Space Farms Zoo and Museum, Combined zoo and history museum in Sussex County, New Jersey.
Space Farms Zoo and Museum is a combined zoo and history museum in Sussex County featuring roughly 100 acres of land. The grounds house over 500 animals from about 100 species alongside museum buildings displaying thousands of historical objects.
Ralph and Elizabeth Space opened the site in 1927 as a general store and gas station before transforming it into a wildlife sanctuary over time. This shift from a small business to a large public facility happened gradually across many years.
The museum buildings display items from American rural life across several structures, showing how people worked and lived in earlier times. Visitors walk through and see the objects that were part of daily existence on farms and in small communities.
The grounds are open daily from April through October, and visitors should wear sturdy shoes since there is considerable walking involved. Covered areas in the museum buildings provide shelter on hot or rainy days.
The grounds were home for many years to Goliath, a notably large bear known as one of the biggest ever held in human care. This remarkable animal drew visitors from surrounding areas and became part of the place's history.
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