Trailside Museum Watchung Reservation

The facility features a visitor center and New Jersey's first natural history museum, built in 1941. It has come a long way since its early beginnings in a garage when wildlife was kept in small, dreary cages outside.
The new visitor center promotes the natural and human history of the Watchung Reservation and tries to fosters an awareness and appreciation of the environment. Interactive displays are very children friendly. There is a 35-foot Beech Tree Exhibit filling the the atrium, a Native American walk-in wigwam; and a night theatre featuring an audio-visual presentation of the sights and sounds of nocturnal animals. Live reptiles are a great attraction for kids.

Pros: Interactive displays, live reptiles

Cons: none