Karen S.
Yelp
I chaperoned a field trip here with a group of first graders. The kids had an absolute blast. We spent just under 3 hours and it was plenty of time, even with a sack lunch break.
The museum is definitely geared towards elementary and middle schoolers. There are tons of interactive exhibits. The kids dashed from exhibit to exhibit and room to room, eager to try everything.
The kids loved the ocean sand table, stomach model slide that farted, nose that sneezed, storm simulator, wheelchair races, bubble tables and musical instrument areas. How much science they actually learned is debatable, but they sure had fun.
It is a bit confusing to navigate the 4 floors even with the map you pick up at the front desk. After a while, I got the hang of it since the building is not very big. Belatedly I learned there was an elevator after dragging my big backpack full of kids' lunches and water bottles up a huge flight of stairs to level 4 (got my steps in though!). There is a guest elevator on each floor. Don't be confused by the staff elevator, which did not operate for us!
One criticism I have is the lack of staff members. It took some time to find someone to ask about the elevator. I also had to search for someone to open the machine that swirls your pocket change when my library card fell into it! In the gift shop, a single sales clerk was overwhelmed by too many in line at once. Two staff members were parked in front of the Guinness world records exhibit, not to help guests but to collect the extra fee. At $8.50 extra each we did not go!
Happily, the museum was not overcrowded, even with field trips happening. I saw only our school (3 classes of 1st graders) and 2 other schools at the same time. If an area got crowded, if you waited a few minutes they would clear and the kids could interact with the exhibits.
In conclusion, if you have elementary or middle school age kids, definitely go here. High school and above - skip it.