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Discovery Science Center
Rating Details »
Categories: Amusement Parks, Museums [Edit]
2500 N Main StSanta Ana, CA 92705
(714) 542-2823
Head to Toe - All About the Body
Nov 8 - Jan 3…
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- Hours:
Mon-Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
37 reviews for Discovery Science Center
Parking 3.00
This place did not have as much stuff as the LA one had but my pedometer said we walked 40968 steps. We did everything but lay on the bed of nails. Note the kid was not worn out after a day here.
I am also not going to breed anymore that was wayyyyyyy to many screaming kids running around. I did however thing the staff was pretty cool young high school kids working there but pretty mellow considering the place of work....
Although my kid said he had fun. We did not read the displays and follow the route, instead we walked all over and where ever a kid was not (they don't share well).
All in all it was entertaining more then educational.
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This place is pretty cramped compared to the one in LA, but fun to go at least once in your life.
Price is fair, if you're a student, bring your i.d. you get a student discount.
This place has a variety of activities for you to do, such as laying on a bed of nails, running into this wall thing that molds to your body, making a tornado, etc.
The only "bad" thing about this is that sometimes this place gets really really really packed with kids going here for their field trip and they close at 5 p.m.
It's a good place bring your friends, family, children, etc.
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I really doubt how much "science" kids learn from centers like this, and exhibit A is that I've never heard a planetary astronomer say "I learned orbital momentum from the balls that spin into the funnel" when they were kids. But kids love this, just the same.
Likewise, "the science of Clifford the Big Red Dog", or "the science of Gingerbread" stretch the mission here, but the bacteria traps, er, I mean "exhibits"... are very heavy duty and take a beating from kids day in and day out and still work. Sort of. Some stuff was broken on our last two visits.
Outside you can sit on benches made of plastic coprolites (dinosaur poo), and watch poo fall next to you through a plastic chute used to demonstrate the dinosaur's digestion system.
My four year old son? LOVES this place, every time we visit.
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DSC is pretty cool. I got an annual pass for myself + 1 adult and my 3 little cousins for a little over $100 plus parking and it's not too shabby. About every three months they have a different exhibit. I've been there about 3 times with my little cousins so far (10, 8 and 6 yr old) and they never get sick of it. We're planning to visit again this Sunday for the Halloween exhibit. You can pretty much go through all of the activities in about 3 hours. There's also a Taco Bell inside of the museum in case you get the munchies. If you have kids 4+, I highly recommend this museum :)
Yippee! Finally went to the Discovery Science Center after telling myself that I'll go after 4 years of first seeing the place. My 3 yr old daughter has gone 5 times already and she loves it there. She couldnt wait to show me.
Arrived at 2PM. Parking was $3 and had to park pretty far away. Take the advice to park at the mall instead and save yourself some walking and $3.
Attention Santa Ana Residents, the FIRST MONDAY of every month is FREE if your ID has SA listed as your city of residence. This place is much more enjoyable when its free. :) Yea we had to wait for about 10-15 minutes in line outside to get our free tickets.
TONS of hands-on activities for kids. They need more employees or volunteers since some kids there are out of control and on the destructive path, spoiling it for others. They do well with making science interesting. The kids may not learn the law of physics but at least you can have fun getting introduced to it.
The CUBE - learned that it has solar panels built in to product 77000 kwh per year. Wow I retained something.
The funniest part is the dinosaur outside where they demostrate the circulatory and digestive system. You basically see the dinosaur taking multiple craps with a big smile on his face! Priceless!
Though I'm in my 30s, I liked this place and was entertained. Kids 2-10 yrs old love it.
Cheapskates listen up...
First of all, do NOT pre-buy your tickets online. At most, go online and find/print a coupon. (MouseSavers dot com )
Second of all, do NOT pay for parking. Park at the mall closest to Main Pl Dr and Broadway. It's free and it's right across the street.
Third of all, when you get there, go INSIDE to buy your tickets. On the day we went, we bought our tickets outside. After which, we went inside and NO ONE was checking for tickets! And to be honest, it seems as if no one does, especially if you go on the weekday. So, I'm not recommending anything, but just check... *wink*wink*
This place is great! There are a lot of activities to do and things to touch and see and play with. It seems that they change a few of their exhibits every few months. That day, they had a robot exhibit, where you can build your own "moon walker-" -sorta deal; And upstairs, they had a hockey exhibit, where you can practice your shooting and goal tending against virtual players... Very cool! Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to check out their 4D Theatre because we didn't have time. But they do have one. I forget how much it costs... Something around $5pp.
There is a Pizza Hut/Taco Bell in the facility. It's nice that you don't have to leave for lunch.
I, being 29, was surprised how entertaining this place is for someone my age. Together with my wife and niece, we easily spent over four fun filled hours running around in the facility.
I would definitely recommend this for everyone with kids over 4.
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I visited the Discovery Science Center roughly 3 months ago because a friend had said it was really fun and interesting. It was also a plus because my boyfriend at the time and I took advantage of the free admission program for Bank of America cardholders. I was 19 and he was 22, so we're not exactly children but I cannot even begin to explain how much we loved the center and how fun it was.
The center is completely educational and very interesting, even for the adults. For the children, there are cool "toys" and machines to play around with to give you a more hands-on experience to understand the material. It's kind of like a giant playground for the kids but instead of sitting on the side park bench to relax and read the newspaper, you can join in on the fun! We spent a good 3 hours in the center and were pleasantly surprised by how interesting and fun the overall experience was; I felt like a kid again!
It's sort of hard to explain and describe what it's like inside, so you just have to go and see for yourself! It's definitely a very fun place for families, and I would even recommend it as a fun and "different" place to take a date to (then maybe go to one of the nearby beaches and dinner afterward?) :D
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During an end of the year school field trip, I ended up getting a family membership. And boy was that a good move. On the first Monday of summer vacation, with the kids getting restless we drove over to the Cube. Since it was so nice outside, we decided to forgo the inside exhibits for an afternoon of Dino Quest. For $4(for members, $5 for non-members), you get a magic wand and a choice of 6(?) missions/adventures. You activate your mission by pointing at a comp screen -- a doctor/paleontologist/researcher sends you on a QUEST. You go around the dino area looking for fossils, bones, etc. and uplink to your researcher/doctor etc. It's so much fun and educational too! Fun for all ages, really.
We'll definitely be back!
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I wanna be a kid again! C'mon, lemme be one!!
This place seriously left me thinking that for the rest of the week after we took a mini tour of the joint. The dinosaurs, the earthquake shake thing, the wind machines, the wave machines, the cloud machines, the sand. All of it was SO COOL! And the Taco Bell roach coach in the parking lot! How cool.
Let's face it, I will never be able to shrink back into my lil kid status again, but with all of that cool stuff in here AND a taco bell truck, I'm thinking I just get a flask and go make it an adult playground. Hey, could be fun! Who's with me!!! :)
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If you have kids 4 and over, you must come here! I came here when Bank of America was having their Museums on US program and I got in free but I had to pay for the kids ($9-10 each), which is really cheap considering the time you will be spending in there.
This place is really cool...it's fun, hands on, and very educational. I even learned a few things while I was there. My son usually gets bored after being in the same place for hours, but he really enjoyed his time there and didn't want to leave when the place was closing.
We spent a total of 5 hours in the Discovery Center and that was not enough time to see everything. There were hunts for dinosaur fossils ($5 extra for the wand), rock climbing, make clouds, experience how hurricane winds feel, see a tornado in the making, watch an educational movie, and so much more. The Discover Center changes some of their exhibits periodically so there is always something different to see.
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Visited yesterday with some of our favorite people to check out Fan Yang's Bubblefest show. Can you believe they set up a separate tent just for this event? We LOVED it. He was much more entertaining than we anticipated - interacted with the audience and was pretty funny to boot.
In the main building, lots of exhibits kept us occupied. There was the "Science of Hockey" upstairs, which all the boys loved. Played a game of virtual volleyball. Took a photo on the Zamboni. Hoisted myself up with a series of pulleys.
Parking is $3. Admission is close to $20. If you can spend the whole afternoon there, I say make the most of it. Just bring comfortable shoes and an extra layer for the outdoor features (like Dino Quest). If you aren't a fan of Taco Bell, Main Place is a short drive away with their food court.
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DSC is sorta like wandering through Camp Snoopy at Knott's. It all looks really cool and fun, but you're about 15 years too old for it all. It's truly a sad reality, especially for those who are kids at heart.
I can see how kids would love the place. It's full of lots of hands-on exhibits with great explanation boards tacked just right by. There are also numerous employees on hand so that visitors can ask questions and get more info.
One summer, I brought a bunch of my summer students to this museum for the Dinosaurs exhibit. It was a really cool gimmick, really, how they send you on a fossil scavenger hunt. You walk around the outdoor exhibit, look for the requisite fossils (every group gets a different set to look for, so you could repeat this experience several times), and wave the "magic" wand at the pile of bones. You're supposed to collect them all. Cool concept right? Cool if your wand is working, that is. Mine refused to work properly, even after I exchanged it twice. Perhaps I'm just a Squib. No Hogwarts letter for me~
Anyways, the two floors offer many things that kids can look at and do. It's an educational experience for sure. But when you're two feet taller than the average visitor, you'll find that you don't have it in your heart to deny the kids a chance to get their hands on the display that you've been waiting 20 minutes for. Aside from those, I really wanted to go on the gravity lift, but I was afraid I'd break it with my weight. Then the kids behind me in line would be sad. I'd be the display-ruiner.
Oh, my bleeding heart. Take your kids, but don't expect to be able to wander around by yourself and have a great time unless you have no qualms about competing against little kids...
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This place is where the big cube is located off the freeway. I took my "children" here and they loved it. There are two floors of fun and discovery. It's a great place to let the kids run amok and scream their heads off. Just kidding. Ahem...anyway, you shouldn't miss getting on the bed of nails and playing virtual volleyball. The boys found the baseball exhibit where they measured the speed of their pitches and the hockey exhibit where they wore hockey gear and made goals. You can also do some wall climbing and watch a cyclone spin around. The staff and crew here are friendly and helpful. Your kids will thank you for taking them here. Even I had fun!
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I came here with a sister and nieces, we loved it. I will have to go back so I can take some cool pics. There is a pic here of the body shape which we had fun with. We read, went in the earthquake similator and the play areas. I would definately reccoment for people who have an afternoon with kids 4-14.
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Geebus. I broke my wallet in the name of finding out the mysteries of the big cube on highway 5.
The big cube is nothing special, it's all empty and stuff and doesn't contain some spectacular space exhibit like I originally thought it would.
Yes, I'm a college student, but that isn't to say I don't enjoy indulging in the occasional hands-on science exhibit. DSC is a major disappointment for me in this area. The exhibitions are in a disorganized mess and few and far between--the Discovery Science Center needs to take a big hint from places that actually charm and educate people of all ages, i.e. SJ's Children's Discovery Museum and The Tech Museum.
Save your money unless you've got a keen age 6 and under begging you to go. Actually, once said kid is past the 'dinosaurs are cool!' stage, nothing is impressive.
And their gift shop sucks. I always judge a museum by its gift shop.
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I came here with my lady friend, and wow. I won't lie, it's geared towards kids (I'm a college graduate), but there is alot to do! It's almost a workout of sorts with the amount of stuff going on. We managed to get in and out in about three-four hours. Overall, fun experience and great value. But some of the exhibits were closed which was kind of bumming, and it's actually pretty small (I think the cube may be bigger than the actual place...just a theory).
Free BofA weekends are back. Score! I saved like 13 bucks. So I had read from all the previous reviews that this museum is kinda geared more towards kids. But being a professional nerd myself, I thought it would be cool. Ok so it ended up being that only certain parts were cool. First I tried to get there as early as possible to avoid the little ones as much as possible. It's a very hands on museum with lots of activities your kids can play with. But I always wonder if they actually understand what they're doing is science. They are content playing with whatever activity it is. But there's a reason why that activity works and a science behind what they're doing. Anyways I really enjoyed the first floor - the fog tornado, the booth where you can experience the hurricane winds, and all the seismology (aka earthquake) stuff. The special exhibit is all about robots and the weekend I went, they even had real remote controlled robots you could play with. Also outside on the first floor is a dinosaur exhibit. For like an extra five bucks, your kids can go on this "mission." You can walk around it too but there's not that much to see/learn.
I didn't like the second floor as much. A large part of it is hockey. I'm not sure that all fits into a science museum. But in addition to all the Ducks memorabilia, there's computer simulated games where you can pretend to be a goalie, ice skate, or shoot at the goal. There's a bunch of other stuff too but nothing memorable. Parking is $3. The lot is quite big so you could end up walking pretty far if you go later in the day. All in all, I spent two and a half hours there and I got to see/do/learn everything I wanted.
I've been here a few times, I brought my little cousin twice and then I came here for our company's Christmas party. I think its a great place for kids. They exhibits are constantly changing, so it would be worth it if you lived nearby to get a membership, especially if you have kids. I would have to say the "science" part of it is lacking. But it is very interactive for kids, especially little boys because the giant dinosaur poop outside really caught his attention. And last time I was there, they had a "GROSSOLOGY" exhibit, with all things gross, including smells and of course poop...he loved it. The gift shop isn't too bad either, the toys in there are not overpriced. So that was a relief when he wanted a little plastic toy that only cost $0.75!
Definitely this place is an interesting little science center for orange county.
To understand what anything is here you have to be at least 10, bringing anyone younger is to have them run around like the whole place is a playground. I came here with a 6 year old that just finished first grade - she was bored because she was to big to play on everything and didn't care to read anything because she's too young and wasn't getting the 'science' of it all.
The dinosaur hunt was fun, but we kept getting a broken wand and never could finish our 'mission' because we flippin couldn't find everything - WTF??? It shouldn't have been that hard!
Did I mention it was way overpriced??
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We have a Science Center membership so got free reciprocal admission to Discovery Cube. The 'Science of Gingerbread' exhibit really caught my son's interest. It would have been nice if more scientific information had been included for older children. The science consisted of two activities: one of which involved microwaving a marshmallow to see if it expanded. There was a cool mist effect at the entry door and children ran back and forth in front of the entrance.
There are a number of interesting interactive activities in the general area. The tornado tube doesn't seem to work well at all: we have been in them before and this one didn't kick up wind or stop once the door was opened.
I felt cheated after renting wands for the dinosaur hunt as the receptors were weak. There were no staff members to assist with hints. We just cut that activity short and went back inside. We will definitely visit again once new exhibits are set up: the new ones lined up sound really interesting.
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Went there for the second time today. My three year old seemed to like the never-ending stimulation but my one year old seemed a bit intimidated. Definitely good for a once-a-year trip but I can't see buying an annual pass. Not until your kids are a little older, at least, and can really get a grasp of the "science" of it all.
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My 6-year old loves to come to the Discovery Cube. While it's true that the science is often lost on someone this young, she still likes to examine the cause/effect that is common with the science displays. After a couple of trips here last year, we ponied up for an annual membership, which we just recently renewed.
The dinosaur hunt can be frustrating as some of the items to find are well hidden. There's usually 2 or 3 staff members roaming about and if you ask them they will point you in the general direction. This is not recommended if your child (or you) is short on patience.
It's pretty easy to eat up 3 or 4 hours at this place between the two indoor levels and the outdoor dinosaur hunt.
We got ourselves a membership to this fun little place!
I especially like their nifty weather area where you can experience 80mph winds, play with a tornado, and form cloud rings. Outside in the Dino Quest exhibit, please enjoy interacting with the body systems of life-size T-rex Stan, including his continually active large intestine. Among the exhibits upstairs is the KidStation for the under-5-years-old set, complete with underwater green-screen set (see photo).
Currently, there's a Sesame Street exhibit called "The Body", which Ella is enjoying very much. Next month, BubbleFest starts, and their website promises "spinning bubbles, bouncing bubbles, bubbles within bubbles, smoking bubbles, square bubbles and more!"
Only three stars because where there are swarms of happy children, there are swarms of INFECTIOUS DISEASES!!! Ella picked up and shared with us a particularly virulent cold and cough, which is still making the rounds through the P and T families -- sorry, Auntie Holly and Uncle Vince.
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I visited the Discovery Science Center for the first time last week on a field trip with the summer camp I work at. I always pass by it when I'm on the 5 and think "oh hey, there's the giant pyramid museum that has a Taco Bell inside". This is a great place to take kids, but probably not the best place to take a big group (we had about 200 in our group). The staff didn't seem too pleased with our huge numbers.. but I don't really blame them. When we first got there, they took all of us into a room that looked like a mini movie theater and gave us a little science lesson about ecosystems. The kids (kindergarten through 5th) loved it and I think we all learned something. After that, we were free to roam.
There are 3 main areas, plus the outside pirate exhibit that is temporary. There's the downstairs that has random stuff including a mini climb wall, a nutrition area where kids can play "diner" and grocery store, an Elmo room about the human body (yeah.. ??), an earthquake room, a wind room (it actually looks like a telephone booth), and computers with cool stuff to play. Upstairs you'll find 2 toddler play areas and more random science stuff, including this swing thing where you pull yourself up to the ceiling.. yeah it's hard to explain.
Outside is the dinosaur area.. but there aren't any actual fossils, they're casts of fossils. You can walk around inside a brontosaurus's tummy and check out his bladder and kidneys (no joke!). There's a cave with a scary T-rex movie playing that had little kids crying. I laughed a little inside..
My favorite area was the pirate exhibit. I learned a lot about buried treasure and shipwrecks. Arrrr.. they also had a pirate giftshop outside which I think was a nice touch.
As for food, there's a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut Express (of course.. Taco Bell owns the DSC). It was pretty crowded and I heard it was taking quite awhile to get your food. It still smelled intoxicating though.
Lots of clean restrooms.. I counted 3 restroom locations. A giftshop that is REALLY overpriced ($3.00 for a candy necklace).
When you're all done, go check out the weird dried up river bed outside. There's a bike path that you take under Main St. that leads to a pretty non-scary park. The river bed looks realllllly old, I wonder what it is. There are cops on horseback patrolling around probably because it seems like a perfect place to creepy rapists to hide out, but if you're brave, go explore.
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I first went there in 6th grade, lots of fun. Plus a lot more things were working then too.
I went there on wednesday with my little sister, because we had nothing better to do plus she had never been there. I paid 3$ for parking and around 30$ for a child & adult's admission. I was kinda disappointed that a lot of the items at the place was worn down and broken. They were having the bubblefest, which was a bit fun.
My sister enjoyed it, being that it was her first time there but she too was disappointed that a lot of items were broken. We played and looked and everything that was there. I think it was a fun experience for a young child to learn about science.
*Recommends bringing Wet Wipes, cause kids will be dirty little kids
** We did not experience "Dino Quest" due to time**
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The SF bay area needs something like this. It's the Exploratorium but better, because they've got exhibits for the little ones and the big kids alike. The Exploratorium is mostly a grade school thing. It was a lot bigger than I expected...so much so that we completely missed the Pirate exhibit; the kids were exhausted after going through the main building. Or maybe it was me who was exhausted...
8.27.07: a friend informed me that the SJ Discover Museum is similar to DSC. So, that's definitely something I'll have to check out.
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its a cool place for kids to learn. We came here during the Sesame Street, Body Exhibit. it was cool - taught the kids how to shop healthy - for a minute..then upstairs it was Elmo's bday so they gave everyone there a free piece of cake. I didnt have a good time, well, because im an adult, but the kids Loved it. They have different Exhibits too, like Pirates, Lions, etc. You can get a season pass also...
From my experience, i only came here after seeing a segment on the morning news show, and i came here the third days it opened and it was PACKED! parking is so bad, the overflow parking is the parking for the MALL!
they have a cute gift shop, a place to eat, but otherwise - if your kids want something try going to the mall
I've been here twice with my 1-year old within the last month. I've only come on a weekday but can only imagine how busy they'd be on a weekend. Both times we got there around noon, and both times several field trip groups were leaving at the same time we arrived.
There's a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut on site so you can catch some decent lunch when you get hungry.
Most of the exhibits on the lower level are for older kids to interact with, but my toddler enjoyed some of them. The dinosaur exhibit outside was fun-there's a little play area with a slide and crawl-through tube for the little ones. There are more exhibits and hands-on things out there for the older kids.
Upstairs there are a lot more interactive kiosks for the older kids, but also a large area designated for the 4-5 and under set. They can play in the kid-sized store, music corner, ship, or little play yard. There's another area with a big yellow submarine for the toddlers to play in, complete with an interactive green screen and costumes so they can make-believe they're underwater. There are lots of blocks and big Legos to stack, and some touch-screen finger paint monitors on which they can create masterpieces. There are lots of young kid-friendly toys and activities to keep little ones busy for hours on end.
We had so much fun that we plan on purchasing the annual family pass so we can visit anytime.
Parking is $3 per car in the adjacent lot. $12.95 entry fee for adults. $9.95 for kids aged 3-17. Kids 2 years old and under are free.
it would seem common knowledge to anyone that sitting on a bed of nails is rather painful, right?
but then you enter the DSC, and there it is! a bed of nails and there is a big long line of people being encouraged to lay on it. all in the name of science.
excuse me but it's not science if it actually hurts. it's called S&M. however, i will say that even more hurtful than sitting on a bed of nails was the idea of paying to experience the science on display.
it's very much for the uninitiated. it's that basic.
great for kids but adults please do not visit expecting something akin to the california science center.
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My niece loved this place. It was just the right size for a toddler - not too big and not too small.
I think it would be better if they allowed adults to come in for free because we had three adults and one kid but I admit the prices are very reasonable.
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We went there last summer mainly because of Sesame Street exhibit. Unfortunately for us we missed the first morning show (taking photos with Sesame characters) because "laid back" Discovery stuff didn't remember to put the info sign that shows show times and the next one was at 3:00pm!!
Try to explain that to someone who is 2yrs old!
Otherwise center is just o.k. nothing special to be honest. I have seen better educational centers/museums. Dino exhibit is very cool for someone older than 5. Not bad for sunday family trip, although center needs some good fresh renovation.
Too overpriced.
ALL of the workers looked SUPER PISSED. And I mean every single fucking person was liberally distributing dirty looks.
Exploratorium or California Science Museum is a hundred times better.
All of the exhibits were sticky, worn down, and outdated.
And again... the workers looked extremely angry and unhappy.
I just got back from chaperoning a field trip for my preschool daughter. What I liked when we first got there was that there's a park accross the street where you can have your lunch. There is also a food court area inside the building that sells Taco Bell and I think Domino's. We came there mainly for the Clifford exhibit. The class was assigned a field trip coordinator. She had us sit in a theatre and did some science trivia/lesson with us. Thing I didn't like was how she tried to discourage us from going to the second floor where the submarine is. She said, "it's only for babies under the age of 5 that wear diapers". The teacher and some of the moms were a bit annoyed because she kept emphasizing how it's only for diaper-wearing-babies... Although she didn't mean it, it kind of made it sound like she was making fun of them. So we had to cut her off and told her about how we're are a preschool group and most of the kids in the class are under 5 years old and some do still wear diapers/training pants.
So after 15 minutes of taking up our time--which we were pressed for because we had to be back in LA by 2pm and it was already 11pm, she let the kids run a muck for about an hour on the first floor. She restricted the Clifford exhibit for awhile until she called all of us back together and finally brought us upstairs. We played another 30 minutes in the exhibit. It was pretty cool. Birdwell Island was recreated--just one huge play area. But they brought Clifford out privately for us which was really cute. Afterwards the coordinating host wanted the kids to do a scavenger hunt outside were the dinosaur exhibit is. The teacher and moms were already irritated our kids hasn't had a chance to experience and have fun in the place--some of us tried to dodge her but to no avail, she found each and everyone of us. But she was persistant made sure we partake in this scavenger hunt. The kids didn't even appreciate it--flew right over their heads.
Aside from being responsible for 4 preschool kids in my group, (one of them nearly gave me a heart attack when I lost her for 5 minutes) I didn't really have fun because someone kept telling me how to have fun. I don't think the kids got to really experience the place the way they would've liked to either.
I didn't see much "science" exhibits either. I didn't know a sandbox with water, Clifford the Big Red Dog and wall climbing was considered science. It was kind of like a much better Chuck E Cheese.
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I went here on Saturday with my teenage daughter, and we had a pretty good time. It's a small museum, and there aren't really enough staff to make sure that some of the children get out of hand, which can be annoying. It seemed like there were either too many very young children or too many older (like, late teens/early 20s) kids kind of monopolizing some of the exhibits, so that was a little frustrating. I think the best part of the day was the "4D Dinosaurs of Patagonia" film that we had to purchase a separate admission to. It only cost $3.00/person, so it didn't break the bank or anything. I learned a lot (I hate it when that happens) about some new dinosaur species. When I asked my daughter what she had learned from going to the museum that day, the only things that she could come up with were facts from the movie, which goes to show that some kids have to have science spoon-fed to them through media channels in order to be effective. Don't go here with your children expecting them to learn much. The explanations that are given for certain phenomena are soooo lengthy that little ones won't want to spend the time thinking about it. So, it is mostly for entertainment rather than education. The Pizza Hut inside the museum is fun and handy, and the gift shop had a lot of interesting stuff (although I cannot understand why anyone would want to buy candy made of crickets or ants).
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I took my kids here, they are 14 and 16. We drive by alll the time and they see the dinosaur and they wanted to see it up close. I asked at the ticket booth, See my kids, see how old they are ? is this place too young for them, they said 'no'. They were wrong. This is a fabulous place for much much younger children, maybe 3 to 11 yrs old. Its very hands on, has a lot of activities, the dinosaur exhibit is very interesting. I liked it, my kids thought it was ok, BUT its for the younger crowd. I took them down the street to the Bower Museum ( who is in a little bit of hot water at the moment ) to see the mummies, and they liked that much more.
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The Taco Bell Discovery Science Center is lame. It's a giant Chuck-E-Cheese that pretends to be educational. They have some nerve having the word "Science" in the title. You should only consider visiting this place if your kids are too young to have discriminating tastes.
We visited the Discover Science Center during BofA's promotion 'Museums on Us' when bank customers and a guest were admitted free to select museums. The Husband, myself, our 2 boys (2 yo and 8 mo), my mom, and a friend and her 2 yo girl were able to visit for free just because the Husband and I were both customers! (My mom and our friend was our guests, and our kids were free). Regular admission for adults is $12.95, kids ages 3-17 is $9.95, and kids two and under are free. Memberships also available, only wish we lived a little closer. Open daily from 10am-6pm. This place is totally interactive and really fun for all ages, and I think adults can really learn a thing or two here.
We spent most of our time at the Sesame Street exhibit (open through 9/9/07), called the Body teaching kids about how their bodies work. This impressive exhibit took one entire side of the first floor of the museum and our 2 yo's really enjoyed it. They visited Hooper's Store, where they were able to push little shopping carts and baskets around to pick up and scan grocery items, and sat at the counter building sandwiches and organizing food groups (teaching nutrition). They literally stepped into Elmo's World learning about how to dress in different types of weather, and how to tie their shoes. They learned about different organs of the body on Count Dracula's musical organ. Other exhibits taught hygiene, exercise, digestive tracts, and more! They even hung out on Sesame Street, a facade of the actual street. Our kids also played on the Sesame Street obstacle course on the second floor. It was a lot of fun and I'll post pics when I get a chance.
We also spent a little time at the outdoor exhibit, Dino Quest...it was good to see this exhibit and get a breath of fresh air, since the museum was really crowded (mostly kids on field trips, I think.). The Pirates exhibit (also open through 9/9) just opened when we were there, but we did not get to visit it....we figured it probably wasn't age appropriate for our 2 yo's. One thing I would really like to try next time we go (and we will) is the earthquake simulator...I'm not sure if you can pick the measure of the Richter scale, but there were kids on it every time we walked by. There are actually many things that we didn't even get to see...again, I think it would be fun for people of all ages.
Oh, and there is a Taco Bell /Pizza Hut on the first floor when tummies are growling. (I think Taco Bell is a major corporate sponsor.)
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