Arizona Science Center — Attraction in Phoenix

My wife and I were VERY disappointed.

The Arizona Science Center is really small. Not at all what I expected from the 5th largest city in the U.S. And it is not a “science center.” It's a children's museum. There is nothing wrong with children's museums, but if you're not bringing children along with you they have very little to offer for adults. And Phoenix already has a children's museum.

Almost everything was interactive, but for the most part pointlessly so. For example, there was a glass globe half full of water hanging from the ceiling with a fan suspended above the water. By turning a knob you could make the fan blow faster or slower, making more or fewer waves on the water. But what was the point of this? What educational concept was this exhibit trying to teach? Spin the knob, watch water splash, that's it. Almost everything was like this.

There were almost no exhibits for adults. Just a couple of display cases with gemstones in them and a little bit about farming in Arizona in the past. And these were tucked out of the way on a side balcony.

Many of the exhibits were run down or broken. There is a high-wire unicycle that was not in use. The museum map we received has it marked as permanently closed. OK then. Why not just remove it? Something else could be hung in that location, like full-size models of real spacecraft (since the location is right next to the planetarium).

And speaking of the planetarium, we attended the show titled “Arizona Skies.” It was AWFUL! The presenter of this live show spent most of their time talking about the Big and Little Dipper. And they went on and on about how people from other cultures around the world saw these collections of stars (like the vikings). But this show was titles ARIZONA skies. How were these constellations seen by Native American tribes that live in the state? Of that nothing was said. The constellation information was very generic and not at all Arizona specific. The planetarium presenter also kept asking questions and wanting the audience to shout out answers. Seriously? I like planetarium programs in part because they are relaxing and serene. Children shouting is the opposite of relaxing and serene. The whole presentation was disjointed and chaotic, as if there was no script or even an outline. At one point the presenter talked about an obscure constellation that was projected behind our heads and mostly below the horizon. Why? The presenter also really butchered the pronunciation of the constellation names as well. It was so bad my wife and I cringed several times. And the full-dome projection system was used with weird settings. Very dim, 5th-magnitude stars appeared brighter than most of the stars in the brighter constellations like the Big Dipper. Nobody going out under the real starry night sky will ever see anything like what the “sky” looked like on the planetarium dome.

After the planetarium show was over we went down to the admissions desk and asked for a refund of the extra fee, it was that bad.

And speaking of extra fees, we were asked to pay a separate entrance fee for the traveling exhibit, “The Science of Ripley's Believe it or Not!” No, we could NOT believe it. The admission price to the science center itself was pretty high, especially considering how small the museum is. And to ask for more money to see the traveling exhibit in the hopes there might be something there that is interesting for adults? Pass. And from what we could see this special exhibit wasn't all that large in the first place. I was actually offended at the audacity of asking for additional money for it.

This place is a huge waste of time and money for adults. It needs a new direction and a serious remodel. It needs to become what it claims to be, the Arizona Science Center (and not just another...

We are a family of 4 (kids are currently 12 and 15). I read a lot of these reviews after I purchased our year membership and was concerned about what we might experience.

Quick a breakdown of this review: Definitely recommend more than a couple of hours to really look and experience everything. Saw staff members who were cleaning exhibits, and friendly. Some exhibits had broken buttons or missing pieces, but still plenty to do, see and interact with. Planetarium is super cold, but still pretty neat. If you do the planetarium, be on time. Parking across the street is $20, but if you park in the Heritage side, it's discounted. I think the sign said $8 for 4 hours. 4/5 stars due to some exhibits needing some attention.

Long story: We got there at around 1:30 on a Friday afternoon. There were school buses outside, so I was worried that it was going to be crowded inside, but it wasn't at all actually. The front desk staff were nice and professional. We checked out the Airplane area, which was definitely in need of a face lift. There was a broken machine, and there were no paper clips for part of an experiment. However, it was still fun and we made the best of it. When we walked into this small exhibit, there was a staff member in there cleaning up. We then went to the bubble area which was actually a lot of fun. Both kids and adults were smiling and laughing. Simple fun for sure. From there we checked out the Mission Future 2045. It was interesting, and there was a lot to check out. There was something in here that was down as well. However, there was still quite a bit for us to do and interact with. We had to leave early from this to get to our showing at the Planetarium. We got in and sat down. It was extremely cold in here, so for anyone that gets cold easily, take a second jacket. It was fun and engaging (for what it is). I will say this, the show started about 10 minutes late because they were waiting for other people that had tickets to show up. While I am sure that family appreciated being able to see the show, it was rude to those of us that were in there on time. By the time the show ended, we only had about 20 minutes before the Center closed. That extra 10 minutes could have given us time to check another part out. Please be considerate of others if you are going to take part in the Planetarium. Their time is also important. The gentlemen that ran it was very professional and knowledgeable. Once we left, we only had enough time to use the restrooms and go back into the bubble place for about 5 minutes before their staff started "rounding visitors" (this is what the staff said). They had a neat little machine for cotton candy. Didn't seem like anything was terribly priced. We parked across the street, and driving in we had to pay $20. Once we walked into the Center we noticed signs saying that they validate parking and it would be only $8 for 4 hours (I believe). So next time, we will park in the heritage...

AVOID! SAFETY HEALTH HAZARD, NOT WORTH THE TIME AND MONEY! After going through ALL the levels of the center, i wanted a refund. most of the machines were outdated, broken, and dirty. employees rude and unhappy to be there.

machines were outdated and broken. it made me feel i got ripped off and didnt get my moneys worth. they could at least mention it up front that most machines have a 404 error out of service sign. unfortunately, i didnt read the reviews before going or else i would have avoided this place all together.

only working machines were being hogged by the same people/kids. also, as i was doing some of the only available activities kids would come up and touch or take over what i was doing. would not wait for their turn. more of a kids museum/center. nothing here for adults. the store wasnt anything special, just overpriced.

Serious health hazard, i saw no employees sanitizing down the machines or even available sanitary wipes. for a child center that involves mostly hands on machines and activities youd at least expect it to to be clean or have wipes to prevent germs and sickness. i noticed another review said they got sick after visiting the center, as did i. i got a cold and an ear infection.

my wife and i purchased an extra entry fee for the world record exhibit. the employee taking our payment was not friendly, uninformative, and ignored us for 7 minutes of us standing in front of him waiting to purchase there was no line and he kept ignoring us. he was a younger pale skin gentleman with glasses black short hair. this exhibit was also not worth the extra money.

also, was really excited to learn all about Subaru “under the hood” let me tell you. IT WAS RIDICULOUS. it was in a separate building in a small room with only one small display no signs about the engine they had on display no spokesperson ready to inform you about it. half of the other room was filled with screaming children playing with legos. how am i supposed to learn all about the engine with no sign and no people there. i was utterly disappointed and in shock.

The Subaru people at the DISPLAY outside did not greet me, just IGNORED me. but greeted all of the white people. maybe they thought i couldn’t afford a car by my skin tone or the way i was dressed.

only good thing about this center was reaching the end of it. regardless of the major disappointment we faced with the employees and machines we still wanted to get our moneys worth so we forced ourselves through the whole thing. also, the girl at the general admission maybe Cantonese or Japanese was the only kind and helpful employee we came across.

overall not a good time. i spent about 66 dollars for two tickets of general admission and the two extra tickers for the world...