Ellis Island is located in the New York Harbor.
You will get to Ellis Island on ferry boats from Battery Park, Manhattan and from Liberty state Park in New Jersey. The ferries run every 30 to 45 Minutes and they start at 9:30 AM. The ferry boats charge a fee for the ride to Ellis Island and you will pay 12 Dollars, senior citizens will pay 10 dollars and children 4-12 will pay 5 dollars.
Once you get to Ellis Island enjoy the Dinning Experiences at the Ellis Café where you can eat American and Ethnic food and they also offer an organic menu as well. There is seating indoors and outdoors.
Don’t forget the Gift Shop to get your memorabilia. You can purchase books on all the immigration that happened on Ellis Island in the late 1800s and the early 1900s. You will want to pick up a souvenir to remember your trip to Ellis Island.
The Museum on Ellis Island is also a place to get your knowledge about the immigration that happened. You will learn about the first immigrants on Ellis Island and the how they immigrated to America. You will also get to see a step by step of the immigration process through photographs, personal papers and artifacts. That will be in the “Through America’s Gate” Part in the museum.
Going to the “Treasures from Home” section of the Ellis Island Museum is photographs and artifacts that the immigrants brought with them to America. There are over 1,000 pieces to see and enjoy looking at.
Next up is the “Ellis Island Chronicles” and this will tell you about that story of the island and its earliest days as just a fishing site. This part of the museum will tell you about the growth and how it became to be Ellis Island.
Now onto the “Silent Voices” section. This was a time period of when Ellis Island was abandoned and was vandalized and also the elements of the New York Harbor.
“Restoring a Landmark” is documents on the building that was there and how it became a new national museum.
The “Peak Immigration Years” exhibit will tell you a story of the immigrants experience and leaving there home lands. There journey to America and traveling across the new country and how they become American Citizens. They had to adapt to working in America and establish new communities as well.
“The People of America” is a place that goes back 400 years of North American immigration history and is located in the ticket office.
Island of Hope/Island of Tears is a film you watch on immigrants telling there stories of coming to America. This is in a theater in the Museum.
There is also a play that is done daily at the Ellis Island Living Theater. This play dramatizes the challenges the immigrations both past and present.
Also at Ellis Island is the Memorial Wall. The Memorial Wall has over 700,000 individuals and families whose names were but on the Memorial Wall by there descendants and it celebrates there arrivals to America. There is also Special Events and Meetings on Ellis Island. The private events can hold up to 1,000 people and also Conference and Meetings are held daily.
The park regulations are there for your enjoyment and are there to protect the monument. There is no eating, no drinking, no chewing gum. Please keep the following in the food service area only. Also no smoking is allowed. No camping is allowed on Ellis island and all students must be chaperoned by one teacher or adult for each group of 10 students. For commercial photography you must obtain a permit at Ellis Island. No pets except service animals only. The last regulation is don’t deface, damage or remove and park features.
There are restrooms, telephones and ATM on Ellis Island. There is also elevators for the visitors with disabilities.