Discovery Cube Los Angeles — Attraction in Los Angeles

My initial rating was 5 stars but we had a terrible experience with a birthday party we booked. It was awhile ago but within the last year. Perhaps they've made some changes since but I haven't thought to leave a review until now. Updating my review because I'm honestly still a little unhappy about it.

The center as a whole is WONDERFUL. The people on staff are super nice, the permanent exhibits are continuously engaging (we visit every season), and the rotating events are always great. The different areas are clean and orderly. The only note I have is regarding their demonstrations. They're kind of random. If you don't come early (or stay all day), you're likely to miss the special demonstrations. Some of the staff aren't able to help with inquiries. Whether I call ahead or ask someone in person, nobody seems to know when the demonstrations are supposed to go on. It's a hit or miss. A more structured schedule would help ensure that their demonstrations have a wider audience.

As far as birthday bookings go, we had hoped to make it a regular thing -- celebrating birthdays at the Discovery Cube; unfortunately, our experience was very disappointing:

1. On the day of our reservation/party, the air conditioning was out but no one bothered to notify us. We had over 40 guests in the private room that were sweltering from the heat. I understand that situations like this can occur. However, had they notified us, we would have been able to better prepare for the situation (ie, bring fans, extra ice, other cooling accessories, etc.) The lack of communication was maddening.
2. The event coordinator didn't bother to meet with us regarding the broken a/c -- or offer any recompense. In fact, they were nowhere to be found. Luckily, one of the staff members did their best to be helpful. She tried to get us as much extra ice as she could. I'm not the "give me a discount" type but a nice little break would have been appreciated given the circumstances.
3. The event that was taking place on the second floor was cancelled or postponed and, again, no communication from the event specialist. We were not informed of the cancellation so the party was limited to just the regular/permanent exhibits.
4. Lastly, we accidently left some items in the private room and didn't realize it until after closing time. Even though we called, left messages, and spoke to a representative, they never got back to us and most likely just tossed our belongings away.

Outside of those three things, everything else was great. The private room is simple but nice and colorful. Ample seating and tables; easy to decorate. We will always be members and visitors but it's very unlikely that we would book the private room again unless they revamp their birthday party...

We purchased a membership about a year ago, and have taken the kids here multiple times. It definitely pays itself off after a couple visits. The whole place is definetly on the small side. We normally spend a couple hours here, which gives you plenty of time to check everything out. The Cube is located about 2 minutes off the 210 fwy so it's a short drive for us. There are no parking fees which is a plus. One thing that I like is that they rotate some exhibits. On our last visit, they opened up a new dinosaur exhibit. This was very cool if you are into dinos. Lots of fossils, facts, and interactive displays to check out. This replaced the previous TMNT exhibit that they had before. The toddler area seems to have rotating exhibits also. They used to have a Dora exhibit which is a building play area now. There's also a little toddler dino exhibit in this area for the little ones. The other interactive exhibits seem to be mainstays. There's the LA Kings exhibit on the second floor. There are a couple recycling and reuseable exhibits which really get the kids involved. In the house on the end of the 1st floor, the kids learn about saving energy and being efficient by playing a Q&A scavenger hunt type game using a tablet. There are few other little interactive exhibits to check out. They do have a small theatre where you can watch a short 3D movie. There's also a cafe which we tried before. Food was decent, but it seemed to be overpriced for what it was. We normally bring our own snacks for the kids. They do have a nice little gift shop with some cool souvenirs. So even though this place is small compared to other museums, the kids have always had a fun time. Just don't expect to spend more than a...

A good experience for children K-3, but not for older children. Our 11 year old became bored very quickly. If you are in education, be sure to bring your badge to receive complimentary admission (the regular adult admission is overpriced for a children's science center). We expected more things for the kids to do than what is there. It's good for a day trip, but not for the purchase of a season pass.

We saw the Benita Bike Dance Company perform there today (2/26/22) as a part of the center's focus on dance this weekend. We were hoping for something that involved getting the kids interactive experience with dancing, but that was not the case. Instead, it was a mini dance recital. While the dancers did a great job, their performance was marred by the owner/artistic director/choreographer due to unnecessary apologies for different things related to their performance and by her condescending attitude and remarks to the audience. During one of the Q&A sessions between numbers, she called a helper forward and gave her a microphone to "deal" with part of the audience's questions. While she may be good with choreography, she needs to have someone else take care of...