Morris Museum

One of New Jersey's best museums, the Morris Museum covers natural history, art, and cultural history, but its standout feature is the Murtogh D. Guinness collection of mechanical musical instruments and automata — one of the most remarkable such collections anywhere. Music boxes that date to the 1770s, orchestrions the size of wardrobes, and mechanical figures that paint, write, and play instruments are all represented.

Beyond the Guinness collection, the museum has rotating exhibitions on art and regional history, and a children's gallery. It's housed in a stone mansion in a residential neighborhood a short drive or long walk from downtown. Visiting on a demonstration day, when the mechanical instruments are played, is worth planning around.

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The museum's Murtogh D. Guinness collection of mechanical music and automata is considered one of the finest in the world — over 750 items including 18th-century music boxes, mechanical birds in gilded cages, player pianos, and a collection of antique automatons. On select evenings, the museum holds demonstrations where the collection comes to life.