Newark Museum
49 Washington Street
Newark, NJ 07101-0540
(973) 596-6550 • 596-6613 groups • 596-6558 school programs
www.newarkmuseum.org

The Newark Museum has been described as one of the most beautiful in the country. It is also the largest museum complex in New Jersey.

The Museum's tremendous collections include American Paintings and Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Africa, The Americas, The Pacific -- featuring items ranging from the pre-Columbian era to the present; Classical Art; Arts of Asia; Numismatics; and The Natural Sciences, including the Dreyfuss Planetarium and a Mini-Zoo with more than 100 animals representing 43 species.

The Decorative Arts Wing of the Museum is housed in the newly restored Ballantine House. Built for the famous brewer, this fabulous brick and limestone mansion was designated a National Landmark in 1985. Throughout the entire nation there are few opportunities to view a home such as this. Eight period rooms and two hallways illustrate a luxurious Victorian era lifestyle. Six galleries display decorative objects from the 1650's to the present.

As a family resource, the Newark Museum is hard to beat. A calendar full of special events, exhibitions, classes and workshops, concerts, and theater productions (in a 300-seat auditorium) offers exciting and educational activities throughout the year. The Junior Gallery presents great interactive exhibits for youngsters and their families, as well as a variety of workshops. Education and activities for individuals, families and groups has been a Museum specialty since 1909.

School Programs here are outstanding. Just a few of the many programs for grades pre-K through 12 include, Asian Journey (pre-K - 1): in the Asian Galleries, youngsters hunt dragons and make a dragon puppet; Water, Water Everywhere (grades 2 - 6): hands-on experiments reveal the properties of water; Art as Ideas (grades 4 - 12): with sketch pad and pencil in hand, students explore contemporary art through the Museum's collections; and Worlds of Wonder (grades 6 - 12): students learn of the exciting discoveries made during the past two decades about our solar system (Planetarium Program). Most programs last about 90 minutes. Self-Guided Group Tours can also be had for groups choosing not to take a program.

A complete brochure is available from the Education Dept. In addition, there are about a dozen Outreach Programs for the classroom, including Starlab, the Museum's portable planetarium.

Teachers may participate in a free one-hour program to help them better prepare students for a Museum visit.

This is a great place with an experienced staff that takes pride in the quality of exhibitions and programs. And it is close-by.