Actively running since 1913, the Morris Museum is the second largest museum in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

at . The museum is fully accredited by the

American Alliance of Museums American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

Museum history

1913–1957: early years

The Morris Children's Museum was founded in 1913 as a collection of curio cabinets held in the Neighborhood House School in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.macaroni Macaroni (, Italian: maccheroni) is dry pasta shaped like narrow tubes.Oxford DictionaryMacaroni/ref> Made with durum wheat, macaroni is commonly cut in short lengths; curved macaroni may be referred to as elbow macaroni. Some home machine ...

factory next to the original school. The Children's Museum continued to grow, eventually taking up two rooms of the factory. In 1938, with approval from the Morristown

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional ar ...

, the museum moved to the Maple Avenue School. The collections of stuffed birds, toys,

fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

, and various other articles were housed on the third floor. The museum was officially incorporated in 1943, and began loaning out exhibits to local schools and libraries. Previously a volunteer-based organization, the museum hired its first director, Chester H. Newkirk, in 1956. The museum continued to acquire more collections, opening a Native American exhibit in 1949. The museum expanded in 1957, purchasing and relocating to 141 Madison Avenue. The museum also changed its name from the "Morris Children's Museum" to the "Morris Junior Museum".

1958–present day

In 1963 the Morris Junior Museum purchased the Twin Oaks Mansion, today the current site of the museum. The mansion was previously owned by the

Frelinghuysen family The Frelinghuysen family (; ; ) is an American political dynasty, primarily based in New Jersey, that first emigrated from The Netherlands in 1720. History In 1720, Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen came from The Netherlands to the Raritan Valley ...

, a political family and members of the New York social scene. Constructed between 1910 and 1913, the Neo-Georgian mansion features

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

work that is still intact to this day. The new museum reopened its doors in 1965, then expanded in 1969 adding several galleries and a theater to the museum property. With this expansion came another name change, this time to the "Morris Museum of Arts and Sciences". The museum was officially accredited by the American Association of Museums in 1972. Due to increasing financial demands, the museum added an entrance fee in 1976. The museum changed its name again in 1985, taking its current name, the Morris Museum. The museum saw another expansion in 1989 with work finishing in 1990. The museum now encompasses 75,524 square feet, with several permanent collections and an active theater.

Exhibits and collections

The Morris Museum has several permanent exhibits, with collections focusing on local

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...

, musical boxes,

automata An automaton (; plural: automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions.Automaton – Definition and More ...

and history. These include a fossil exhibit, a

natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

exhibit, minerals, textiles, a Native American collection, and a

model train Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, ...

room. There is also the Dodge Room dedicated to

Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge Ethel Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge (April 3, 1882 – August 13, 1973) was the youngest child of William Avery Rockefeller Jr. and Almira Geraldine (Goodsell) Rockefeller. Giralda Farms was the name given to the New Jersey country estate wh ...

, a

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and Morristown resident. The room features several paintings and sculptures relating to Dodge's philanthropy, especially surrounding her work with animals. Throughout the year, temporary and traveling exhibits can also be viewed, including several art galleries featuring local and enrolled student artists. The museum has several outreach programs, including a loan program for local educators.

Murtogh D. Guinness Collection

The museum was awarded the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection in 2003. The exhibit opened in 2007 and covers . The permanent exhibit displays 150 pieces, while the overall collection consists of 750 pieces of mechanical musical instruments and

. Various pieces not currently on display are displayed in visible storage found in the museum's basement. A daily demonstration of the automata and music boxes is offered every day at 2:00 pm. A bi-yearly convention, AutomaCon, began at the museum in 2016. The convention centers around automata and their creation, and was hosted by the museum again in 2018.

Kinetic Art

In 2017 the museum announced its four-year exhibition series, "A Cache of Kinetic Art" focusing on kinetic and moving art. The exhibits feature art from new and established artists from around the world. The series opened in spring of 2018 with the "Curious Characters" exhibition, which focused on the expression of distinctive figural forms, from traditional to abstract. Exhibitions planned for the following years include "Simply Steampunk", "Tiny Intricacies", and "Timeless Movement". File:Fox and blue jay.jpg, A taxidermy fox and bird, part of the mammals exhibit at the Morris Museum File:Guinness Activities 3.jpg, Children playing in the interactive area of the Guinness Collection. File:Digging Dinos MM.jpg, A section of the Digging Dinos exhibit at the Morris Museum.

References

External links

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Automatacon
{{authority control Museums established in 1913 Museums in Morristown, New Jersey Art museums and galleries in New Jersey History museums in New Jersey Natural history museums in New Jersey Music museums in the United States 1913 establishments in New Jersey