Best Science Centers in the World

Science museums offer interactive and hands-on exhibits to inspire excitement for STEM learning.  Many science museums also participate in the ASTC Travel Passport Program, which provides members of participating museums free reciprocal admission to hundreds of natural history, science and children’s museums around the world.  We asked some of our fellow family travel bloggers for favorite science museums they’ve visited and came up with this list of the best science centers in the world (asterisked museums are participants in the ASTC Travel Passport Program).

Best Science Museums for Kids

#1:  Arizona Science Center With Kids* (Phoenix, Arizona)

There are two things that make for a great science museum: interactive exhibits and engaging explanations. We found both of those in spades at the Arizona Science Center! We visited with our 3 and 5 year old children and found meaningful, hands-on stations to suit everyone in the family along with easy-to-understand signage everywhere. There’s almost an entire floor dedicated to the human body, a huge section on mechanics and even a large area covering extreme weather (perfect for my Storm Chasers-loving husband). The Center always shows interesting and age-appropriate films at its IMAX theater and has a fantastic cafe on-site that offers food that is both healthy and fun. A visit to the Arizona Science Center is the perfect way to escape the Phoenix heat with kids, and bring your ASTC member card for free admission!

Recommended by Melissa Conn from The Family Voyage.  Find out more from Melissa about great family activities in Phoenix. 

#2:  California Academy of Sciences With Kids (San Francisco, California)

The California Academy of Sciences is both a natural history museum and a science museum all in one! The Academy has a rain forest, aquarium (with a touch and feel tide pool), planetarium, living roof, and a section where they provide African wildlife exhibits – including real penguins! The playroom is a favorite with our 1 and 3 year old children, too. Visitors can’t forget the albino alligator, Claude, who lives in the swamp of the Academy. We’ve had a membership to this museum since before we had kids, and we now continue to renew it because there is truly something for everyone. It’s located in a central part of the Golden Gate Park, so it’s a perfect spot to stop while you are exploring San Francisco.

Recommended by Emily Jenks from Henry and Andrew’s Guide.  Find out more from Emily about San Francisco with kids.

#4:  Cite des Sciences et de l’industrie With Kids (Paris, France)

Housed inside a giant concrete block, the Cite des Sciences is the largest science museum in Europe.  It has several permanent exhibits featuring sciences, mathematics and technology.  Visitors can explore the human brain, learn about the origins of the universe and see how man has developed technology, among other things.   Don’t miss the Geode at the back of the museum; this enormous reflective globe contains a state of the art IMAX and virtual reality cinema.

Children will be especially interested in the Cite des Enfants (Children’s City) where they can join a 90 minute session and explore experiments and interactive tasks, while learning about their bodies and the physical world.  Older children can also play in a TV studio and a garden.  The sessions are split by age: ages 2 – 7 and 5 – 12.  Kids don’t want to leave!

After exploring the exhibits in the museum, take a walk in the Parc de la Villette behind the museum to see its modern, industrial architecture.  The Cite des Sciences is a little off the main tourist trail in Paris, but it’s reached easily enough from the Gare du Nord.  There’s no general admission fee, but individual exhibits do require admission, and pre-booking the children’s city is a good idea to avoid the long queues.

Recommended by Emily Cole from Kids and Compass.  Find out more from Emily about Paris with small kids.

The Franklin Institute is a science and technology center in Center City in Philadelphia. It’s named for Philadelphia’s beloved citizen and Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin, who wore many hats but most notably as a scientist and inventor. When we go to Philadelphia to visit family in the suburbs, my children always insist on visiting the Franklin Institute.

Visitors can easily spend an entire day at this center because there is so much to do. The Institute has special exhibits that rotate regularly. For example, we have enjoyed exhibits on Pompeii and the Terracotta Warriors. There is an IMAX theater, a planetarium and many interactive exhibits. For example, there is a giant human heart that visitors can walk both around and through, while exploring the different parts of the organ. Even though the Institute is very popular, it never feels crowded because it is so large. It’s easily one of the best science centers we have ever visited.

Recommended by Shobha George from Just Go Places Blog.

#6:  Luray Caverns With Kids (Luray, Virginia)

Luray Caverns is basically the Geology Hall of Fame. Located in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, Luray is the largest and most visited caverns in Eastern America. This one of a kind attraction combines geology, chemistry and even music. Admission tickets include a guided tour, which departs every 20 minutes after 9 a.m., and access to the The Luray Valley Museum, the Car and Carriage Museum and Toy Town Junction. Families can also buy additional tickets to the Rope Adventure Park and Garden Maze. The guided tour leads visitors through well lit, paved walkways to view and explore towering stone formations and natural wonders. Our family stopped at this one of a kind center on a road trip to Georgia, and I literally had to drag my kids out of there. My science and history loving children were in awe of the enormous chambers filled with towering stone columns, draperies and crystal-clear pools. For visitors looking for a unique science museum that offers hands on and experienced based learning in a stunning environment, Luray Caverns should be on your East Coast itinerary.

Recommended by Ruth Mendes from Have Kiddos Will Travel.

#7:  Magna Science Adventure Centre With Kids (Rotherham, England)

We love the Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham, Yorkshire. It’s based around air, fire, water and Earth with different exhibit areas for each. The Centre is set in an old steel works, and the space is massive and actually a little spooky. There is a big melt every hour with fireworks and other sounds to demonstrate how they used to melt the steel. Each of the pavilions has different interactive displays for young and old to play with and explore. Our particular favourites are watching a tornado of fire ignite in the fire pavilion, playing with pretend rocks and blowing holes in rocks in the Earth pavilion and shooting water canons at targets in the water pavilion. There’s also one of the biggest playgrounds I’ve ever seen that has a splash park in the warmer months. The added cherry on top is that once visitors have paid for one visit they can return as many times as desired for the next 12 months without charge.

Recommended by Suzy McCullough from Our Bucket List Lives.

Recommended by Lisa van den Berg from Flip Flop Globetrotters.  Find out more from Lisa about things to do in Milan with kids.

#9:  Nagoya City Science Museum and Electricity Museum With Kids (Nagoya, Japan)

The Nagoya City Science Museum in Nagoya, Japan houses the biggest planetarium in the world.  The 30 minute planetarium show about the galaxy and constellations, featuring a highly realistic starry sky, will leave the viewers in awe even though it isn’t dubbed in English.   Visitors will also enjoy various exhibits such as the Tornado Lab, Deep Freezing Lab and Electric Discharge Lab.

For Nagoya visitors who love science, the Electricity Museum is a family-friendly attraction in Nagoya, Japan where kids and adults can enjoy learning how electricity works and its importance to the people of Japan. We toured the museum through the Nagoya Sightseeing Tour Bus, and the entrance ticket is free for everyone. It offers hologram images where visitors can see the pioneers in Japanese electricity and there are interactive tools on display and a science plaza where kids can experiment and be familiarized with different science laws. The main attraction of this museum is the OHM Theater where guests can participate in quizzes and competitions as video game characters on their impressive 29-foot screen.

Recommended by Catha Buti-Uy of Team Uy Travels.

#10:  Oregon Museum of Science and Industry With Kids* (Portland, Oregon)

The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (“OMSI”) in Portland, Oregon, is not somewhere visitors might think of bringing a child, and we worried whether our son would enjoy it. We wanted to visit the special exhibition OMSI had about Pompeii, but we were delighted to find lots for kids to enjoy. We were totally blown away by it. The Science Playground was by far our son’s favourite section.  Designed for kids ages 0-6, there were water tables, sand pits and lots of different sections for free-play, learning and discovery. The Planetarium was also a hit with our young son, and the rest of the museum was filled with different exhibits for children of all ages. One thing we missed during our visit was USS Blueback, the submarine that was featured in The Hunt for Red October and now permanently docked beside the museum. I was gutted to learn that we had missed it, but it’s a perfect excuse for a return visit!

Recommended by Catherine from Passports and Adventures.  Find out more from Catherine about the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.

#11:  Perot Museum of Nature and Science With Kids* (Dallas, Texas)

The Perot Museum of Nature and Science is not merely a science center. This awe-inspiring, 160,000 square foot structure is a state-of-the-art experience intersecting the worlds of engineering, science, architecture, nature and sustainability. With eleven permanent exhibits, six learning labs and one traveling exhibit, the sprawling six floors deliver excitement. My fourth-grader loves the Rose Hall of Birds where visitors can build and fly their own bird. The Leap Frog Forest enchants my toddler as kids of all ages can crawl, jump and play life-size leapfrog. Both kids agree that the top attractions are:

• Sports: Practice an athletic move then film yourself in “Motion Lab” or challenge a T-Rex, Dallas Cowboy or cheetah in a timed race at “Run.”
• Life Then and Now: Build your own dinosaur then send it to battle.
• Engineering and Innovation: Lead pre-built robots on missions or program one yourself using visual coding stations.

But, don’t forget to squeeze in some other special engagements. Marvel at the Perot Dinosaur, a new species found by Perot Museum Paleontologists. Crack open an Amethyst Geode that stands 5 feet tall. Visitors can also get their groove on at Harmony Park, watch a 4D Film at the National Geographic Experience Theater or view a real brain and stem at “Being Human.”

Recommended by Brandy from Kid Allergy Travel.

#12:  Science World at TELUS World of Science With Kids* (Vancouver, Canada)

Science World at TELUS World of Science is one of the best science museums we have visited.  Not only does it stand out in terms of location and architecture, but it also has diverse displays, hands-on experiments and award-winning playgrounds.  Most displays are designed to be intuitive, and children and grown-ups are encouraged to try things out and have fun while exploring the museum and learning. Kids can try to weigh a hippo, climb on a rotating climbing wall and crawl through a beaver lodge. There are regular live demonstrations throughout the day, and we planned to visit for 2 hours and end up staying for 4.5. Science World is one of Vancouver’s must-do kid-focused tourist attractions.

Recommended by Jules from Shades of Courage.

#13:  Scienceworks With Kids (Melbourne, Australia)

For parents of children constantly asking “why” about everything, Scienceworks in Melbourne feeds the curiosity of young minds.  Offering a wide range of kid friendly exhibits with hands on activities, and live demonstrations, this child-focused museum makes learning about science fun and exciting.

For little space lovers, the planetarium teaches kids about planets, constellations, and their home planet Earth through a kid-friendly animated film. With reclining seats and a domed roof, visitors can sit back and enjoy the show.  Kids also love the “lightning room” which is a 120-seat auditorium that presents demonstrations to teach children about electricity.  Learn about dinosaurs, the ocean, bugs and insects, and much more.  For those visiting Melbourne, Scienceworks is a great day out for the whole family.

Recommended by Chontelle from Mum’s Little Explorers.

Best Science Centers For Kids

There are so many of these best science museums in the world that are now on our travel list.  For more amazing museums for young scientists, check out the Best Natural History Museums in the World!