Museum of Arts and Sciences

MAC is a hidden gem! My students from k5-9th grades loved the hands on displays and planetarium.

2nd time taking my granddaughter. We love it. The staff is amazing. And I'm proud to say that my brother built the displays on the bottom floor. She loves to tell others that her Uncle Ray built it. The archeological dig is her favorite.

A wonderful place to visit with family, children and friends. The gift shop is amazing! Lots of unique gifts and handmade jewelry and crafts from local artist. The exhibits change every few months so visit often. The planetarium and animal zoo should not be missed! The nature trail is open and wheelchair/stroller accessible year round. Admission is very resonable. Special events are offered almost every month.

Really enjoyed our visit to the Museum of Arts and Sciences! Lots of interactive displays -- the projector sphere was exceptionally cool! My only complaint is the "mini zoo" has small containments for the animals they house, and they smelled.

A must see! Really nice planetarium and Stem exhibits and hands on activities in the basement and on the third floor. Cute animal area and bats in an outdoor exhibit Very reasonably priced!

It looks like nothing has changed in 20+ years. The mini zoo smells like no one is changing the bedding. Gift shop smelled like someone had smoked weed. The bottom floor looked abandoned some of the stuff didn’t even work. The best part of the visit was the top floor. Coolest thing was with the black room that does the colors with light but still not a lot to do. It was just a disappointment considering I remember having a blast as a kid and to visit it again with my kids it just looked like the museum let itself go.

We decided to make this our final stop before leaving Macon. We were not disappointed! It was wonderful! We got to watch an animal show and the employee was very well informed and very knowledgeable. We learned alot about the animals she spoke on that day! We got a kick out of the small zoo and the bat cave! The Sweet gum trail was awesome and we loved the cabin. There was an amazing selection of art to view from sculptures and pottery to statues and paintings. We had a blast in the weather room and getting to go upstairs to the tree top and getting a closer look at one of the lemurs that joined us!I would definetly go back especially since I don't feel like we got to see everything.

This is a decent museum. The wildlife - particularly the lemurs - is really neat. The planetarium show was also great. The exhibits are also fun and somewhat interactive for the kids. My only complaint is that several of them were in disrepair and not functional. But still, worth the price of admission and a great way to spend two or three hours.

Do you love science? This little museum is just the ticket on a rainy day. With a planetarium, a planetary display, a mini zoo with reptiles and many other interesting displays, we found ourselves having lots of fun. The planetarium has an interesting show. An engaging story about our solar system. The science on a sphere is a wonderful teaching tool for children who love to study and learn about our planets. It has great graphic details of the nine planets. One of the female employees was very descriptive in sharing her knowledge and love of science with my youngest child. The rock and mineral display was very helpful to an elementary school child interested in geology. It proved to be useful with third grade science. The Weather Station was an interactive area where we pretend to be weather announcers for 13 WMAZ A playful area. It is great for a child's imagination. And the little zoo with its show about reptiles and resident Macaw was intriguing for little minds. Later, we attempted to speak Parseltongue to the boa constrictor. Alas, it did not respond to our attempts at conversation. Bring your children and grandchildren during the holidays. You will have fun.

I remember being a kid coming to the museum of arts and science and watching the shows at the planetarium so today was very nostalgic and I brought my son to see it this being his first time he really enjoyed it. This is such a GEM in Macon. They also have animal shows, live animals, and different art sections.

I've been coming here since I was a child and even worked as a volunteer for the planetarium when I was in the 7th grade. Finally got the chance to bring my three year old and let him experience all the wonders the museum has to offer. There is so much more to do here now compared to when I was growing up. Zachie loved seeing all the live animals especially all the turtles. He had the time of his life being an archeologist digging for fossils. He was an amazing weather man standing in front of the green screen. Two thing we didn't get to do that we look forward to doing next time is seeing a show and exploring the outside grounds more.

Great trip for children. There are a lot of activities for them to get involved. Will take another trip in the future.

This museum is geared more towards children. The reason I am giving it 5 stars is that the museum hosts unique events, like the Fulldome Immersive Film Festival, and the art exhibits they do have, though small, are of good quality. The nature trail is fun to walk on when the weather is nice and kids do really seem to enjoy the animal habitats and the hands on activities. If you are looking for the experience you would get from visiting a museum in New York or another big city, this is not the place for you. This is a community museum that caters mostly towards younger museum goers.

This museum is okay. We were gifted a year long membership so, we went by. It is worth going to once, but not more than once in a year. I felt that the arts section was very limited and stuffy. I wish that there were ongoing exhibits and stem projects promoting the arts and science in the community. The children's area is nice and there is allot of interactive displays, however; many were in poor condition. This area seemed too random, I wish that they would have a little less variety and focused on one particular aspect of science otherwise, it seems like a very small smattering of various science specialties. I was very put off by the small, stinky, and I'll kept animal area. I wish that there was a play area which exhibited laws of science. It is a good start, but needs a little extra to make it a destination to visit on a regular basis.

This museum is more geared towards children as it as a lot of interactive things to do. It is small and easy going with 3 floors with about 6 sections in all. There is a planetarium and an exhibit about space, space rocks, and science theories to interact with. There are a few rooms where art is displayed with colorful pictures the adults can have a bit more peace and quiet. What I also like about this place is that there is a a mini zoo room. Inside are a bunch of tanks with snakes and reptiles. Their large python is pretty awesome and creeped me out. I loooooooved their Tamarins. These cute and cuddly creatures jumping all around and screaming at each other. I probably spent most of my time watching them. Overall while it was an interesting place in quiet Macon, it was an average museum and not fully worth the $10.

I had the best time with my 7 and 1 year old daughters today! This place is super affordable! There were a lot of interactive things to do for my 7 year old. She did a puppet show, was a weather girl, played with robotic arms, did puzzles and more! We enjoyed the mini zoo especially the show! Annette was really great and informative and watching her interact with the Lemurs and other animals just showed how much they love her and the care they receive. They were so cute! Then she brought out Georgia the Cockatoo and oh my goodness that show was worth the admission all by itself! She was talking and saying "Hi Georgia" over and over!! I've never seen a more animated and loud bird! She was so loud she got the lemurs barking! It was hilarious!! We had a wonderful time and bought a stuffed lemur to remember our experience. If we lived in this area I'd by a pass and go all the time! The staff was very friendly too! Definitely recommend if you have little ones!!

This is a fine children's museum, but it is not described or advertised in this way. Since we were expecting a standard museum oriented toward adults, we were misled and disappointed. The very small art exhibition, which was adult oriented, is insufficient justification to call this anything but what it is - a children's museum.

I don't know nor understand how some people are giving this place a bad review because this place is absolutely amazing. I bought a family membership fir the year and in the past 2 months I've taken my grandchildren (6) of them 3 times and they just love it. The animal shows are amazing and the show in the planetarium is out of this world. Do yourself a favor and don't believe what the people who have given this place a bad review a place in your mind. Just GO and believe me it won't disappoint you.

What a terrible place. This is the most un child friendly children's place I have ever visited. Trouble started in the gift shop. Plenty of fragile items near the floor. I was in the process of taking a scarf away from my child and the cashier smartly informed me that it was not for children and would cost me $45. Stool for children to do art projects are too tall for children to get on and sit at safely. Place reeks of toxic paint fumes. Headache and nausea. Fossil dig area has plenty of signs instructing you to stay off the dig and keep your feet on the floor but small Children cannot reach to dig! Signs everywhere instructing you to stay off and don't touch. So obnoxious. Is this a child friendly place? Absolutely not. Also children under 3 are not welcome in the planetarium. Fake plants in the animal area are filthy with dust. Couldn't find a map. No doors on the stairwells just steps from children's exhibits is a major hazard.

Literally asked for our money back after 10min of walking around. Most of the interactive exhibits for the kids was either broken, completely out of service, or there were no supplies available for the kids to interact (paper, crayons, etc). The treehouse area was rather depressing. The few animals were in very small enclosures and you could tell they haven't had nearly enough contact or care. The entire area of the treehouse was overwhelming with the smell of old urine. We were told the planetarium show would start "when the guy arrives, could be earlier or later than the posted 4pm start time". We only saw two employees. One at the front desk and one in the gift shop. No one was there to operate the exhibits that were supposed to be run by employees. My kids were very disappointed. Definitely the low point of our family vacation to Georgia.

Great for the kids. This place was definitely build with teaching kids in mind, plenty of exhibitions, activities, interactive demonstration for the wee ones. But if you are looking for a more adult/serious museum of art and sciences this is not the place. Worth the visit if you can bring a child or several with you.

Caters more to children. My boys enjoyed it a d want to return. I'm not sure whether my boys will want to visit more than 2 or 3 more times museum. The price of admission is reasonable. Our family of 4 had a nice visit/outing.

What a gem of a museum in Macon! There are two wings with exhibits more geared towards adults (or at least not kids). When I went there was art on one end and a fiber optics exhibit on the other side. The main attraction here is "The Discovery House" for the kids. The basement, center of the first floor and the second floor have activities and exhibits for the kiddos. It's really awesome- everything from a mini zoo with live animals (like reptiles, fish, snakes and monkeys) to whisper tubes, a green screen where you can be a metereologist and a large whale fossil that you can "unearth" with brushes while you dress up as archaeologists! There are a number of activity stations too where you can create paper sculptures, tissue art and colour pictures. They have animals talks and other special presentations at various times on certain days as well. There is evidently a planetarium (that I didn't visit this time) with daily shows and also a nature trail that goes behind the museum that you are allowed to use with paid admission (although I'm not sure how that is policed since you can access it outside the museum). There is an old caboose out front with tons of picnic tables that you can eat a packed lunch at! The cost is $10 for adults (children under 3 are free!) which is really not that bad, but a yearly membership is only $35 and has unlimited admissions. Great place- I will definitely be back especially as my daughter gets a little older and will appreciate the activities more!

We took our 7 year old grandson to see the robotic insects, and he loved them! But...his favorite thing was the mini zoo. We made 3 trips in to see the animals, plus was there to see the 1:00 live animal show. The exhibits are great, the staff is friendly, and the venue is very clean and well maintained. Very affordable. A fun way to learn. We live in south metro Atlanta, and it's a lot easier to get to than Fernbank, and has more to do. Highly recommend!!

The mini zoo is gross. Animals confined in tiny spaces, with the smell of excrement permeating the poorly ventilated gallery. Very depressing. The planetarium show we attended was quite dated. We didn't look at the art but will probably go back for that part sometime soon. If you're looking for a quality museum experience in Macon, I recommend the Tubman Museum.

The Museum of Arts and Sciences is a great way to spend a few hours. I took a 6 year old and a 2 year old and we enjoyed holding fun animals like a hedgehog and cockatoo and a great 20 minute planetarium show that completely held their interest. They also did a few hands on science activities and played with pattern blocks in the artist loft. We will definitely return the next time we are in town.

Should be 4.5 stars!!! A nice surprise once you walk in. Unexpected for a museum of a smaller city! Lots of fun and interactive things to play with for the kiddies! The mini zoo was cool as well! Got the chance to pet spiders and snakes!

This is the best of it's kind in the area. It is a great learning experience for all age levels. Make sure you schedule a time to go when performances are taking place. The museum as a whole feels dated. It could use some sort of revamping. There's a trail here that is good for exploring things you don't necessarily see everyday. They also have a small zoo-like area. Overall, this is a great activity for families. It does leave a bit to be desired though.

We've always enjoyed coming to the Arts and Science museum, until today. We've brought our son since he was a year old, never had any issues. Today is my daughter's first birthday and her big brother wanted to "take her to outer space" at the planetarium. Knowing this to be an establishment specifically for children and learning, we were excited to have a fun family day. When we walked in and we paid our money to be there, the lady at the front desk told us about the planetarium show at 11:30, never once saying anything about babies or strollers. We took our seats inside of the planetarium before the show started, I was feeding my daughter a bottle and she was on the verge of falling asleep in the dark room. The man doing the presentation walked past us many times, and had MULTIPLE opportunities to quietly pull us aside and express his concerns about having our one year old with us. But no, instead he waited, and singled our family out over the microphone continuously until my husband couldn't take any more. Then he says he's "worried about crackers getting on the floor".... she has no teeth! No one was eating crackers. The way he handled the situation was completely uncalled for, absolutely ridiculous, and some may even say humiliating. We will never step foot inside of this place again, and we will be sure to let everyone else know about the way we were treated. This is the experience we get to remember for our baby girl's first birthday. Thanks! You may want to have a training session on professionalism.

Most cities of similar sizes have much better museums. If you have under children under 10 great place a lot of interactive things for younger children. The animals seem cared for but not many or any well informed keepers. For the price it is worth the drive to Atlanta.

This place is a waste of money. Most of the exhibits or either out of order or have been broken. There is really only one or two things to see. There are only 2 shows for the planetarium.

I visited on June 7,2013. The woman at the front desk was not very helpful in explaining the different areas of the museum or informing us on the times for the planetarium (which we missed). At 15 minutes till closing we had to evacuate because of some sort of electrical fire and I was very disappointed. I did still enjoy my self at the museum it is interactive and kid friendly! I just wish the staff were more helpful! I would recommend this just make sure to ask question about the different areas and planetarium times because you will not be told otherwise!