2 museums in NJ among USA’s best and almost nobody knows about them

Yes we’ve had some unusual museums in the Garden State. There’s the NJ Spoon Museum tucked away inside Lambertville Castle in Paterson. Yes, I said spoons. As in over 5,000 of them, on display a few hundred at a time on a rotating basis.

Or the Paranormal Museum on Cookman Avenue in Asbury Park, where I once spent the night alone in, this building is said to be haunted.

Read More: What to expect at the DooWop Experience Museum in Wildwood

New Jersey museums

But there are two museums in New Jersey that were recently named by USA Today as among the 10 Best in the entire country. I can almost guarantee you have never heard of either one of them.

Of these 10 museums around the country chosen in their Readers’ Choice Awards, this is what USA Today had to say about them:

"These 10 museums have been nominated by an expert panel and voted by readers as the best new or newly transformed venues on the scene. Ranging from avant-garde art spaces to impactful history museums, they represent the top openings of the past two years."

Coming in at No. 2 on their list:

Edelman Fossil Park & Museum of Rowan University in Mantua.

According to USA Today, visitors, “can dig for actual 66-million-year-old specimens alongside an expert team who help identify discoveries. From fossilized bones to shark teeth and marine crocodile remains, guests can unearth the same sea creatures that swam here when New Jersey was ocean floor.”

This is at the former Inversand Company marl pit, and over 100,000 fossils from more than 100 extinct species have been found here. It was purchased by Rowan 10 years ago to turn it into this museum. Find more info here.

Coming in at No. 7:

The Charles J. Muth Museum of Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson.

The stadium is one of America’s last surviving Negro League ballparks, and the museum stands inside.

USA Today says the museum “stands as an educational and cultural hub honoring the athletes who broke barriers when Major League Baseball shut them out. Beyond the expected jerseys and scorecards, interactive displays and multimedia presentations make history come alive in a stadium where legends like Larry Doby and Josh Gibson once played.”

Read more about it here.

Now you know.