*There is going to be a photo overload in tonight’s post, but I consider that to be a good thing. Moving along…
I knew that the Thomas Edison Museum was about twenty minutes from our house, yet I can’t recall ever going there. My mom said I was there when I was about 11. I’ve had it in the back of my mind for awhile now, thinking it would be a fun little visit to make with my kids, and Friday, with Nick off from school and a vacation day for me, we rounded up some friends and headed to West Orange.
I swear museums and national and state parks are the best bargain going. For the Thomas Edison Museum, adult admission is $7, and kids under 16 are free. Your admission also includes a visit to his laboratory (on the same property), and his Glenmont Estate, just a short mile or two drive away. It doesn’t get better than that.
A short movie in the beginning of the self-guided tour gave the kids a quick run-down on what Edison was most known for, and while watching, they completed Junior Ranger informational packets that would earn them a little badge on the way out.
The architecture, chippy paint, buildings, and lighting on the property of the museum and laboratory is a photographer’s dream. Like seriously, I’d pay the $7 admission just to take clients there for a photo shoot. A lot of the pictures from the last Weekend Photos in Review were from our Edison visit. (There is no photography allowed inside the Glenmont Estate, which kind of killed me, because it’s all sorts of beautiful, and a lot of the Victorian period pieces reminded me a lot of what is in my parents’ home)
On the museum’s property, you can also tour his laboratory, pattern making room, and various workshops, which, aside from the grounds being a photographer’s nirvana, was, I think, my favorite part. The old woodsy, musty smell of the workshop was ah-mazing, and it was seriously awe-inspiring to stand there and think of all the creativity and inventions that were borne out of that space.
There is a small gift shop when you enter the museum, filled with books, postcards, and assorted memorabilia. {Cash and check only for gift shop purchases and entrance fees}. The museum (and surrounding grounds) take anywhere from 45 minutes to three hours to see, depending on your pace. While it is self-guided, they also have audio tours available, and several places where you can use your smartphone to scan a code and watch an accompanying video.
This picture instantly reminded me of a home I saw on the Hoboken house tour in 2010, and Martha Stewart’s own kitchen and special decorating issue years ago.
…