Thomas Alva Edison Memorial Tower and Museum, Research museum in Menlo Park, Edison, New Jersey, United States
The Thomas Alva Edison Memorial Tower and Museum is a research museum in Menlo Park, Edison, New Jersey, USA, housed within a tower that rises about 131 feet (40 m) and displays an illuminated bulb at the top. The interior spaces hold historic instruments and documents connected to the inventor's work.
The site was the location of Edison's laboratory, established in 1876, where he developed the first practical incandescent lamp and tested early sound recording devices. The tower itself was built later as a memorial to honor those achievements.
Visitors can see Edison's original workbenches and hand-drawn sketches, showing how he approached invention through trial and error. These items reveal the daily practice of an inventor who secured more than a thousand patents during his career.
The museum opens Thursday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM with hourly guided tours, the last one starting at 3:00 PM. The tower sits within a park that includes walking trails, useful for a stroll before or after the museum visit.
The facility sits on a site of roughly 36 acres that is organized as a state park and includes educational signs explaining scientific principles from Edison's research. Visitors can walk paths through greenery while reading short texts about electricity and sound recording.
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