Nestled into the campus of Brookdale Community College, you can find the Monmouth Museum. I'll admit, it wasn't on my radar AT ALL! I was actually planning on driving the hour and a half to Philly for the PLEASE TOUCH museum (definitely planning on going there another time!) but ran into a friend the day before who mentioned that Monmouth Museum had some great exhibits for kids. I figured I would forgo the three hours of traveling (1.5 hours each way for me) for a fun day that was a bit more local.
This particular day started out rainy and it poured our drive up to the museum. Luckily, it's an easy drive and located only a few minutes from the parkway exit. We found plenty of parking and the rain lightened up quite a bit just in time for us to walk the path to the museum. The museum isn't right by the parking lot, so there is a bit of a walk, but you can easily see it so don't worry about getting lost on campus.
Ages 2 and up need to pay at the museum. The fee is only $12 per person. I am always so happy that places like this exist-- especially on rainy days, and happily shelled over the $24 for the two of us. You can buy tickets in advance on their website and they do advise it-- but we bought them at the door on a rainy Saturday afternoon without a problem.
Right as you enter, the first children's exhibit is to your right- The Wonder Wing. It is basically a big indoor playground for ages 6 and under. There's a slide, a treehouse, puzzles on the walls, a glow in the dark area, a wooden ship and more. There were a decent amount of kids buzzing around the area that day which made my shy guy a bit nervous to explore. He held my hand as we walked thru the room and discovered what was in each nook and cranny. You can tell that this room is a hit with most kids and all ages were having fun running up the stairs, down the whale slide and so on. The room is also small enough that it's easy to keep an eye on older kids as they zip throughout.
Lots of kids and noise may be fun for most toddlers, but not my little guy so we didn't spend a ton of time here. We moved past to the next section of children's exhibits-- The Becker Wing. This was my toddler's favorite.
The first part of the Becker wing is all about Dinosaurs (and we are REALLY into dinosaurs!). He loved the dino skeleton, holding pretend dino eggs, digging for fossils and exploring the other attractions in this room. Then we walked together upstairs to play with the giant light brite, check out the helicopter and explore the other hands-on exhibits. This area was quiet and only had a few other families. I wasn't sure if that was just luck or if it is always like that. My toddler explored every activity he was interested in at his own pace. It was really perfect.
It looked like they are setting up the other side of the loft area as a space exhibit. It was closed when we went, but my guess is that it is geared towards kids who are older. Before leaving the Becker wing, we found a hidden little movie room downstairs with toys and books. We played in there with a few other kids and watched a bit of a dino cartoon movie before heading out.
There was one thing we didn't experience. There is an all ages nature area outside but we didn't spend time there since it was a rainy muddy day. We DID however say hello to the metal dinosaur guarding the area before walking back to the car. Like I said-- we LOVE dinosaurs!
This is a sweet little museum. Please note, this is not an all day excursion, but if you need to get out of the house for the morning or afternoon, it works perfectly. I love supporting local businesses that make art and science accessible to kids and was happy to support this local non-profit. When you go, I suggest you opt for a weekend because the Becker Wing isn't open on the weekdays. For more info and to read about their adult exhibits-- check out their website HERE.