Steve E.
Yelp
Our Father-Son vacation to western NY took us next to Rochester, NY - a town located midway between Syracuse and Buffalo, and close to Lake Ontario. My Dad had a couple of nearby spots on his bucket list, and so after a few days at Letchworth State Park, we drove north to Rochester.
Our first stop was the Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) which is located in a beautiful part of downtown, along East Avenue, near Goodman Street. The RMSC includes the main Science Museum, Strasenburgh Planetarium, and nearby Cumming Nature Center. I've been around museums in large cities most of my life, and it's unfair to compare RMSC against the likes of museums in Washington, DC, Boston, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. That being said, I felt that the RMSC was geared primarily towards school-aged children. There were lots of flashing lights, blinking gizmos, and interactive displays for the kids.
On one side of the first floor is a cool exhibit called the Adventure Zone where you can explore the underwater world of Lake Ontario and remotely control a deep submergence vehicle to the bottom of the lake. We were able to examine the rock layers of the Genesee River Gorge on the climbing wall, and operate the fill valves in an interactive model of an Erie Canal lock.
Nearby was an exhibit called Glaciers & Giants where we met Ice-Age giants as we walked through a glacial ice cave, saw a full-scale Albertosaurus skeleton, and stood next to a replica of a Mastadon. Lots of stuff in this area to keep the kids amused.
There were interesting historical exhibits on Rochester's involvement with the American Civil War, the Underground Railroad, and the Industrial Revolution. There was also a section about the history of the Iroquois Indians, and their interactions with the European settlers.
As an Adult this is a museum that I'd probably only visit a few times, but if I had school-aged kids I'm sure that I'd be here more often.