Liberty Science Center — Attraction in Jersey City

If you're not a cranky child, I'm honestly not sure if you're the target demo for this museum. I've probably been here four or five times since I was a pup myself - I recall an exhibit for bats that my dad brought me to in the 90s, but since I wasn't a science nerd (don't worry - I was so many other kinds of nerd) a lot of the displays/exhibits were over my head or just not that interesting. Hilariously based on yesterday, that's still the case!

My top-tier chum and I came by yesterday for the opening day of the Titanic Exhibition (shoutout to Reddit for alerting me to yet another random event). The cost of admission was I believe in the high $30 range, which included the extra $8 for the Titanic special exhibit. I always think it's a little ridiculous that you have to pay anything in addition to your initial admission to access an exhibit but these are the times we're living in. Despite that, the exhibit was very packed and plenty of people were willing to empty their pockets to get a glimpse at history.

We got to the museum about half an hour early for our scheduled entrance to Titanic (which in hindsight I don't think mattered - we still ended up being a little early and it didn't seem like that part of the pre-paid ticket was being monitored) so we had an opportunity to look at a big chunk of the rest of the offerings. Most of the museum was insanely crowded with antsy kids and very miserable looking parents (a highlight for me was the giant display of Advil/Tylenol by the gift ship register; can't imagine who those are there for), so you had to wait a minute or two in every section to see displays or read the signs.

The Titanic section itself was good, though I honestly wouldn't classify it in the great category. Here's one of my big issues (and one of my other chums mentioned this could be a legal/IP situation) - people from my Geriatric Oregon Trail Millennial generation are familiar with the Titanic story for a very obvious reason, and it involves a 1997 cinematic masterpiece that introduced Kate Winslet to mainstream society, as well as a version of Leo that may or may not have already been obsessed with 25-year-olds. That's just a fact, and it felt a little disingenuous not to acknowledge that to some extent. Absolutely no argument, the actual non-fictional Titanic saga should be told here and take total priority, but to not have one small room dedicated to the movie - which by the way, prided itself on the historic accuracy of its subject matter - feels like a big miss. Especially since they're selling Heart of the Ocean necklaces in the gift shop and there's a fantastic bow of the ship photo-op situation that is 100% an homage to the "I'm flying, Jack!" scene. Come on. There's no other reason to have that.

The actual artifacts they had were cool but I was hoping for at least one that was literally/figuratively bigger, if that makes sense. They recovered and displayed a lot of cups and combs and trinkets, but I would have like to have seen a heavy hitter, like part of a bed or the door that Jack couldn't fit on (I know. I'm kidding). The most haunting items for us were not immaculate mirrors or forks, it was the objects that had damage to them, like a chipped glass, or a shard of wood from one of the chairs in the dining room. Really brought the tragedy to the fore. Another sad but interesting and important touch was towards the end, where they had a giant display on the wall of the breakdown of survivors and those who weren't as lucky, grouped by the class of passengers. Very wild to see that out of all of the demos, first class was the only area where more people survived than didn't. Unsurprising but it was sobering to see it laid out like that.

If you're interested, I'd try to go during a time with minimal young pup screaming but it's going to be hard to do even during the week with the ubiquitous field trips on...

The museum has 4 floors, we visited 2nd to 4th floor. 3D movies and a planetarium are available on the 2nd floor. The planetarium was an amazing experience. My 5 years old son had lots of fun and he really enjoyed the place.

Until I had this incident toward the end of the visit.

Museum cafe is on the 2nd floor. We had an early lunch, so we went to the museum cafe around 2:30 pm and got a small bag of chips(1.75 oz) and one order of chicken nuggets(7 pcs). There is a cash register, but no staff was attending at the time. I walked toward the cash register and then a staff came. She didn’t do eye contact, no greetings, didn’t tell me where to get sauce or napkins, didn’t offer a receipt($11.00). She said you are paid after I tapped my credit card. I had an awkward feeling.

My son finished the chicken nuggets and wants more. So, I went and picked one order of chicken strips with French fries. There was a customer ahead of me at the area. I followed her, thinking that I could pay after her. Note, the cash register has no staff attending, again. Then I saw the same staff getting close and telling the customer ahead of me to move toward a different direction, I wonder if there is a different cash register somewhere else. So, I followed the customer.

This staff stopped me, she said “you need to pay!” I explained I was trying to follow this customer to find a different cash register. She didn’t interact. She moved back to the cash register, and I tapped my credit card($14.00). She was ready to serve the following customer and I heard her saying, “you need to pay, okay.” But she didn’t look at me.

I was in shock and had no doubt now that she thought I was stealing the food. I repeated to her, and she said, “Oh, that was a misunderstanding then”. No apology, no explanation.

I put the food down on our table, then I went back to her and told her I don’t feel comfortable of what she said to me. She offered to get her manager.

The manager (Jamie) asked if she could get me a free beverage after I explained to her about the incident. She mentioned that was not the type of experience they are trying to bring to the customers. I refused the offer; I told her it wasn’t about the food. It was about the disrespect and the unsaid accusation. I always perform myself as a role model for my kid.

My son finished his water bottle that we brought from home. I avoided the Cafe and noticed there is a self-check-out mini shop next to the cafe. I grabbed a bottle of water and used the self-check-out device to make a payment. It was hassle free and it even printed a receipt for me!

For the Café, I would suggest having a staff always standing behind the cash register. If she has other responsibilities to care for, then place a sign “PLEASE PAY HERE, “WE’LL BE RIGHT BACK” in bold font. Or get a self-check-out device. And a receipt is needed to show transparency.

We didn’t finish the chicken strips and the fries. It tasted bitter...

This review is being written to help inform parents of what to expect when or of your planning to visit the Liberty Science Center. I would like to first say it’s a great concept for hands on learning experience but it’s a bit boring after a while. We visited with my 1 year old nephew. It was a gifted to him from a dear friend. They are still requiring mask & vaccinations to gain entry. That may be a deal buster for some ppl.

The first thing I thought was he’s to young for this place. Turns out I was somewhat correct. They have a few floors and feature different activities for a range of ages I just felt the toddlers could have used some more areas.

When you first arrive they screen you for vaccination and I’d verification. You will then have to go through security check point ( I wasn’t at all mad at that, safety first) once in the main lobby kinda reminds me of an airport terminal. They layout is VERY similar. Weather your buying tickets or you have tickets already you still go to the counter to get your wrist bands. Your then free to roam the facility. They have a gift shop and a photo op setup if your interested. We hopped on the elevator to see what we could get into. I believe they have 4 floors and feature a number of exhibits we visited wobbly world, brain games, and Paw Patrol to name a few. I’m not going to lie I was bored after an hour and my nephew was burned out too.

We stopped by the Cosmic Cafe to eat lunch. The food was priced decently (I work in Tribeca so anything is cheaper then them 🤣) lunch will cost you roughly $18 per person. I was impressed with how good the food was. Very fresh. My one gripe was how they would tray it as a grab and go. I’m not a fan of ppl having the ability to touch, talk over or handle food they others are buying. As we stood there a person walked up touched a tray of food and put it back. My sister and I immediately looked at each other like NOPE…. I want a fresh one handed to me. They do have a grab and go spot with quick snacks next door if your looking for something quick. Cosmic was hot food. Over all I will say this is a good get your kids out of the house spot. Kids 5 or older will get more from it. They will understand it more. I was also shocked to see how many people had school aged kids there during school hours.

I took a few pics as we walked the facility. Hope this helps.

PS they also have lockers and an...