Museum of Life and Science — Attraction in Durham

Life and Science Museum is probably one of the best Museums in the Durham area. Only about 5 minutes to get in line for tickets. But the parking is INSANELY PACKED especially on Saturdays. Parking can get very packed, so usually the best thing do whenever parking is bad is to park in the nearby neighborhoods around the Museum. After you get tickets you are officially in the museum! The outside area of the museum is for sure the best part of the museum. When you enter the outside, There will be a hidden Jungle Gym with spectacular playground. There is even a river that goes through the jungle gym. Once you’re outside of the Jungle gym, head straight and there comes a farm. It features Cows, Chickens, Horses, and so much more! I forget to mention there is a gift shop as you enter the building. Just after you get your tickets. Anyways, About the farm it gets pretty dirty so if you want to go in the farm area I suggest not wearing your FAVORITE clothes. As you walk out the farm area and turn right, there will be a lot of things. Let me break it down. So you will notice once you’ve gone far enough right of the farm that there will be a cafe. The cafe is the perfect place to go to especially in the summer. They have coffee, drinks, delicious food, and desserts. The Sprouts cafe can get busy in the summer. Out of the whole museum autumn is definitely the best time to go. It’s not too cold and not too hot. Outside of Sprout’s cafe, there will be a popsicle and ice cream stand. It soooo refreshing in the summer. The only problem with that stand is that if you go on a weekend in summer the line can get A MILE LONG. It takes almost 15 minutes just to get ice cream and popsicles. Overall the cafe and stand is refreshing and great in general. Next, if you go left of the Cafe and stands, and there turn left again, you will see the train station. Okay, it’s not an actual train station but it’s an area with trains. If you got tickets to go on the train ride, you’re in luck. The train right is QUITE LEGIT! It’s so fun has such amazing nature around the train when you’re on the ride. It’s fun too, especially if you have kids. Now if you go right, Like far right, there will be in my opinion the most beautiful attraction in the entire museum. As you enter the butterfly building, there will be a tub of roaches! If you don’t like roaches don’t look at it. Now if you go right, you will enter the butterfly exhibit. But for some reason it’s also the busiest exhibit. Yeah it gets packed. But besides that the butterfly garden is just BEAUTY! That’s for sure the most recommended exhibit. Btw, if you go past the train area, there will be a SPLASH PAD!! It’s fun for the little kids. My little one loves the splash pad💦❤️! Now the inside of the Museum. The inside of the museum is great whenever there is burning hot day or a freezing cold day. Btw, never risk going outside on a burning hot day bc, You will get heat exhaustion. Trust me don’t do it bc I felt like I had it. Moving on inside of the Life and science museum! Before we discuss the inside of the museum. You can host events here. Like birthday parties🥳 meet ups and more. The first thing you will see when you go inside is either a big giant spaceship exhibit or the main entrance you would see the gift shop. The spaceship area is cool and fun if you are into space stuff. But it can be boring for some. It’s very interesting in that exhibit. After walking some long ways, there will come the play area. It’s for all the little kids. Kids between 0 to 5 it would be fun for them. Outside the playroom is a whole big space it plays music and the floor changes lights. Now either you by elevator, which is really cool, and stairs, you will enter the 2nd level of the building is the entire Science and experiments level. Which is a but underwhelming. Btw the 2nd level is where you would does some activities for birthday parties. The science area is full of germs and stuff it’s not that cool. The science and experiments area is definitely boring and underwhelming for the kids. Best...

This museum is not for adults! My wife and I stopped by because we saw the sign on the highway. We were startled at the $23 admission per adult as well, which we felt was quite steep. The indoor section was incredibly loud and crowded. Over half of the exhibits inside are hands on children's activities that are not challenging or entertaining for anyone over 8. The small nc zoo portion was still loud despite the placards saying to be quiet to respect the animals. The tanks to see the snakes were filled with cheap fake plants and hard to look into. The fish tank in there was dirty with algae, had a low water level, and lots of hard water stain so you couldn't see the fish. My fish tank is prettier and I don't charge 23 dollars to look at it. The Apollo 15 section had some neat visual items but much of the information was very surface level and didn't go beyond a short blurb. It felt pretty barren and was very dark. The upstairs was all kids activities and some of the investigate health section didn't even work right. There were a few parts that were under construction that may add to the quality but idk. For the number of staff you see standing around up front the exhibits aren't maintained and the floor isn't monitored for inappropriate behavior. For example no exhibits kept stocked, no hand sanitizer refilled on the floor, the touch exhibits aren't sanitized and they don't even enforce their own quiet policy around the sensitive animals. When you leave the inside you feel gross. They seem more than willing to have people to take your money though. The outdoor portion is the reason this got two stars and not one. The farm is a nice little thing with cute farm animals. The butterfly sanctuary is a beautiful place to see some interesting butterflies but there is no respect for any other patrons in there. People are yelling, screaming, running through the exhibit, and trying to grab or smack the butterflies. I think this exhibit was the best part for my wife and I despite this. The sanctuary also has an attached bug area with some very neat insects to view and an interesting indoor beehive. It also has a rather sad looking tank for some crayfish filled with homedepot river stones and fake plants. There was also little to no information on any of the butterflies or insects. We didn't eat at the Cafe and the train wasn't running but its an extra charge anyway so we wouldn't have bothered. The caboose was cool to look at, nice piece of history. The dinosaur trail was also interesting with relatively up to date visual interpretations of the dinosaurs on display and some interesting info to go with it. The wetlands is also pretty neat to walk around and look at. The bears, wolves, and lemurs were a cool thing to see at the end and watch for a little bit. In summary though, the outdoor section being ok doesn't justify the price to me at all. If I wanted to see farm animals and wetlands I could do that for free. Don't get me wrong I love children, but very few of the children there were controlled by their parents and none by the staff. It was a loud and unruly environment with little to no valuable information. The animals were nice to look at and I'm sure they're treated well but they have sad looking habitats and the patrons do not lower their voices or stop tapping the tanks to respect them. The outdoor section is nice, but the butterflies need more oversight. This trip was not worth the $50 I paid for myself and my wife and it is not at all geared towards adults which is not reflected on any of...

3/3/2025 On the previous Saturday, I made the decision to invest in a new annual membership for the museum, amounting to $200. This choice was prompted by my experience from a month prior when I took my two children along with my brother's offspring to visit the museum. At that time, the admission fees I paid were tantamount to the cost of a yearly membership intended for four individuals. Upon reflection, it became evident that purchasing an annual membership would be a more economical option.

Interestingly, I had been consistently renewing my full-year membership for nearly nine years until the onset of the pandemic compelled me to halt that practice. Moreover, as my children are maturing, their enthusiasm for activities they once enjoyed is waning, and the significant distance we must travel to reach the museum further complicates matters.

Today, however, I received an unexpected correspondence from the museum, which left me quite perplexed. The letter stated that in order to receive notifications regarding my membership status and to obtain my membership card, I must provide specific contact details and personal information. As a long-time patron of this establishment, I find it bewildering that they do not already possess my personal data. This situation raises questions about the management of their records and the overall engagement with loyal members such as myself.

3/8/2025 I find myself pondering a rather pressing concern regarding the adequacy of the identification verification process at the entrance. Relying solely on the membership card issued to patrons appears insufficient, as it lacks the robustness required for thorough validation. To enhance security and ensure authenticity, it seems imperative to also utilize a driver's license, which serves as a reliable means to cross-reference the visitor's name and address.

This leads me to question why we haven't yet embraced more advanced technologies, such as fingerprint recognition or facial scanning, which could offer a heightened level of assurance. My interactions with the establishment are limited to exchanging correspondence in order to secure my membership card—a document intended to affirm my identity and full name—but, regrettably, it does not seem to carry the weight of credibility one might hope for.

In contrast, a driver's license would undoubtedly streamline the verification process at ticket-checking stations, allowing for swift and efficient inspections behind the counter. The potential for improved accuracy and expedited entry is compelling. What are your thoughts on this matter? Wouldn't it be prudent to explore these alternatives to bolster our security measures while enhancing the overall experience for visitors?

3/11/2025 我的意思是说既然入口要查驾驶执照和会员证，还不如直接查驾驶执照更方便。...