanical music section, the lego exhibit, and an exhibit all about motorcycles. The lego exhibit was nice, but it was pretty small and I wish they had included more of the artist's works. The mechanical musical section was also pretty cool - and I wished that I had more time to explore it. There was a gemstones section where you could look at some cool rocks, and touch a few on display as well, and it was a nice place to walk through. And now... about the bad part... For a museum that obviously caters to children, the facilities here are absolutely dismal. To get to a bathroom*, you have to take the elevator (or maybe the adjacent shady staircase?) into the dank, florescent lit basement. The bathrooms down there do not smell ventilated at all (although I'm sure they are... somewhat... maybe...) There are NO changing tables (so... maybe it is more accurate to say that the museum is friendly to older children only...?) and in the ladies room, there is a stained, dirty old couch covered in crap and glitter, and other unidentifiable things. Ok - when I asked about a breastfeeding room that didn't exist... I get it. It was probably too much to hope for given that the museum is really not age appropriate for infant/toddlers. But not having a changing table available just made the "ick" factor go WAAAY up the scale. Long story short, I fed, burped and changed my baby on that nasty couch in the ill-ventilated bathroom, and decided immediately that it was time to leave. Maybe I'll come back in a few years when my kid(s) is older ... much older and we'll see how it goes then. For now, despite the free admission, cool puzzles and friendly staff ... I would rather stay at home. --------------------------------------------------- *To be fair, there was an event being held at the Morris museum that day, and the bathrooms on the first floor were not available to museum guests. Since I wasn't allowed to use those bathrooms (yes, I asked), I can't say one way or the other about them and I can only document my day as I experienced it. read more

Went to this museum this past weekend for a 6th birthday party for my nephew. First of all, plenty of parking & the entrance & lobby of the museum are beautiful. Once inside, you will be ASTOUNDED by the exhibits. They currently have a Lego exhibit with items as varied as a painting of the Mona Lisa, a large coke bottle, Dunkin coffee cup w/donuts & sugar packets, giant buildings, and an incredible automated train set - all made of Lego! They also have a doll house/miniature collection which were great, although all I could think is "WHY DOESN'T MY HOUSE HAVE 4 BATHROOMS?!?". The party was in one of the party rooms in the basement - large, plenty of chairs & long tables for the kids/adults & buffet tables for the food, clean & adequate. We then went upstairs to the dinosaur exhibit for the bulk of the party & that was pretty cool - dinosaur footprints, a dino egg that you can reach in & touch, & large murals on the walls, as well as fossils that you can touch. Overall it was a very good party. Finally, the gift shop was great, with lots of unusual stuffed animals (my son's favorite!) at very reasonable prices ($15/each) & the woman at the register was so polite she thanked me for supporting the museum when I made my purchase! Great customer service from the gift shop staff. The only reason for giving 4 stars instead of 5 is that the museum's party person/woman was very loud & yelled at the kids repeatedly to sit down/be quiet etc. She did not seem to have much experience with any techniques that work with young children (i.e. getting their attention with an activity, speaking to them softly so they have to stop to hear you, clapping in repetition which all kids know from school is a sign to be quiet & listen). The museum really should get more qualified party leaders & then they would be PERFECT! read more

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I was very sad that I just missed the Lego Exhibit!!! I looked through the pictures of this exhibit on yelp and was so sad to have missed it, it looked so awesome. When I arrived at this museum the woman at Admissions was not very friendly. She basically just took my money and said the exhibits are on your left. I'm not really sure if I was expecting more out of her, but normally when I go to museums the people are very friendly. There are a lot of things to see here and reading can get a bit tough because there are a lot of loud children, but it's nice to see the kids being exposed to museums. The exhibits are a bit small, but I really enjoyed the dinosaurs because they have the fossils that were found in NJ. Also, really liked the Papua New Guinea exhibit. I would definitely come back if they had another exhibit that I was interested in and also to read up more on the (creepy) living dolls lol. Also really cool, something I have never seen in a museum before is that they have select exhibits that you can loan. I wonder how much something like that would even cost! read more

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Myself and 2 other adults stopped here because the automatons were in the Weird New Jersey book. It is all definitely for kids, however we were able to kill one hour here. There is an actual art (like hanging paintings and photos) section that is pretty decent size. The automatons were cool for a little bit, then we just kind of messed with the kids stuff, pressed buttons, etc. The bee information was cool too. Many of the exhibit stuff was soley for kids though and had no interest for us. So my advice would be to go with a kid, or not at all - unless there was a special exhibit that you were super interested in. read more

First time visiting it was during the Chocolate Festival. This was back in February I just had a chance to finish. Not enough parking for this event !! Everyone was circling around causing traffic jams. This event needed crowd control. Once you were able to enter it was so crowded how could you possibly enjoy. We found a small kids area in the basement which was away from the general population and stayed there the kids played with the blocks and us parents were able to rest. We saw some exhibits there was a showing of Alice & Wonderland which added to the lack of parking spaces. All in all could not really enjoy and since we live in Bergen County its not worth it for us to go back. read more

Nice little museum, worth a trip just to see the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection of 750 historic mechanical musical instruments and automata (mechanical figures) and more than 5,000 programmed media, ranging from player piano rolls to pinned cylinders. read more

The perfect spot if you are looking for a different kind of venue to host a wedding reception. Having access to the museum galleries gave guests the opportunity to wander, interact, and just have a good time learning while partying down. The exhibits appealed to all ages. Some are hands-on, making them kid-friendly. Amy was fantastic to work with. Cannot say enough nice things about her. She made planning and execution of our event free of stress and hassle. We were totally in good hands! read more

The Morris Museum is a blast and so much fun! Overall it is a pretty clean place and so many interesting things to do and see! The only thing is that you can't get any food here but there are many restaurants around. It is a great place to be with close friends and family! There is also a gift shop with so many things to buy for a cheap price and I just wanted to get it all! I hope you go to the Morris Museum read more

Morris Museum - Glow in the dark rocks! - Museums Near Me - Morristown, New Jersey

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Morris Museum was a great place to take my almost 3-year old niece on a rainy weekday afternoon. The museum is pretty small, but it was enough to entertain her for about 2.5 hours (though admittedly at least a half hour was spent in the gift shop!). Can't comment on any of the "adult" exhibits, but for young children the best exhibits were: a small exhibit on native wildlife with a taxidermy animals in the basement, a dinosaur exhibit with a few things for children to touch and move (e.g. model dinosaur eggs and fossils), and a train exhibit with a model train, train whistle, and train play set. The seasonal mega model train exhibit was closed when we got there, but the staff opened it based on a special request for another family. This was definitely a highlight! There are a lot of buttons for kids to press that turn on lights and sounds throughout the exhibit. We brought our own snacks to enjoy at one of the many tables near the museum's entrance (food is not allowed in most of the exhibits). read more

I heard about the train exhibit from mommy poppins - a website and weekly newsletter that provides a round up of activities for families and children weekly. The trains exhibit was mentioned as something nice to do around the holidays, but it wasn't Christmas-y per se so we decided it would be a nice after Christmas thing to do. We are always looking for activities that our daughter, a toddler would enjoy. The trains exhibit was nice- there were actually 2 installations and both were intricate. They were not as large as I would have hoped but our daughter liked seeing them a lot and older kids will enjoy them more because they will notice more. There were buttons all around the exhibit that when pushed did things like turn on lights that our daughter could not understand but she likes pushing buttons so she enjoyed it anyhow. There were several other exhibits - one about music boxes, a dinosaur exhibit, native American exhibit, and Americana like portraits of Lincoln and Washington. The best part was the gallery with modern art- we were really impressed with how innovative some of the pieces were and they were fun- etch a sketch art, Rubik's cube art, lego art, art made out of pencils. It was very charming. There was a lot of interactive stuff for kids but also a lot of stuff that toddlers won't know not to touch. I grew up in manhattan and this museum had very contemporary exhibits. It is small and it's expensive - $10 per adult- but if you are having a slow day and would like some informative diversion, this is a nice thing to do. read more

I came here for the automata exhibit, which is one of the largest collections of automata anywhere. If you don't know what these are, you are missing out. They are musical machines like music boxes and mechanical dolls made from the 17th-19th centuries. This collection is an interesting, forgotten piece of history. These pieces are beautiful. I wish we could bring them back in fashion. The dolls are a little freaky, though, but still fascinating. We also checked out the model train exhibit that was great too. read more

This is a meticulously maintained smaller museum. It has something for everyone with automachina exhibit, paintings, dinosaur bones, etc. If you have kids, a half day trip will suffice - adults can take more time review each exhibit. The staff is courteous and unobtrusive. read more

Would have loved to have of seen this museum. This museum participates in the Bank of America "Museums on Us" program, where participating museums are free the first full weekend of every month. We drove an hour to get there on Saturday March 5th only to find that it was closed. The parking lot was full of angry parents who had driven a variety of distances that day. Total BS!! read more