Liberty Science Center

Liberty Science Center sits on the Jersey City waterfront, less than 10 minutes from the Holland Tunnel and a ferry ride from Lower Manhattan, and it's been the region's go-to rainy day destination for families for decades — for good reason. This is not a 'look but don't touch' museum. The entire 300,000-square-foot space is built around the idea that science makes more sense when you can grab it, climb it, or sneeze on it.

For families with younger kids (3-7), the highlight is usually the Our Hudson Home gallery, where toddlers can splash in a water table and dig for fossils in a supervised sand pit. For the 8-12 crowd, Infection Connection is the runaway favorite — it models how diseases spread through a community using motion sensors and live visualizations that make germ theory suddenly, viscerally real. Teenagers often gravitate to the engineering challenges and the live animal encounters.

The Touch Tunnel deserves its own paragraph. It's a 100-foot crawl tunnel in complete darkness — no light, no screens, just your hands on textured walls navigating by touch. The concept sounds simple; the experience is unforgettable. Kids 5 and up can do it solo, and many parents tackle it with their little ones. Budget 20 minutes because they will want to go twice.

The Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium is included with general admission. Shows run throughout the day and range from animated space adventures for preschoolers to serious astrophysics programs for older audiences. Check the online schedule before you visit and arrive 15 minutes early — the theater doors close at showtime with no exceptions.

Practical notes: Parking on-site costs roughly $15. The NJ Transit 80 bus runs from the Newport PATH station. The ferry from Pier 11 in Lower Manhattan is the most scenic option and the kids count it as a bonus activity. The museum is closed Mondays. Food is available on-site but bring snacks for toddlers who eat on a different schedule than museum hours.