Best NJ Kids Museums: Sterling Hill Mining Museum Beats Them All

This is one story in a series where we feature one family-friendly day trip idea a day. Read the entire series and find great ideas for things to do with kids in NJ here.

Looking for the best kids museum in NJ? Then Sterling Hill Mining Museum is the place. Located in Ogdensburg, this New Jersey mine was an operating mine until 1986. Now the mine has been transformed in to an interactive museum that is fun for kids of all ages.

WHY WE LOVE THE STERLING HILL MINING MUSEUM

Kids can explore a real mine while taking the underground walking tour. This tour takes visitors through passages that were used by miners close to 300 years ago.

The museum also offers an exhibit that contains more than 20,000 mining-related artifacts on display.

Visitors can become real miners in the rock discovery center. In the discovery center kids learn about different types of rocks and have the chance to dig up different rocks to take home.

If you find yourself there during the nighttime, the museum has an observatory with a telescope that is strong enough to see distant galaxies.

See a full list of the Sterling Hill Mining Museum's exhibits here.

Pricing, hours, location

Tours run everyday at 1 p.m. and on weekends at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tours cost $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and military personnel, and $8 for children 12 and under.