Liberty Science Center
Liberty Science Center, the 300,000-square-foot interactive science complex adjacent to Liberty State Park, houses 12 exhibition halls, a planetarium, and a 3D movie theater—a mecca for schoolchildren. We haven’t been here in a long time and decide to do so today sans children to see if this site also works for adults. The answer is yes! We scheduled a one-hour visit but easily could have stayed for two.
Kids swarm the 35-foot-high climbing gym, observe a robot solving a Rubik’s Cube, and point out details of the elaborate train set. Marching ants, twisting pythons, and hungry turtles among other creatures also command our attention. For a reasonable additional price, we could have seen one of four special features, like the show about the recent and rare nighttime planetary parade.
The seemingly air-borne gym floats within the atrium.
Gravity-defying ball that kids can remove from or place in the air stream coming from the fan below.
Maddy Rose
A short drive from Liberty Science Center and inside Liberty State Park, the charming Maddy Rose restaurant offers spectacular views. While enjoying an excellent lunch, we view, across a wide tree-lined field, the intersection of the Hudson River and New York Harbor with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop. We plan to return one evening as the sun goes down and the lights come up.
Liberty State Park
Just 2,000 feet from the Statue of Liberty, Liberty State Park holds several postlunch options. Ferries to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island shuttle to and fro just down the street. And families fly kites in the open fields beneath the sunny skies. We opt to follow the two-mile promenade skirting New York Harbor. Along the way we scan the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, and an impressive panorama of lower Manhattan—all of which we vow to see on our return nighttime visit.
