Take a ride and find the unusual, bizarre and the downright wierd

You just can’t make this stuff up, By Margaret Witt Space Farms dares you to “Explore the Wild Side” in its slogan, but it could easily read “Explore the Odd Side.” And Space Farms isn’t the only small, local museum in the region cherish the occasional rare treasures or weird artifact, depending on one’s point of view. Listing them all would be encyclopedic, but a few examples of these finds across the river in New Jersey include: Space Farms Zoo and Museum may have the largest collection of things one doesn’t quite expect to find. Located at 218 Route 519, in Beemerville, N.J., it is not only a zoo, but also a collection of 11 buildings filled with thousands of items relating to American History. Ralph Space, museum founder, provided many of the unusual exhibits when he embalmed animals in formaldehyde and encased them in jugs back in the 1920’s. Included are a snake and a beaver. Call 973-875-5800 or visit www.spacefarms.com/museum for more information. The fluorescent mineral capital of the world, Franklin Borough, N.J. has its Mineral Museum, at 32 Evans Street, with more than just glowing rocks. There is the tiny skull of a prehistoric horse and slabs of petrified wood from the Petrified Forest in Arizona. These unusual items are from the collection of Wilfred “Bill” Welsh, a local teacher who donated his collection of rocks from around the world and artifacts to the museum after he retired. Call 973-827-3481 or visit www.franklinmneralmuseum.com for more information. Moe lives (sort of) at the Sussex County Historical Society Museum on Main Street/Route 206 in Newton, N.J. Moe is (or was) a mastodon, or most of him, native to Sussex County. Moe’s large skull is in tact. Sterling Hill Mineral Mine and Museum, at 30 Plant Street, Ogdensburg features a tour of part of the original mine, a wonderful collection of fluorescents, and a large room filled with mining equipment and minerals, but they also have actual petrified Dinosaur “poop.” Call 973-209-7212 or visit www.sterlinghillminingmuseum.com for more information.