Morris Museum
Automata, art, science, and live performance make this Morristown museum unusually hard to pigeonhole.
Artwork inspired by Ben Shahn
The Morris Museum is strongest when you let its collections collide. The Guinness Collection of mechanical musical instruments and automata shows how much invention can hide inside a music box or self-playing machine. Watch a demonstration if one is scheduled; the sounds and movements explain these objects more clearly than a row of still cases.
The museum also has a performing-arts program, so a daytime gallery visit and an evening show are separate choices. Families may gravitate to Spark!Lab or the train gallery, while design-minded visitors can spend their time with the machinery and craftsmanship of the automata. Pick two strands before arriving; the modest building holds more variety than a fast circuit suggests.
- Standout collection
- Mechanical music and automata
- Also here
- Bickford Theatre
- Gallery mix
- Art, science, and history
Quick guide
- Hear a mechanism
- Check whether an automaton demonstration fits your visit.
- Choose a contrast
- Pair the Guinness Collection with either art or earth science.
Know before you go
- Start with sound
- Watch for a live mechanism rather than treating every instrument as a static artifact.
- Follow a mechanism
- Compare gearing and movement across different automata.
- Change subject
- Try the earth-science or art galleries after the machine collection.
- Check performances
- Theatre events are not the same as general museum admission.
Good to know
Spark!Lab and demonstrations do not necessarily run throughout every museum hour. Check the daily program if one of those experiences is the reason for your trip.
Notice these
- Guinness automata
- Mega Model Train Gallery
- Bickford Theatre