Museum at Prairiefire

This is a wonderful little museum in Overland Park. The facade is stunning; pictures don’t do the colorful glass justice. When you enter, there is a T-rex and other fossils. Upstairs is the children’s Discovery Room with various interactive stations. Each station was a different science theme which included Anthropology, Vertebrate/Invertebrate Zoology, Geology, Paleontology, Astronomy, etc. The Astronomy room was underwhelming. I don’t know if they’re working on it or not, but the only cool part was getting to smell a moon rock. In the Geology section, there was a big cabinet full of rocks/minerals/glass that should glow under black light, but the lightbulbs were missing so the display was off. My favorite area were the Zoology areas. They have a lot of live stick bugs (I don’t recall the correct terminology) and hissing cockroaches. There are poison dart frogs, a pair of degu, a chinchilla, a corn snake, a tarantula, and so many other cute critters and insects. My kids loved the Dino Dig and the Cabinets of Curiosity. I wish there was more variety in the cabinet drawers. A lot of the items were really similar. I believe the museum also had a VR room and a baseball room downstairs, but we didn’t notice them until we were leaving. You can also explore outdoors, but it was way too hot to be out on the day that we were there so I can’t speak to that. There is free parking in a parking garage across the street from the museum entrance. This was a POGO Pass admission for us, but it is otherwise five bucks per person.

I had never been too kansas before, and the staff were so welcoming and the "Digging for you're own fossil" (which then you make a dinosaur out of) was so much fun.. at 25 years old x). The upstairs critter area was my favorite! And the space stuff was so cool too see! Overall I love the staff and the vibe there 10/10 recommend. I found it too not be overstimulating for those affected <3 one love

This is a such groovy drive-by attraction, perfect if you're in the area with some time to kill but can't get out of the car. The vibrant colors will instantly brighten your day... even on the gloomiest one! Be mindful of the parking lot - it’s not meant for parking directly in front. There are also trails on the backside, ideal for a leisurely walk with your pup! Love this spot, next time I'm going inside.

What an INCREDIBLE venue for a wedding! I recently had the pleasure of photographing a beautiful wedding reception at Prairiefire and from a wedding photographer’s perspective, you couldn’t ask for much more. The incredible colored glass, every direction inside is photo-worthy including even the ceiling, there’s ample room for lots of guests/tables with room to move between them, and did I mention dinosaurs? This reception had a large live band and there was still plenty of space for 170 guests, a dance floor, and tables. The courtyard behind the museum is such a beautiful spot for cocktail tables. Around the museum trail outside there is plenty of variety for couple’s photos at sunset. I can’t wait to be back at the Museum at Prairiefire for another wedding.

This place is great, especially for the $5 cost. Our three year old loved The Discovery Room. My 9 and 7 year old boys were definitely entertained, but the 3 year old had the best time. There are multiple bugs including hissing cockroaches. Someone was so kind and opened the cage and let my kids pet them. The staff went out of their way to be kind and helpful. Excited to visit again soon.

Beautiful architecture but not much inside. There is one room for kids with fossil related activities and aquariums with insects and small animals to look at. According to my kids it was boring. They spent the most time with an interactive program that lets you build your own dinosaur and name it. If you're in the area, it's worth a visit but wouldn't go out of the way.

The beautiful facade of the building is exactly that, a facade. The three (being generous) exhibits felt disjointed at best. For such a large building there was almost nothing to see. One moment you are looking at dinosaurs fossils, the next a space diaper with no through line. Calling it a “natural history museum” insults museums who are equal to the name. Even as a children’s museum it lacks compelling exhibits. It’s hard to say it was worth the $5.00 ticket.

Such a calm kids museum which I greatly appreciate. They have rules like no running but it is still a fun atmosphere! There is a free parking garage in front of the museum that you will need to turn to get to. It has a clear elevator so my kids liked taking it to the top on a not busy day to overlook the area. My kids were 2 and 9 months and my 2 year old loved it my baby just wanted to eat everything… it is a blue star museum so for active military it is free for the summer.

A neat museum to check out with the family. All the kiddos will definitely have fun in the discovery zone. There is a lot to see from dinosaurs to Astronauts wardrobes in a unique building.

Positives: Beautiful building, nice staff, not too busy, generally clean, affordable, some fun things in the Discovery Area for kids. Negative: I would say that the main floor really needs to add some more displays or exhibition pieces. I feel like there's a lot of space that could be better utilized. My grandkids weren't that excited about the main floor. The discovery room area primarily for children has some neat displays, but could have a little bit more interactive play areas instead of just viewing displays.

This clocks in around three stars on Yelp, and that feels about right. I have to temper my expectations and instead think of it as a fun spot to pop into when the weather is lousy. I used to work with a group in Overland Park, and we got to tour this place with local politicians before it was open. The way they talked about it, you'd think NYC had uprooted the American Museum of Natural History and plopped it on 135th Street. Instead, it's a fine, aesthetically pleasing building with a fun discovery room for kids, and that's about the extent of it. The good thing is that tour taught me both manage expectations and to never trust politicians. As winter break crawled along, we did what so many parents out here do: swing by Scheel's for some ferris wheel rides and shopping, then popped into Prairiefire. It's only $5 per person which is very fair, and they have a replica T-Rex, some green screen action downstairs, and not much more. There is a discovery room upstairs with: -A furnace that really works. It was probably 80 degrees in there. Bring your swimsuits! -Dino bones covered in sand for discovery -Scorpions, tarantulas, hissing cockroaches, stick bugs, and other creepy cool little characters My kids were pretty into it. I'd say you're going to get about 30 minutes out of it, more if they're feeling super curious, less if they're super cranky. Not a spot I'd seek out, but I do appreciate having it around even if the expectations for it weren't met. There's also lots around here like a movie theater, toy store, restaurants, etc. Of all the pop up developments, Prairiefire has a little something to it and I enjoy the rare visits out this way.

It's sad that a building so beautiful doesn't have as much to offer on the inside. It's a nice place to kill a few minutes before a movie, but there really isn't enough entertainment for anything more than that.

While visiting Kansas City I knew that I had to visit this museum, and get a picture of my family in front of it. The museum is beautiful and so colorful. I can definitely see this being a location where you take some really pretty professional photos. We went inside to check out the towering T- Rex and some other dinosaur things. My daughter was a big fan of the interactive virtual dinosaur. The first floor of the museum is free, so that is a bonus. I took off one star because the bathrooms were in pretty bad shape, with most of the toilets being clogged. I do think it's worth checking it out.

If you are looking for a free museum in Overland Park definitely check out Prairiefire. There are some cool walking trails around the building and on a nice day it can be very relaxing to bring your dog for a beautiful stroll. They offer a virtual experience with oculus headsets. There are currently two movies to view and I recommend both! It's a small museum centered toward children, I enjoyed the fossils on the first floor. The second floor was mostly geared towards children but the live amphibians were cool.

I've brought my granddaughter here several times over the past year. She loves it every time we go; particularly the Discovery room which is perfect for her age (now 3), younger, or up to grade school age. There's a lot to do, see, touch, and experience. Plus the entry fee is $5 which you can't beat. Additionally, if you have EBT you can get free admission with their participation in the Museums for All program. Definitely a fun place to take little ones in inclement weather!

Beautiful building The building is by far the best part. It is beautiful with the different color glass. Inside they have some areas to look at. What they call the great hall is free and has some dinosaur themed exhibits and a few astronaut and space themed items. Other areas cost to get in and were closed when we went there. Worth a stop if in the area but overall we were confused about what the building is meant for. It's in a shopping center with restaurants and apartments and we figured they wanted to add some arts to the area.

This is a small museum however has some very fun interactive activities for kids. My kids love to create their own dinosaur and watch it on the screen and playing in the discovery room. We were a bit disappointed that the sprint gallery and the VR exhibit were closed. I wish they had they ability to open them during the week. If you are looking to spend 2hrs of your day in an inexpensive way this is definitely a great place to go to. I will say it is also a great photo op area. The colorful glass is absolutely stunning. The trail is fun to walk on especially around May - early June. (Some Pictures were taken shortly after Covid, masks are no longer required, on our visit today we didn't take many pictures)

The museum at prairie fire is less a museum I would say and more a place where a dinosaur stands. They have a t-rex. They also have interactive systems that teach about certain paleontology and dinosaur types with an interactive camera system, you know what, just check it out. Upstairs they have a children's center, I think called the Discovery center, which is essentially a fully interactive room filled with 30 or so interactive stations. You can dust off dinosaur bones, you can pick up and look at all kinds of different types of Flora and fauna from modern times to Paleolithic times. They have a really intriguing full display of human skeletal bones juxtaposed with two other human genus creatures. The smallest one, I believe Lucy was one of these, is unbelievable how small they are compared to modern humans. They have a bunch of living creatures in there, but the rooms not very large. I believe you also do have to pay a fee to get in, but I don't think it's that much. It's really a beautiful center to go and check out a few things about dinosaurs, though if I'm being honest it's not too populated with enough that I would call it a museum. I would call it a very nice Hall that shows documentary movies which also has dinosaur bones and fossils that you can look at. I also particularly like this tiny room upstairs that houses actual meteorite and solar array. They also have oddly, space suits, but hey, the more the merrier am I right?

Others have mentioned the museum, or lack thereof. I'm here to comment on the kid's area. The kid's section is located on the top level and costs only a few dollars per kid to get inside. Digging for dinosaur bones is the main attraction and there are all sorts of bugs and bones and books and critters and fun things to explore. With that being said, the activities hold my 3 year olds attention for a bit, but bore my 2 year old, so we don't last long. The employees have never been friendly either. Fun for an occasional quick visit.

Amazing museum...highly recommend. We brought our 5 grandsons ages 10-15 and spent 90-120 minutes. We adults enjoyed it as much! Also this is a great location for food, shopping etc.

Go check this place out! I loved it! I recently went to the museum and enjoyed all the neat exhibits. I enjoyed it as an adult but paying for the interactive experience room upstairs would be much better for children! It was geared for kids with lots of activities and animals to see. Due to covid multiple exhibits weren't open, hopefully I can go back and see them! I loved learning about the history in the Kansas area and thought the interactive displays were really creative!

I took my parents, niece, and nephew here for an outing and it was an absolute blast. The kids loved going to the different rooms, getting to explore and dig their own fossils, and we played so many games of I Spy while there. The staff was helpful and attentive, and they really helped keep the place clean and sanitized. What was so nice was that adults could get into the exhibits with the kids, which made the whole experience a fun-filled, family event. One of the kids favorite things was building their own virtual animal, dinosaur, etc. They had an absolute blast learning about the creatures, while also getting to build their own and name them. Totally worth the trip!

Do you love feeling underwhelmed? Do you like nearly empty museums? This is your place then. The exterior is stunning. I'm not exactly sure what they're calling a museum here.

Sorry. I'm in the not worth your money camp too... The best parts of the museum for an adult are in the lobby and the exterior of the building. The discovery room upstairs is pretty cool for the kids.

Well the people in charge have obviously read their reviews and changed things, which is so wonderful to know that they're paying attention. Reading some of the reviews from a year or so ago, I don't even recognize what they're describing- this place is totally different now and has changed for the better. Parking is super easy and super close. The covered garage just east of the museum is free, and there's a valet available too, right by the movie theater and shopping areas, which is a very short walk to the museum. We were greeted warmly immediately upon entering the museum by the nicest, most informative woman. She said we could tour the 'Great Hall' for free, and told us about the other places in the museum that have charges. With only a couple hours to spare, we chose to just tour the Great Hall, and it was so fun!! I still can't believe we got all this for free- such an amazing deal. My 12 year old's favorite part was the interactive 'build your own dinosaur' exhibit. You get to choose all the aspects of your dinosaur, all while answering questions (learning disguised as fun! Woohoo!) about habitat, diet, etc. Then you name your dinosaur and watch it appear on the big screen, looking like it's walking among the museum patrons. It's super cool- adults & kids of all ages were enjoying it. There are also several skeleton artifacts, a small display of Quartz, a café, a gift shop, a beautiful photographic display of wild horses, and a whole section about Tyrannosaurus Rex. There's a lot of reading which I know annoys some people at museums, but I found all the plaques of information totally fascinating. Plus the actual museum itself is so incredibly beautiful, with lots of stained glass windows. It provides many excellent photo taking opportunities. If my kids were really young, I probably wouldn't recommend this place, but for older kids (and adults!) I really think it's worth a visit. And actually, when kids are little sometimes it's just nice to get out of the heat and let them roam in a new environment- so it's good for that too. Because it's FREE!!

We had just enough time to explore the Great Hall - the kids had a blast playing around with the dinosaur creator on the lobby screen the most. We plan to return to see an exhibit in the near future when we have more time. Our friend went to the Brain exhibit and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The building itself is beautiful! I'd go to walk around the shopping area near it and admire the building from the outside. I most likely won't be returning until I have children! If you do have children it's a great spot to take them for an hour or so! They have a 'discovery' room and interactive aspects for kids. As a teacher I appreciate the info in the museum, it's perfect for 1st-5th grade age.

I'll echo others and note that this is a fairly small and limited exhibit space for the price, so I can't wholeheartedly recommend the "Museum" aspect as a great deal. Our kids are finally old enough and mobile enough that museums are a good family trip, so we swung out this way, something we'd been meaning to do for a couple of years. Upon arriving and examining the lay of the land, we made what I think was a good choice, and let the kids play outside in the area adjacent the prairie and wetlands area, and did the free lobby exhibits. We arrived late in the day, and for the price, the Discovery area seemed like not a good buy. We will probably return and do it and make a decision then, but I'm leaning toward a membership not being worthwhile for us. It just seems too small to warrant regular repeat visits, and we already go to hands-on things regularly at Science City. The freebie design-a-dinosaur and T-Rex fossil casting were both big hits with my dino-loving 3-year old, but he and the one-year old both loved playing outside in the shadow of the beautiful glass walls just as much. We have family memberships to Union Station/Science City and the zoo, and we love the much more extensive Natural History Museum at KU. It just didn't seem like a membership here would be a great value for us. Gorgeous building, though, and we'll return to play outside.

Ok listen, this place is small. But their discovery hands on area is amazing. I have young kids and we could have spent all day here. I don't think this would be the best place for older children since it doesn't have a lot and it does feel more geared towards young kids. BUT if you have young kids, go here! My daughter is 3 and still asks everyday to go back to the dinosaur place. Free for active duty military and kids under 3. Love this place for my family.

The building looks awesome and beautiful but inside is small and not really much to do. My kids like to go there to create their dinosaurs and sometimes go up stair for the discovery room but not really much to do for the price you pay. My kids can spend maybe up to 30mins or so. It's great for a quick stop if the price is more reasonable.

The Museum at PrairieFire is something I have wanted to see ever since I moved to the Kansas City area. I was really impressed from the outside. The colored glass pieces literally make the building look like it is on fire and the light streams down to the roadways like a beacon, letting you know you have arrived. There are three sections to the museum... the Great Hall, the Discovery Room and a rotating exhibit. And, of course, after you finish exploring the museum, there is also a cafe and souvenir shop. The Great Hall is free to explore and includes several fossils, including a T-Rex. There are also a few activities that the kids seemed to love, such as building their own dinosaur and watching the dinosaurs walk around on screen in the lobby. The only problem is that it is very small... You can probably see everything within 15 minutes, maybe an hour with kids. The Discovery Room and rotating exhibits are separately ticketed. For an adult, the cost of the Discovery Room is $8 and the cost of the special exhibit is $14. The Discovery Room is targeted toward younger children. The current special exhibit is horses on loan from the New York Museum of Natural History. I didn't choose to purchase tickets to either exhibit. I appreciate what the Museum at Prairiefire is bringing to the community, but I wish it was bigger. For a city the size of Kansas City, I'm surprised we don't have a much larger dedicated museum of natural history and the sciences, but maybe I'll run into something in my future explorations. In the interim, I'd definitely take people here if I was in the area, but I wouldn't make a special trip in the future.

First time ever noticing this area in KCK. There is a lot of parking spots right in front of the museum in a covered garage which is no additional charge. Besides the museum there are other restaurants and shops including cinetopia located in walking distance for a nice summer day. I was greeted upon entering the museum with information about the other places in the museum that have charges. Being the first time I was checking out the museum I decided to just lounge around and enjoy my own personal free tour. Although I am way over my teenage years I was so fascinated by the interactive "build your own dinosaur" exhibit which allows you to pick all features of your dinosaur while learning about their diet and habitat. As if that wasn't cool enough, in the main entrance they display your creation in the big screen which has a camera so you appear on the screen too!! It would have been extra cool if they had an option to take a picture and obtain it through their website or on their fb page. I definitely think the place has a lot of potential, having more exhibits than the dinosaur and brain would attract more people! Overall very impressed with this area of Kansas City, Kansas. Somewhat of a gem hidden away!!

Free parking! Focus on the North American landmass and the sea which receded out of the Midwest 50 million years ago.

Last friday, I headed there with my mom, three-year-old son, and seven-month-old daughter. We headed in an my mom took my son over to look at the T-Rex while I figured out who I should talk to about being a member and what I needed to do. Someone arrived immediately to ask me how many were in my party then I was free to wander about. We headed into the Discovery Room first. My son had fun exploring all of the different areas. They had a sand pit with shovels to dig fossils, microscopes to view everyday objects, rocks in little drawers, a totem pole, masks to try on, a few live reptiles and insects, an astronomy room and a large tree complete with taxidermied animals and birds, plus much, much more. For the amount of people in there though, they needed more staff/volunteers. We spent an hour in there and could have easily been in there another hour. I also am curious as to how they are going to keep everything in order and intact when it really gets busy! One girl was trying really hard to engage my son and helped him try on a few masks and connect dots of constellations. After that, we headed into the water exhibit. It was beautifully done, but we were in and out in about 15 minutes. I'm looking forward to the Mythic Creatures exhibit that is coming this summer! Then we headed over to the dinosaur screen. A museum visitor had to tell us to go to the area behind the screen where we could create our own dinosaur. This was probably my son's favorite part of the entire experience. Even better, he could see his creation on the big screen when he was finished. My review is 4-stars because we have a comped membership (won it at an event I attended). If I had to pay, I would NOT be as happy with my experience. There was absolutely no one stopping people just from walking in and visiting the museum without paying (or from just paying the $5 and visiting the other attractions). Maybe it was just the day/time we went, but we saw some people who stopped in and looked around (without paying - I know because I heard one of them mention that they were confused about what they would have to pay to see at the museum) then headed into the nearby restaurant to eat. The gift shop was also pretty boring and I couldn't tell whether the cafe is open. They really need to figure out (and maybe they have by now) a better system for admission (one price to see everything would help!!) and to make it enticing for visitors to return. They also need to hire more staff or volunteers to be available to answer questions and monitor the discovery room!

We visited today with the kids to check out the mythic creatures exhibit. With mermaids, unicorns, AND dragons all featured, I thought the exhibit would be interesting to both my 8yo daughter and my 6yo son. However, the exhibit is really geared toward adults and perhaps teens. It is mostly artifacts and a lot of reading with only 3-4 interactive components. I found the exhibit interesting, but the rest of my fam was bored. The kids were much more interested in the build your own dinosaur/dragon exhibit in the lobby. There's also a large plaster t-rex on display and a couple of large fossilized skeletons. That's all you get to see with the "free admission". After having paid for the Mythic Creatures exhibit, we didn't pay the additional fee for the Discovery Room. The building itself is beautiful, and it would be a neat place to go for an adult outing, but the Mythic Creatures exhibit is not worth the cost for kids.

I thought it was great. My 5 year old son absolutely loved it. If you don't want to be interactive, you won't like it. I believe there's no fee to see the basic lobby part of the museum. You will pay for the Discovery Center (well worth it) and the water exhibit. I'm told there are a lot more exhibits coming. We stayed several hours because my son was completely entertained and interacting with everything. I went with 2 other adults who also had a great time.

We saw The Worlds Largest Dinosaur exhibit. Although the building is cool and the exhibit is tiny. Staff is rude. I would like to ask for my money back. When we asked before purchasing how long it would take to see, the salesperson quoted 1 hr. We were done in around 20 min. We went back over it one more time and still were under 40 min. This was an expensive exhibit. $60 for our family of 4 for about 20 min of content we could have learned at the library. The dig (sand box) at the end was a hit with our 4 year old and that is a good thing! Helped us take some extra time inside. We would hesitate to come back to another exhibit at the same price. We will head to Nelson Atkins or another actual Museum. This place is not worth the cost of admission. The best part about the place, is the free section in the Great Hall. Don't waste any money paying for exhibits.

We went there on the trip to Kansas City. To our surprise this museum is along side the residential apartment of prairiefire properties and some other open mall strip probably owned by them. The exterior of buildings is the catch that hooks you up to visit the place, and the free exhibits outside are probably the awesome thing. But there are two paid attractions like dolphin swimming (virtual reality) and dinosaur room all dedicated to one herbivorous Dino. The fact and knowledge are awesome but highly priced and staff is kindda rude. So if going to visit be prepared mostly people get lured by exterior. The food joints nearby are quite pricey so advise to drive 2-3 miles and you will find a strip mall with much better food choices and prices. Check "THE MIXX" few miles from there. All in all not impressed, good for kids.

WOW! What a gorgeous building! It's worth the trip just to see the architecture and outside of the museum! The museum hosts a variety of changing themes and displays. DINOSAURS was the theme when we were there with some great displays and exhibits. A special exhibit was "Virtual Reality STONEHENGE" which was amazing! As well as a 'virtual reality' outerspace & astronaut experience! A small museum and geared towards a younger crowd, but still FUN! *Right next door to a unique outdoor shopping mall with some great shops!

NOPE! Pretty on the outside, empty on the inside, this museum seems to me to be nothing more than a cynical ploy to snatch money out of the hands of curious tourists. Now, it may be different for those of you with young kids (and I anticipate we'll be seeing those reviews soon), but unless that's the case I would be willing to offer that there is little worth a visit, especially considering the prices. Children and adults alike, every guest is expected to pay a $5 general admission, and are encouraged to then spend additional money on either the exhibtion (currently on water) and/or the discovery room, which seems to be some sort of kid's hands-on learning center. The highest price is $20 and gets you all three, which on the surface isn't terrible until you realize that there's nothing there. Let's start with the main museum, which they have opted to name the "Great Hall". Well, it has a lot of pretty stained glass windows. It has a dinosaur skeleton made of plaster. It has a TV screen that shows animated dinosaurs walking through the room. There are a few fossils that are the real deal, but I suspect those are the museum's only "artifacts" And that's it. The fact that they have the nerve to charge $5 to see this is ridiculous, and as I type this I am drinking a $5 iced coffee. I am not frugal, just adverse to getting screwed. The special exhibition? Well, it certainly didn't seem too special. This place is pretty dang new, and already the area was dirty, some of the exhibits were in disrepair, and the general consensus was that it was quite boring. Again, everything seemed cheap and was inauthentic. For example, they had a couple of fish tanks, filled with what looked to be the worst Dollar Store aquarium plants you could find. Just cheap and sad. I don't expect every place I visit to be the American Museum of Natural History... but when your exhibits are allegedly from the American Museum of Natural History, I'd prefer they weren't made of plastic. I'm (generously) leaving this as a two star review because I don't have kids and maybe the Discovery Room is the best place ever and well worth the admission price. And yes, the windows are pretty. But literally everything else? Awful. Avoid at all costs.

Unfortunately, I purchased a family "founders" membership ($100+ bucks) based on the temporary dinosaur exhibit that was open while the museum was under construction. THAT TEMPORARY STOREFRONT EXHIBIT WAS BETTER THAN THE ACTUAL MUSEUM. I expected a whole lot more. Like others said, there is NOTHING there. This is not a true museum. There's one exhibit hall, the hands on kids' room (which is VERY small and does not warrant repeat visits), and the great hall which has a few interactive things. My kids enjoy the discovery room, but it is so small that the kids are required to enter in limited group sizes and for limited amounts of time. There are also animals in tanks in the discovery room that are NOT LABELED. We're left to guess or hunt down a curator to learn what the animals are. I feel duped because I purchased the membership sight unseen based on all the hype and the excellent temporary exhibit that is now a thing of the past. Bait and switch---DO NOT BUY.

We stumbled upon this hidden gem over Christmas break and our kids (age 9-12) had a blast! The kids took lots of pictures, loved learning from the info plaques about the fossils and artifacts, enjoyed some outer space VR, and explored the well-maintained discovery room upstairs. However, I could barely pull them away from the dinosaur creator that guided them through designing and naming (while learning about) their version of a life-sized dino which then virtually stomped through the lobby. The staff is so very friendly and helpful and the admission price is ridiculously low ($10 adults, $5 kids) so that more people can enjoy the museum (I might suggest you consider contributing an additional donation if you can to keep this place thriving!) The location is perfectly located next to restaurants, Fat Brain Toys, a cool cinema, and a modern bowling alley so we just made a nice family day of it!

The building is gorgeous outside. Next to nothing here is free, though. I'm not sure how they're calling it a museum. The main exhibit was closed, and the discovery room only runs once an hour. Feels more like another overpriced story like what it's surrounded by than an educational institution of any sort. I rarely give one star reviews. Massively disappointing my daughter is a quick way to earn one. Skip this place.

Don't let the awesome architecture fool you into thinking this is a fun place to go. We wasted $37 for me and my son. The "discovery room" could have been okay if they executed it properly-but it was not. There is no place to sit except for massively uncomfortable "kid chairs" or on a counter-top. One bench in the whole room. There was a fairly cool interactive planetary display but no one to show you how to use it. So that was a waste. With no staff available we had to stamp our own hands so we could get back in (in case someone showed up to work that day or something). The museum display was okay but with no one available to answer questions we were left to guess. Not a stellar position for a museum to place their guests. They had a nice little cafe area but no one was working the counter so I couldn't buy anything. When I mentioned to the ticketing staff that I felt the Discovery Room was a waste of money and why, they did give us two tickets to return for free. I guess that's something, but I always wonder why places do that--I mean, I don't ever want to go back here again. I don't want a free ticket, I want a refund. My son had more fun in the curio shop than anything else. Overall very boring and not worth ten dollars much less the thirty-seven they charged. Go here and expect to be disappointed.

They didn't charge us $5 admission to walk around the great hall. We paid $12 each to tour the water exhibit, which took about an hour to get through. Even though we didn't have any kids with us we checked out the discovery room (for free, they let us wonder through there just to look since we werent kids). Overall I loved it and will definitely come back for the next exhibit: mystical creatures, coming in the fall.

This place just has a bunch of pictures and words on the walls to look at. You pay to go into a fancy building to look at what is the equivalent of a junior high school research project. The "virtual reality experience" is just a Samsung Gear VR with the worst picture quality I've seen since black and white tv days. So disappointed in the whole place!Really wish I could have my money and my time back. I will say at least one nice thing though, the building is pretty cool looking.

My sons are 7&8, and while they enjoyed looking at the dinosaur, they stated there "sure wasn't much to see". I definitely hope to see a wider array at some point. Although, building is very pretty and kept very tidy.

Ok so where do you start with this place. If it is one room with 10 "do not touch" exhibits. Please warn people about to waste $60 for a family of four, that it is a tiny, tiny, tiny exhibit. The exhibits are very cool. However, it is one room, literally one room. That is worth a donation of $2 maybe and that should be a suggested donation. The best part of this place is in the foyer, and it's free. Once you've slowly strolled through this one room...5 minutes later you're done. So we spent 20 minutes uncovering "fossils" in a sand pit. Now kids are playing with the sand, because it's sand. Suddenly a tour guide (a one room tour guide?) comes in and asks us not to touch the one thing in the place kids can touch, the sand? Are you kidding me? No one was throwing sand, or misusing the exhibit, just moving the sand around to uncover the fossils enough to use the tiny little brushes, apparently that's to much to ask. Not only are they untruthful about how long the museum takes (a hour was quoted) but they are rude about rules that are not posted anywhere. Don't waste your time, don't waste your money.

Loved this for our 3 year old son. The Discovery room upstairs is so great and the volunteers were really engaging! There r tons of drawers and employ they can do in this room plus lots of learning about animals, astrology, geology and more! I was really impressed but it is not a big place.

While here visiting the WonderGrandbabies, we came to visit this newly-minted museum. It's just getting going, only open for a few months. First, the building is beautiful from the outside. Lots of tall, swooping surfaces that reflect and shimmer in the sun. Inside is airy and easily housed the huge gaggle of kids in for a field trip. There's a wonderful video screen that shows people gathering to enter the exhibit, but deftly inserts dragons, a t-rex and other creatures into the crowd. The kids loved this. There's a cast of a t-rex and a couple of water-based creatures from the inland sea on display. Also a history of paleontology in the area from the 1900's. There is a current exhibit on water that discusses use, conservation and wildlife. The individual displays are simple to interpret and have a lot of hands-on material for the junior museum visitors. The real awesomness is upstairs, in the discovery area. Fossils, casts to assemble, small digs, minerals, all hands-on. Madagascar hissing cockroaches to hold (ewww!) All the kids were digging into everything, exploring and making a huge racket. Just exactly what you would want to see as a parent looking to let a child get into science. We will be here regularly, for sure. We ended up buying an annual family pass for $125. By the time we added up admission for 4 adults and a child, it made sense. This is a great place to let the kids get hands-on with science at an early age. I'll pass on petting the cockroach next time, though.

Took my 4 (almost 5 year old) and my 9 month old today. It was interesting but not very much to do. There is a kids discovery room but past that there isn't a lot for kids. And as an adult it wasn't that interesting for me as well. A lot of look in the glass box, we prefer interactive museums. Staff was amazing, breastfeeding was no problem, and it was a very clean place all around. We liked most of what we saw. Just wish that there was more. If we are over that way and the exhibits are changed out at all we would return. Otherwise probably not.

Beautiful building. The museum is full of lots of information and was a lot of fun. The virtual reality was not to be missed. Incredible views from space!!!

The venue is beautiful and staff is friendly. Exhibits are a cute for what they have. It's a nice spot to step in and show your kids before or after a movie. The only gripe is the cost benefit. It's pricey for what it is, but I do appreciate all science learning opportunities!

We saw the dinosaur exhibit and it took us about 2 hrs. It's small and we read all the signs. Some of the interactive displays were broken so that sucked. But it was nice. A must see.

Kids room is lots of fun but you have to wait for a spot. Little bit expensive but the membership program is great.

Bad and not very knowledgeable and a waist of money. I do not recommend. Also not kid friendly.

Awesome place for Dino lovers! Lots of facts for the little ones to learn. Thank you!