National Park Tour - Thomas Edison Park

How many people knew that Thomas Edison also invented a motion picture camera?  Now he wasn't the only one playing with this technology.  He had an entire factory dedicated to the phonograph and making the parts for production.  We had the opportunity to visit his lab and factory in West Orange, NJ, The Edison National Park.

 We were walking the same path that employees took for years.

 The room where we actually heard an Edison Phonograph play.  This was the music room

 What it looked like when the factory was in use.

 Early phonograph models

 Feeling an Edison phonograph.

 Edison's laboratory....there are chemicals still in the bottles from when he used it.

 Time clock in the factory.

 Film machine and canisters.

 Edison believed in putting his face on all his products.  That was his sign that it was a quality product.

 His office....his wife had a bed put in because he spent so much time there.

 The Supply area of the factory...they had everything, including turtle shells..

 Factory floor full of machining equipment

 This room was where Edison invented the motion picture camera in 1888.

 Design room

 They had various stations with lots of hands on materials for the kids to look at.

 More phonograph designs

 Music props used in the early motion pictures.

 Photo studio

 Developing area

 Props and items that are part of the Edison collection....He had over 400,000 items when he died and over 5,000,000 documents.  He was a bit of a hoarder.

 He made a talking doll.  It didn't last because the voice box would stop working and it was felt the voice sounded creepy.

 More products with his face on the label.

 Filling out the Junior Park Badge program.

 Information about when the factory caught on fire.

 The Black Maria replica...the first film studio.

 Getting sworn in at Junior Park Rangers.

I HIGHLY recommend a visit to the Edison National Park if you are in the area.  The staff was so nice and it was very interesting to visit.  We saw all kinds of neat things.  We didn't get a chance to visit his home while we were there because it is only open certain days of the week.  So make sure to check out the days the Home is open also.  This was definitely a fun history day.

The price is economical for families also:

Entrance Fee- $7.00
Valid for seven days.
Under 16 years old free
Includes: Laboratory Complex and Glenmont

Audio Tour - $5.00
Permits use of equipment for the day's visit
Includes standard audio tour, family version, and tours in German, Spanish, and Japanese