I grew up in a town less than five minutes from Newark, New Jersey. All my life I’ve known that Newark is the home of so many wonderful things: Branchbrook Park and it’s cherry blossoms, the Prudential Center, food that is to die for, and it was the city my immigrant Italian ancestors called home after they passed through Ellis Island. I also love the history of Newark. It is a really, really old city- by United States standards- as it was “settled” (more on that word in a later post) in 1666 by the Dutch and has been an important part of trade ever since because of its location at the mouth of the Passaic River. For a very long time it was an industrial powerhouse and is a cultural center of our state.
Enough of my waxing poetic about the city, though. I’d like to hone in on one very impressive landmark in Newark: The Newark Museum. My first visit (ever!) to the Newark Museum was with my colleague, Rosie, and our children last week. I had read much of their website and was excited about their educational programming; however, I wasn’t comfortable sending students to a place I’d never visited myself. I was very impressed.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Project created by patrons. 
A creation of made of straws and other materials in the Maker’s Space. 
Part of the Maker’s Space where patrons can use 
Lego wall in the Maker’s Space 
Mosaic of dishes in the main hall. 
18th Century Fire Wagon on display 
A beam from 9/11, where the NFD worked bravely. 
The first schoolhouse in Newark built in 1784. 
Plaque outside the schoolhouse. 
Piece of a false door from an Egyptian tomb located in the Mediterranean gallery. 
Mediterranean Gallery at the Newark Museum. 
Late-19th or early-20th century Lakota moccasins.
The facility is absolutely outstanding. Located just across from Military Park at 49 Washington Street, it has its own parking lot and a large entrance. The doors open to a great hall that they use for events and the galleries are well laid out. It spans across three buildings: the Main Building, the South Wing, and the combined North Wing and Ballantine House. Collections include ancient Mediterranean art, African American art, Native American art, and an expansive Asian Art collection. Furthermore, the Ballantine House was built in 1885 and belonged to one of Newark’s famous beer brewing families. The house has eight period rooms and galleries the museum calls “House and Home,” which are filled with items that may have been found in people’s homes from the 1650s onward. Outside of the main building is a Fire Museum, which houses artifacts from Newark’s fire department, and the first schoolhouse built in the city – it was built in 1784. Additionally there are science galleries, a planetarium, and a garden. Seriously, I don’t think there’s much the Newark Museum doesn’t do, and they do it all well.
While some of the galleries are small (in my case I noticed in the Mediterranean art gallery was only one room), the depth the museum goes into about many of the pieces makes up for that. Additionally, their school trip offerings for each part of their museum is expansive. (Take a look at their offerings here.) I’m excited for our students to experience the museum because I feel like it is much more intimate than other museums I’ve been to that have more artifacts from the same time period. Furthermore, it is very child friendly. There is enough to see and do without being overwhelming and the staff is extremely friendly and knowledgable. They also seem to love having young people in the museum!
Another wonderful part of the Newark Museum is the “Maker Space.” Located in the South Wing, the maker space is open to visitors during museum hours. It is geared toward younger visitors- perfect for students and families- and it allows patrons to get a hands-on approach to much of what they’ll see or have already seen in the galleries For example, to study perspective, visitors are invited to create a face and hair on a clay head. To highlight their “Seeing America” collection, they have buttons that children can press to hear sounds of the city, blocks and magnatiles so that they can build skyscrapers, and a “subway” they can climb through. The Native American art exhibit is highlighted with a loom on which visitors can weave. There’s also an expansive space in which museum patrons can create art of their own. My children and my colleague’s children (who are 4, 6, and 8) spent nearly an hour exploring and learning in this room alone.
If you have not visited the Newark Museum and you live close enough to check it out, you don’t know what you’re missing; so GO! Admission is $15 for adults, and $8 for children. Children 2 and under are free. Teachers, U.S. military veterans, Canadian military veterans, senior citizens, and students get a discounted rate of $8 with their ID, and Newark residents get to visit for free. It is an additional cost to visit the planetarium, which was closed for maintenance during my visit but is scheduled to reopen in Fall 2019.
I will check back in with you in a couple of months when my students visit to give you a review of a class trip at the Newark Museum.