Newark Museum

Address:	49 Washington St, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
Phone:	+1 973-596-6550
Site:	newarkmuseum.org
Rating:	4.3
Working:	Closed Closed 12–5PM 12–5PM 12–5PM 12–5PM 12–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 4

A Private User

My personal opinion was that it was okay. I am in my early twenties and went with my boyfriend around the same age. The staff I felt watched us carefully (but perhaps it was because of our age?). The staff was a bit unfriendly. I wasnt sure if they allowed photography which the ones I have been to do. The guy answered "Umm no we do not" somewhat unpleasantly. And then proceeded to follow me probably through his station which made me chuckle. I believe he probably wanted to make sure I wasnt taking photographs. The planetarium is closed off for those who havent paid so I cant comment on that. The museum store was alright. They were having a 50-60% off sale outside but nothing interested me. But Ive never liked museum shops for I find they are usually pricey. The exhibits are alright. There werent a lot of big-time names I recognized (I hear Georgia Okeeffes work is there but I didnt see it but I dont like her work anyway. Mary Cassatts work was there and I liked Childe Hassam) There was a house-like exhibit you could walk through and see how earlier furnishings looked. The Titian exhibit had a room for kids to interact. There was also a Jr. Museum on the right side for kids. It was mainly about health and exercise though but it was a fun place for kids to hang out with games and hands on learning. The Buddha room had a audio aid that explained some stuff I already learned in art history. The art work was pretty well described in the descriptions of the pieces, something I felt was done better then the Princeton (although I like the works found at the Princeton much better but thats my personal preference.) My main peeve was the picture taking. Basically, if you care about learning then I would recommend bringing a note book and pencil to have something to reference to, which I should have done (Im just so used to taking a million photos). Oh one last thing, its very easy to trip the alarms saying you are too close to the works. Just keep walking like your admiring the work and the guards wont say anything. Theyll just watch and try to figure out who did it and then walk away.

Alison McPherson

This review is for Camp Newark Museum. I know that many parents are now researching places to send their children for the summer, but I would not recommend the Newark Museum Summer Camp. The reason: My daughter hated the time she spent here. It ruined our entire summer. My daughter was bullied for 4 weeks by a Summer Camp "Veteran". This particular child has been involved in Museum activity for years, unbeknownst to me at the time, and apparently gets special privileges. This little girl called my daughter a crackhead, continually criticized her work, told my daughter that nobody liked her, went out of her way to alienate my 10 year old from the other campers, would gang up against her with her friends, and finally shoved her twice. At every point I voiced my concerns to the Camp Director, Susie, and nothing happened. It was more of we will see, I will talk with her, I will talk with her mom, etc. However, nothing ever came of it. I caught up with her mother after camp and spoke about her daughters behavior, still nothing happened. Finally, I had to remove my daughter from that unsafe environment when it became physical. I worried about her everyday I left her there, for the entire summer. It was a terrible experience for the both of us. Sometimes she cried going there and many times she cried going home in the car. I want to say that my daughter attends a NEWARK Public School and has never, ever experienced anything like that in, yes, her 4 years at this Newark Public School. She just received a perfect 300 on her NJAsk Math test last year and has a very healthy sense of self, so it was heartbreaking for me to see her like that over the summer. Please dont waste your money. I sent her there because I am passionate about education and exploration and was excited that she would have fun, but it completely sucked the joy out of our summer. Never again. I will spend my money elsewhere.

A Private User

I recently went to the Newark Museum, too. First, my family and I LOVE to go to museums and see stuff. So we were looking forward to visiting the Newark Museum because we had never been. I will agree with MM that its horrible. If I had read the other review, I would have known beforehand the hall staff were half asleep! I brought 2 kids and my hubby. We sprung for the extra bucks to see the planetarium. Wished we didnt. Its small, VERY crowded inside (equipment and seats are packed in like sardines) and this man yelled at one of my kids for running into the "half a million dollar piece of equipment"! I told him they shouldnt have a "half million dollar piece of equipment" sitting out in the open, unguarded RIGHT OUT IN FRONT of 3 seats! I think there might actually be a safety hazard there. After that, the show wasnt really great after all. We couldnt see half if it because the equipment blocks much of the view and the kids and I tried to lean back and forth to see things. My hubby just fell asleep. I cant blame him. We also planned on visiting the mini zoo which was mentioned on another website. We asked one hall guard where it was and she informed us that the zoo was closed about a year ago! I questioned her about why was the museum so kid UNfriendly and she stated the museum fired a bunch of staff last year and shut down the zoo in the process. That explained the vibe we were getting walking around. The staff we did see were like zombies. Most were unfriendly or were obviously putting it on. I guess if youre a little old lady or an art student who has to report on something, this museum might fit the bill. But if you want something to do with the family, forget it. We were told we should come back for one of the museums special events for kids. Sorry Newark Museum, I wont be returning for your planetarium shows or a special event for kids. Its just not worth it.

Craig Corbeels

I came to the Newark Museum for the first time last week, and Ive already been back for a second time. The mix of natural history, art, science, and interactive exhibits makes this almost a one stop shop for anything youd like to see. The art collection is truly impressive, spanning the globe and going back centuries. They have art from some names you may recognize - Andy Warhol, Georgia OKeeffe, among many others. The current featured exhibition, "The Shape of Light" by Gabriel Dawe, is breathtaking. Ive never considered myself to be a huge fan of art, but I enjoyed the art sections quite a bit. I spent most of my time in other sections that were very interesting, including an Egyptian section, African section, Asian section, and Native American section which all featured many different artifacts and items. There is also a Tibetan Buddhist Altar that was consecrated in 1990 by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and was very eye-opening to learn about. The part of the museum that really stood out for me was The Ballantine House, which was built in 1885 for the Ballantine family (you may recognize their name from Newarks own Ballantine beer). Its a stunningly beautiful Victorian home that you can walk around and explore each room in, and its connected to the actual museum and included in admission. I would pay the admission cost to see the house alone. Overall, I had a great experience and learned a lot. Theres no way I could include everything in this review. Knowing that theres a museum of this caliber only 10 minutes from where I live is great, and Ill absolutely be back.