Da Vinci Science Center — Attraction in Allentown

After nearly 2 years as a member in the old facility, I was finally able to visit the new science center today. I live in Abington, which is about an hour and 10 minute drive, and here are my thoughts- Aesthetics Wow! The new facility is gorgeous, inside and out. It has a very striking appearance even from the street, and even more so once you enter. As you would expect from a newer center, everything is state of the art, clean, and beautifully kept.

2-staff Staff interaction was minimal, but everyone we did interact with was courteous, polite, and very professional. This was actually an improvement over the staff at the old center. Again not a lot of interaction there, but we found that often times they were a bit lacking in knowledge of their jobs. For example, setting up my initial membership to nearly a half hour because the employee didn't know how to use the computer.

3-exhibits The exhibits on hand are once again, fantastic. They look great, and because everything is new, everything works.

4-activities This is where my review will start to go down. I started taking my son to the old center when he was two and a half. It was really great because they were so many hands-on activities. There were so many things he could do, play with, and really dig into. We were hoping to see even more at the new center, but they have gone the other way. Hands-on activities are minimal, with most things requiring a lot of reading, making this not very good for young people who are not quite that reading age yet. In fact my son was bored after about 25 minutes because we had already gone through everything that he could do with his hands. Our saving grace was the water table with the Legos, and the fact that the otter display, after a slow start bcame much more active with the animals putting on a great show. 5-Cost This is by far the worst part. So expensive! Even young children have to pay full price, you have to pay extra for dinosaurs alive which is literally a 3 minute exhibit for a young child who can't read, and in the new facility, parking is no longer free. It was about $100 for a family of three for an activity that we were barely able to stretch to one full hour.

6-extras They don't have any kind of food service, which tells me that visits are meant to be shorter. The souvenir and gift shop is also very minimal, and overpriced.

Overall evaluation- Again, the place is beautiful. There are a lot of wonderful things and for children of the correct age, this place is a home run. But for us with a 5-year-old who can't walk through and just read a bunch of long placards, this was not remotely worth the value. The dinosaur is alive exhibit costs extra and frankly, this was ridiculous. While the exhibit is fantastic looking, there isn't anything interactive about it, and even sitting on a fake dinosaur to take a picture once you've walked through costs extra. It was a total nickel and diming scheme. No free parking, no access to food or drinks, and minimal hands-on activities led us to decline to renew our membership which we had planned to do today. If you are local, and have kids older than 8 or 9 years old, you will probably love it. Do not recommend for younger children because there is not much there for them. Lastly, as both a service veteran and a teacher, I always look for extra value from places who offer discounts for these. DaVinci offers neither. This is not a "strike" against them, but most educational type places do tend to offer something, whether it's a single discounted ticket,...

Well where should I start, guess I Will start from the beginning. I decided to take my 2 children and my wife to the Davinci Science center the new facility in Allentown on Hamilton when we got there I purchased 4 tickets total 2 adults and 2 children which came out to about a $100 dollars then after I purchase the regular one day ticket the clerk advised me I should buy a yearly pass because they well have a lot of events like the sharks so my children heard that and asked to purchase purchase a yearly pass so we can see the sharks while the clerk was there listening so I told the clerk let me think about it an tell you later after me and my family try the exhibit.Then we were finished with seeing the facility so I went back to the clerk and told him my children really want to see those sharks so I would like to come again to see those sharks and special events but he never mentioned any other few except to pay another 100 dollars for the yearly pass so I am thinking this a great deal. The clerk says come back next month to see the sharks and I said sure. So when we came back me and my family of 4 were looking forward to seeing the sharks so when enter the facility we go to the clerk and show her our membership and how we paid about 200 dollars. Then clerk said where are you going you have to pay an extra fee to see the sharks I was like what I was never told I will have to pay more. So told the clerk I will like to speak to the manager.Then the manager came out and explained the same thing you have to pay extra for each person 7 dollars each for kids and 10 for you and your wife so if you do the math that is 34 dollars and with tax. The manager showed no sympathy so I said just give me a refund for the yearly pass and she said no I will have to ask another manager I will get back with you. So I waited a few days for a response no response. Then I called back spoke to another manager Eric He said the same thing no refund but he will ask another manager and get back with me. I waited and still no one reach out to me again.When I called again I spoke to Katlyn one of the main managers she was rude and showed no sympathy what me and my family been through when I explained what happened she said I can offer you is 2 children tickets to see the sharks the extra fee they call it and I was like that is all you can offer when I paid for a yearly pass for a family of 4 can at least give me a total of 4 tickets to see the sharks then she said no and I mentioned that is not good enough and still didn't show sympathy or sorry.Then I told her I guess I will have to give you a bad review then Katlyn the manager said that is ok give me a bad review and have a nice day. I never heard of such a response from a manager. I am a manager myself but never well the real reason I am doing this Review is because I don't you to go through the same issue before you purchase tickets ask a million questions because they are not going to tell you they...

I want to give 5 stars to the new location, but I cannot. I have been a member for years and have always renewed it. I missed the opportunity due to just being busy. I went today and did my family membership that I always have, because I always take my son (usually 2x per week and his friends and bring their parent) and I was not awarded my teacher discount, which they used to always give. I was told they “no longer exist.” However I still did my membership because my son has always loved the place. As a member one of the amazing perks is receiving a small discount at the gift shop when you leave. Today - even with a membership renewal, there is no longer a discount for members. This was one of my favorite perks! Although the new building is stunning it lacks many of the interactive features it used to have. The ball activity that shoots the balls up is gone. My son was looking everywhere for the Mack trucks to climb in and they were gone. I also did not see or find the dark tunnel that he used to play in for hours. It felt more like the Ben Franklin museum. I used to brag at how much better it was here than the Bucks County Kids museum. There were some cool new activities - he liked the reflex game for example. I am hoping with its large new space and ample reviews that they can bring back (maybe refurbished) some of the older and more popular interactive activities, old perks for being a member, and help those who are frequently there with discounts. I also parked on the street for 2 hour parking. Now you have to park in a parking garage and they DO NOT VALIDATE it. I confirmed it with an employee. I was lucky to only have to pay the 4 dollars for 2 hours but rushed my son through faster than I would have liked. The new space and upgraded activities and exhibits are phenomenal, but I think with it being newly opened they are working out the kinks and I hope will expand and bring more interactive activities back. I hope this helps anyone who took the time to read it!

Also - bathrooms. They are very odd. There are no girls or boys bathrooms. It is just one main bathroom with doors that are “private.” I personally did not like that for my and my son. Many waited for the family bathrooms, but we had to pee very badly. I feel this was a...