The State Museum, in collaboration with the NJ State Police, has instituted enhanced security measures at the Museum. Personal items and bags are subject to search upon entering the Museum. Security may consist of electronic, physical and/or visual inspection of individuals and/or personal items. We suggest leaving backpacks/large bags in your vehicle. Passage through magnetometers and wanding procedures will be conducted at entry for all visitors. Video surveillance is in use throughout the Museum.
Thank you for your cooperation.
12:00 pm We Are Guardians!
1:00 pm Magic Tree House: Space Mission
2:00 pm To Space and Back
3:00 pm Destination Mars
11:30 am The Great Solar System Adventure
1:30 pm Messengers of Time and Space
2:30 pm One Sky Project
11:30 am The Great Solar System Adventure
1:30 pm Messengers of Time and Space
2:30 pm One Sky Project
12:00 pm We Are Guardians!
1:00 pm The Great Solar System Adventure
2:00 pm Messengers of Time and Space
3:00 pm One Sky Project
11:30 am The Great Solar System Adventure
1:30 pm Messengers of Time and Space
2:30 pm One Sky Project
11:00 am
Discovery Den
“Bird Builds a Nest” by Martin Jenkins, Illustrated by Richard Jones
Follow along with a story about Bird finding food and building a nest, pushing and pulling worms and twigs along the way. After the story, we will create our own bird with a nest in a fun craft.
3:00 pm - 4:15 pm
Free art making for teens (ages 13+). Print making with Gelli plates using natural items for multiple prints on one paper.
9:30 am - 11:30 am
For children ages 1 – 5 and their caregivers. Join us for space science activities and crafts, a star-themed scavenger hunt, pretend and sensory play, and a Planetarium show! Fee: $20 for child, caregiver is free. Advance registration required: https://collections.humanitix.com/small-explorers-learning-together-programs
12:00 pm We Are Guardians!
1:00 pm The Great Solar System Adventure
2:00 pm Messengers of Time and Space
3:00 pm One Sky Project
11:30 am The Great Solar System Adventure
1:30 pm Messengers of Time and Space
2:30 pm One Sky Project
11:00 am
Discovery Den
“Ablaze with Color- A story of painter Alma Thomas,” by Jeanne Walker Harvey and illustrated by Loveis Wise
This book beautifully illustrates the life of the educator and painter Alma Thomas, who was the first Black woman to have a solo show at the Whitney Museum in New York City. Her simple and repetitive style will be the inspiration for a mosaic style collage after the story.
10:00 am – 12:00 noon
Join us for a fossil collecting trip at Big Brook Fossil Preserve in Colts Neck, NJ! $15 per person, discount for Museum Members.
Complete details and registration with this link: https://events.humanitix.com/2026-fossil-collecting-with-the-new-jersey-state-museum
4:15 pm
Join us in the Planetarium for a free talk with guest speaker Frank O’Brien, JPL Solar System Ambassador. A flight to the moon seems impossibly complex, especially given the technological state of the art in the 1960’s. While the details are indeed formidable, the concepts are surprisingly easy to understand. Three key components were used in the Apollo spacecraft to voyage from the Earth to the Moon and back home again: the computer, the guidance platform and the sextant. Frank O’Brien, a spaceflight historian and JPL Solar System Ambassador, will walk us through how the astronauts used these systems, each of which builds on another to solve the problem of navigating to our nearest celestial neighbor. As a special bonus, Frank will describe how to land on the Moon!
Reserve your seat with this link: https://forms.office.com/g/0vJ0yXMrBC
12:00 pm We Are Guardians!
1:00 pm The Great Solar System Adventure
2:00 pm Messengers of Time and Space
3:00 pm One Sky Project
11:30 am The Great Solar System Adventure
1:30 pm Messengers of Time and Space
2:30 pm One Sky Project
11:00 am
Discovery Den
“Players in Pigtails” by Shana Corey, Illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon
This story is about Katie Casey, a girl who was “baseball mad,” and became one of the first girls to play in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Did you know that the song Take Me Out to the Ballgame was about Katie Casey? Following the Story will be a related baseball threading craft
12:00 pm We Are Guardians!
1:00 pm The Great Solar System Adventure
2:00 pm Messengers of Time and Space
3:00 pm One Sky Project
2:00 pm
Join flag historian Dr. David Martin and Curator of Cultural History Nicholas Ciotola for the history of five new flags to be unveiled in The Civil War Flag Collection of New Jersey. In the American Civil War, flags guided troops into battle and served as symbolic emblems of dedication, pride and patriotism. Highlights of this unveiling include a ceremonial artillery flag from the 2nd New Jersey Battery and the national colors of the 9th New Jersey, a regiment that earned the nickname “Jersey Muskrats” after a daring amphibious assault at the 1862 Battle of Roanoke Island.
Event is free and open to the public.
11:30 am The Great Solar System Adventure
1:30 pm Messengers of Time and Space
2:30 pm One Sky Project
11:00 am
Discovery Den
“BowWow PowWow” by Brenda J. Child, illustrations by Jonathan Thunder
This imaginative story is told from the perspective of Windy Girl who attends a powwow with Uncle and her dog Itchy Boy. She falls asleep after dancing and food, and dreams about dogs in a powwow, celebrating in song and dance. After the story will be a related powwow drum craft.
11:30 am The Great Solar System Adventure
1:30 pm Messengers of Time and Space
2:30 pm One Sky Project
11:00 am
Discovery Den
“The Sun is Kind of a Big Deal,” by Nick Seluk
Meet the sun, and its family of planets in this fun and fact filled story. The Sun works nonstop for the planets and the solar system and we wouldn’t be around if it weren’t for the Sun. Following the story we will make a super star Sun craft.
12:00 pm Dinosaurs of Antarctica
1:00 pm The Great Solar System Adventure
2:00 pm Messengers of Time and Space
3:00 pm One Sky Project
11:30 am The Great Solar System Adventure
1:30 pm Messengers of Time and Space
2:30 pm One Sky Project
11:00 am
Discovery Den
“Fossil” by Bill Thomson
This story is a wordless journey of a boy and his dog on a hike and three fossils. See what kind of adventure they discover hidden in these rocks. Follow the images with the story teller as it tells a story and sparks discussion. Following the story will make our own air dry clay fossils imprints.
3:00 pm - 4:15 pm
Free art making for teens ages 13+. Learn how to make your own sketchbook using different papers, cardboard and simple bookmaking methods.
12:00 pm Dinosaurs of Antarctica
1:00 pm The Great Solar System Adventure
2:00 pm Messengers of Time and Space
3:00 pm One Sky Project
10:00 am – 12:00 noon
Join us for a fossil collecting trip at Big Brook Fossil Preserve in Colts Neck, NJ! $15 per person, discount for Museum Members.
Complete details and registration with this link: https://events.humanitix.com/2026-fossil-collecting-with-the-new-jersey-state-museum
4:15 pm
Join us in the Planetarium for a free talk with guest speaker Dr. Maddie Lucey, University of Pennsylvania. Almost every atom that makes up your body was created by a star. In this talk, we will follow the creation of the elements throughout the history of the universe starting with the Big Bang. Dr. Lucey will also discuss how we discovered the cosmic origin of our elements and how we continue to generate new knowledge of the chemical evolution of our universe
Reserve your seat with this link: https://forms.office.com/g/0vJ0yXMrBC
11:30 am The Great Solar System Adventure
1:30 pm Messengers of Time and Space
2:30 pm One Sky Project
11:00 am
Discovery Den
“Splatter” by Diane Albers
This story is about three splatters; red, blue and yellow. At first they do not want to work together, but they soon discover that working as a team can end up being so much more. Following the story, we will create a painting using just three colors to mix and make green, orange and purple.
12:00 pm Dinosaurs of Antarctica
1:00 pm The Great Solar System Adventure
2:00 pm Messengers of Time and Space
3:00 pm One Sky Project
11:00 am Dinosaurios de la Antártida
11:30 am The Great Solar System Adventure
1:30 pm Messengers of Time and Space
2:30 pm One Sky Project
11:00 am
Discovery Den
“We March” by Shane W. Evans
Sixty three years ago on August 28, 1963, there was a March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The march started at the Washington Monument and ended at the Lincoln Memorial where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous speech, “I Have a Dream.” This book brings together the thrill of the day in simple statements and beautiful illustrations. After the book will be a related craft.
12:00 pm Dinosaurs of Antarctica
1:00 pm The Great Solar System Adventure
2:00 pm Messengers of Time and Space
3:00 pm One Sky Project
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