Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, NJ opened its doors in 1993. I was in high school at the time, so I figured I was too old to go to what I perceived to be a children’s museum. Once I had my son I kept thinking we should head down there as a family, but I just never got around to it for a variety of reasons. I’m happy to report that I have finally rectified this situation.
LSC was spectacular. It’s four floors of hands on learning fun with something for all ages. It is definitely not *just* a museum for children.
Our first stop was to the Beyond Rubik’s Cube exhibit which celebrates the famous cube’s 40th anniversary with 7,000 square feet of excitement and fun. The room is filled with interactive games, robotics, a solving station, and more. Nathan’s favorite item was the world’s most expensive Rubik’s Cube, a gold and jewel encrusted masterpiece. I particularly enjoyed the robotic arm capable of solving a cube in a matter of seconds by taking pictures of each side then systematically performing the necessary twists and turns. Each time it solves the puzzle, it does a little victory dance to show spectators just how amazing it is. This exhibit will be open through November 2014.
Also open until November is the Adventures with Clifford the Big Red Dog. Inspired by the beloved PBS KIDS TV series, this exhibit provides lots of hands on fun for the little ones. Nathan (age 7) wasn’t very interested in most of the exhibit as I do think it’s geared towards the preschool set. However, even Nathan enjoyed the conveyor belt used to fill Clifford’s bowl with giant bones. If you have younger kids who love the show, they will love the opportunity to dress up as Clifford and his pals, explore his doghouse, and climb up on Clifford to slide down his tail.
Nathan had a great time building in the Block Party area which is filled with all sorts of oversized foam shapes and tubes. We both learned so much in the Infection Connection exhibit on communicable diseases. Eat or Be Eaten, an exhibit featuring animals and snakes and bugs and such was fascinating and just a bit creepy. We finished off our visit with the Tesla Lightning Show which features two one million volt Tesla coils, music and lightning.
One afternoon simply wasn’t enough to see everything we wanted to see. We will most definitely be headed back soon to continue with the learning and fun of science.
Would you like to visit Liberty Science Center with your family? I have four (4) general admission passes to give away to one lucky winner. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post. Comments must be left by 5pm on Friday, August 8th, 2014, in order to be eligible.
Special thanks to Liberty Science Center and Jersey Moms Blog for the giveaway passes. As a Liberty Science Center Blog Ambassador for the day, I was provided with vouchers for my visit. All opinions expressed above are my own.
EDITED (8.13.14): And the winner is… Kristin! Kristin, I’ll be emailing you shortly so you can claim your prize. Congratulations!
Matt and Laura used to love that place. Glad Nathan had a good time.
Thanks!
We want to go!!
Maureen
It’s such a fun place!
I want to go to there!
“There’s popcorn on the plane, Lemon.”
Looks like Nathan had a great time!
He loved it! Thanks for commenting!
I love that place! Last time we went they didn’t have the cube exhibit yet though. Shane likes to walk on the construction beam and crawl through the touch tunnel.
Beyond the Cube is new since May I think. It was really fun. Nathan did the touch tunnel on a camp trip last year. We didn’t see the construction beam though.
Sounds like a great time. Hope to get the girls there soon!
It was really fun! Thanks for commenting, Maria!
LOVE the LSC! Always a great time for the kids – and Joe and I always learn stuff, too. The Touch Tunnel was my favorite the last time we went. 🙂
I loved that it was great for the adults as well as the kids. Nothing worse than a kids’ activity that bores the parents to death! Thanks for commenting!
Awesome! I haven’t been there in years and really want to bring my kids this fall.
I still can’t believe I waited so long to get there!
The Clifford and Rubiks exhibit sound like something the girls would really enjoy. The LSC is definitely a great place for learning in a fun way. Great blog Michelle.
I love places that make learning fun and where I can learn stuff too. So glad we finally made it there. Thanks for commenting (and the compliment!)!
So glad you and Nathan had fun. You know, I’ve still never taken the girls there? I suppose I should try to go before the summer is over.
I definitely recommend it. I think all three of your girls would love it since there’s something for every age. Thanks for commenting!
Would love to take my kids there! They would love it!
Such a cool place! Thanks for commenting!
I have never been and would love to bring my kids!
It’s definitely fun for all ages so I highly recommend. Thanks for commenting!
My son loves Clifford and my oldest would love the blocks. I wonder what Kate would like that is my middle girl.
The great thing about a place like this is that since there are so many wonderful areas to discover, I think there would be something every kid would enjoy, even if he or she wasn’t into traditional science stuff. Thanks for commenting!
I haven’t been there in many years and my kids have never been there. We would love to go!
I can’t wait to go back! I think it’s going to be a regular place for us now.
Love the LSC! Glad you and Nathan had a great time!
So fun! Thanks for commenting!
I think all 3 of my kids would love this place… we’ll have to get there on one of our future visits to NJ.
Now that we know a little more about it, we should definitely plan that as something to do when you’re down. We’d have to meet there super early though to get through it one day 🙂