The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) announced its approval Nov. 14, 2025, of up to $39.8 million in support for the Liberty Science Center's Project Supernova, a far-reaching and visionary planned transformation of the facility's physical spaces and programs.
The Liberty Science Center is a 300,000-sq.-ft., not-for-profit learning center located in Liberty State Park on the Jersey City bank of the Hudson River close to the Statue of Liberty.
Dedicated to inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers and bringing the power, promise and pure fun of science and technology to people of all ages, the LSC houses the largest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere, 11 museum exhibition halls, a live animal collection with 110 species, giant aquariums, a 3D theater, live simulcast surgeries, a tornado-force wind simulator, K-12 classrooms and labs and space for teacher-development programs.
Through NJEDA's new Cultural Arts Facilities Expansion (CAFE) program, the funding, via tax credits, will allow the LSC to undergo an ambitious expansion designed to increase visitor attendance and engagement in key demographics, in addition to improving accessibility and sensory inclusion and showcasing cutting-edge science, the museum noted on its website.
The largest cultural institution in New Jersey, LSC is the first to receive the backing of the CAFE program.
Its strategic expansion, which involves both indoor and outdoor renovations and new activations, will celebrate the state's scientific heritage and broaden LSC's appeal for New Jersey families, tourists and visitors from New York.
The LSC's new features will include:
• A combined — and highly unique — kids corner, a playground for goats and human children. Visible from nearby Phillip Street and taking advantage of the natural slope and pitch of the landscape, this play structure will feature parallel areas for kids and animals. A designated ground-level area will house a barn and allow trained staff to facilitate supervised interactions between the two groups, bringing an engaging educational component to the experience.
• A River Otter Habitat, new to LSC. As the Hudson River and its surrounding areas, including Jersey City, are home to river otters, this new habitat for the North American River Otter will enable the center to expand and enhance the story of the ancient river told in the existing but soon-to-be reimaged River Rising exhibition. Designed as an outdoor experience, the building and habitat is designed to work in tandem to create a seamless and engaging environment. The building will be strategically positioned along both the pool and dry land areas of the habitat, offering visitors unique views of the otters from inside, regardless of weather conditions.
• The best Physics Mini Golf Course in the world, according to the center. From world-class theoretical and experimental physics out of nearby Princeton University to the invention of the transistor at Bell Labs, New Jersey has a rich legacy in physics research and education, with roots in both academic institutions and industry. By bringing together artists and scientists on the design and construction of a physics-based miniature golf course, LSC will bring this legacy to life. Each hole will demonstrate a core physics principle, making for a hands-on science learning experience unlike any other in the world.
• A replacement of its existing Our Hudson Home exhibition with the aforementioned River Rising exhibit. The renovation of that space will be made to breathe new life into a dated exhibit, while offering a fresh, immersive experience that deepens visitors' understanding of the Hudson River and the urgent challenges it faces due to climate change. The new gallery will surround visitors with the power of the river and the human power in shaping it.
Also being upgraded and enhanced through the CAFE program will be the reconfiguration of the museum's building layout to better support high-impact and technologically advanced premium exhibitions.
Currently, the gallery housing special temporary exhibits is located on the fourth floor in a space that limits the scale and types of exhibits LSC can host. To address this, the traveling gallery will be relocated to a much larger, more flexible and prominent location on the first floor. This will allow LSC to host brand name blockbuster experiences that draw large crowds, such as The Van Gogh Expo and The Harry Potter Experience.
Plans also call for other spaces to be renovated, refurbished and re-imagined, including:
• The Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium, the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.
• The giant "Science on a Sphere" projection globe within the Weston Family Lab for Earth and Space Exploration.
• New outdoor spaces so that LSC can offer all-weather activities and programming beyond the current and ever-popular Jack Horner Dino Dig Adventure.
• The design and build of a 9/11 Memorial Garden featuring two original World Trade Center beams relocated from the former "Skyscraper! Exhibition," which were donated to LSC by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
• The expansion of the Wild About Animals habitat, which is home to more than 100 species of animals and one of the museum's most popular exhibitions.
Project Supernova ‘Vibrant Fusion of Science, Ecology, Culture'
With the recent commitment by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, LSC plans to start the construction of Project Supernova in the first quarter of 2026.
To accompany the NJEDA announcement that it had approval the project's funding, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy explained the importance of the CAFE program to the state, noting that, "New Jersey is home to a thriving arts and culture sector that strengthens our state's economy and highlights our incredible diversity and talent. The expansion of vibrant cultural institutions like the Liberty Science Center and the Mayo Performing Arts Center will serve as an economic catalyst for communities across the state, increasing quality of life for New Jerseyans and expanding economic opportunities for arts and culture organizations."
Paul Hoffman, LSC's president and CEO, expressed his profound gratitude to Murphy and the NJEDA for their long-standing commitment to the Jersey City museum and their conviction that the state should be home to the most engaging science learning center in the country for instilling and fostering a lifelong love of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math).
"This project is a vibrant fusion of science, ecology and culture," Hoffman said. "It's presented through new immersive environments that are interactive and educational, and upgrades to existing iconic experiences that LSC is famous for. The project celebrates the intersection of science and culture, honoring New Jersey's famous scientific legacy and natural ecosystems. And true to the DNA of Liberty Science Center, the project is bold, forward-looking and inclusive, and transforms the center into an all-weather campus where learning is fun, hands-on and accessible to all."
The Liberty Science Center welcomes over 280,000 students each year, and tens of thousands more participate in the museum's off-site and online programs. In all, more than 800,000 people visit LSC annually, making it the most popular cultural institution in New Jersey and the largest interactive science center in the New York City-New Jersey metropolitan area.
