Local Guides World
Top Science museums in Philadelphia, United States
Top Rated Science museums in Philadelphia
Top Reviewed Science museums in Philadelphia
The Franklin Institute
Wagner Free Institute of Science
Science History Institute
The Franklin Institute
Wondergy Science Education
Reviews
This place is so much fun with the kids. They have a Lego exhibition that just opened up. Get here at open to get the slot of the Lego exhibition. Do not skip the planetarium tour where they show you constellations. There were a lot of interactive exhibits which were a lot of fun for our kids. You can easily spend half a day here.
It is very interactive museum! It is my favorite museum in Philly! I recommend everyone to visit, it is quite popular spot in Philly, with a lot of activities and it is also gets very busy during holidays. They have also planetarium at night! It is perfect place for a dates, and also solo travelers!
Hands down an amazing Museum for adults and families with kids of all ages! The demonstration room with combustion and liquid air were phenomenal. The speakers were well versed and made the experience fun and engaging! I just can speak highly enough for this experience. It was a learning experience and made us feel like kids! If in Philly come to this Museum! It is worth every penny.
Franklin Institute besides being an awesome Institute, also is a great place to host a wedding Reception. We love this place as we had the chance to photograph the amazing story of Olivia & Teddy. I highly recommend this place if you are planning your wedding and are looking for something unique and grandiose
So much fun! I haven’t been here since I was a kid, so it was nice being back. We were there for a good 4 to 5 hours. Apparently the train part was being renovated so that part was closed. Hopefully it’ll be open again when we’re there next.
Great place for kids to learn and explore science. Then planetarium experiences great.!they have multiple types of shows for that. They also have Liquid and Combustion shows which are very entertaining for the kids. Their new space experience is amazing. They have many interactive displays that keeps the young minds engaged and curious to learn. Their Electricity section is also great where you can wait for the Faraday cage to go on every hour in the hour. Overall a great experience and a must do for late elementary and up kids.
Really enjoyed the space section and the heart! Some of the stuff wasn’t working which was a bummer but overall I really enjoyed this museum and the ability to interact and touch the displays. This is a great place to bring kids and I would definitely recommend if you wanted to let them run around because there are obstacle-like rooms. I went with my boyfriend and we enjoyed ourselves as adults! Definitely good as a more affordable museum and interesting.
This Institute is a wonderful place for science enthusiasts. This place is really huge in terms of different exhibitions.
The place consists of various halls on different levels and each one of them is specific to a particular field or branch of Science.
There are many wonderful models that explain the complex scientific concepts in a very easy and engaging way.
I highly recommend this place especially for school going students as the place creates a curiosity towards learning Science.
The place consists of various halls on different levels and each one of them is specific to a particular field or branch of Science.
There are many wonderful models that explain the complex scientific concepts in a very easy and engaging way.
I highly recommend this place especially for school going students as the place creates a curiosity towards learning Science.
Fascinating, educational, well-thought-out, and compact museum. Perfect for nerds and anyone who wants to learn more about science. So many cool objects and examples!
Nice museum. It was smaller than I expected and it does not have many big and unique things to show off. But it explains the history of science very well and in an interesting way even for a 40-something year old person.
Such a magical museum! My seven-year-old was enthralled with the perfectly curated scavenger hunts. We can't wait to return!!
Fantastic experience for kids and adults alike! To begin, the architecture and lobby are breathtaking. We went for the Disney 100 exhibition, which was fantastic for all ages. The interactive science exhibits were also a lot of fun, these are certainly aimed more at children, but our party of all adults had a blast too. The GIANT heart is very cool. Hugely recommend this museum. We were rushed at 2.5 hours. I’d recommend allotting 3-4 hours to not feel rushed.
Amazing place for people of all ages! The architecture is amazing inside and out! Always something new to experience and learn about the many contributions from people/organizations around the world who add value to our daily lives. The hands on approach to learning is genius! Get ready for a workout walking around such a large architectural marvel! Enjoy a nice break and educational session at the shows/workshops offered daily! #Cheers 💎
Great free museum. Awesome specimens.
My children loved this place, especially the Brain and heart exhibits. I enjoyed the flight exhibit and my husband loved the machine area. The cafe area is large with plenty of seating and lots of food, drinks and snack options. You are also able to bring your own food as many people packed lunches for their kids and themselves. For additional fees, you can purchase tickets to the planetarium and the traveling exhibits. This is definitely cool place to bring the kids or to come enjoy as an adult.
Such fun and brilliance under one roof is unprecedentedly entertaining! Exhibits’ Entry is free! The people are knowledgeable and love answering questions. This is a brainiac moment to live for!
This is a lovely little museum with so many fun knick knacks and so much interesting history there are also so many good lunch spots nearby decaffently recommend stopping by there's lots to read and lots of interactive things great for the whole family definitely recommend stopping by if you're hanging out in Old City!
My daughter visited the Disney Exhibition with her Summer Camp. And she really enjoyed herself. She loved everything about the Disney Exhibition. It's was thing to see it on TV or at the Movies 🎥
There's a special feeling to see it in real life ❤️.
There's a special feeling to see it in real life ❤️.
This is as fun today as it was when we last went over 8 years ago. Our kids are older but still enjoyed it. Of course mostly same exhibits but the Disney was new (required timed entry purchased ahead of time which meant it wasn't overly crowded). It wasn't very science-related but if you're a animates/Disney fan you'd probably like it. The brain was one our favorite areas including the play/climbing structure. The heart was the favorite of my 5year old.
Definitely a fun day. Plan ahead and get your tickets online. 3-4 hours should be adequate to see everything but if you want to do all the planetarium shows as well, plan to spend all day to get it all in. We opted for the yearly membership since we are close enough to make multiple trips throughout the year.
My group and I went specifically to see the Disney 100 Exhibit which was wonderful. The staff was friendly and were a great resource with questions and recommendations, and I thought that they were efficient in how they described the tour process. If my group had been staying for a longer time, we would have tried to see the other exhibits
Great for kids and adults!
Great museum with lots of interactivity for kids of all ages.
Review just for the general admission. They do have a special exhibit you pay separately for. They had the Disney 100 out at the time but we decided to pass as I heard there wasn't much interactive station for the younger kids.
Took my 3 and 8 year old sons and they both had a great time. It took about 4-5 hours to go through everything there. Three floors split into different themes and the shows were all great. Definitely worth seeing the live science show on the 3rd floor. About 20 mins long and both my kids were engaged as they did a good job talking with the audience.
Plenty of tables and seats for lunch. We brought lunch as well as I bought a chicken sandwich and fries at their cafeteria, "the Eatery" and it was decent. Nothing to race about but it was hot food It was nice that you can just grab and go so no real lines.
Parking: they do have street parking walking distance all around the museum but they do have a 3 hour limit. They do have a parking garage underneath and it is $20.
Overall a great place for kids and adults to learn more about science and have a good time. You can definitely spend more than 4 hours there. Worth checking out if you haven't checked it out before.
Great museum with lots of interactivity for kids of all ages.
Review just for the general admission. They do have a special exhibit you pay separately for. They had the Disney 100 out at the time but we decided to pass as I heard there wasn't much interactive station for the younger kids.
Took my 3 and 8 year old sons and they both had a great time. It took about 4-5 hours to go through everything there. Three floors split into different themes and the shows were all great. Definitely worth seeing the live science show on the 3rd floor. About 20 mins long and both my kids were engaged as they did a good job talking with the audience.
Plenty of tables and seats for lunch. We brought lunch as well as I bought a chicken sandwich and fries at their cafeteria, "the Eatery" and it was decent. Nothing to race about but it was hot food It was nice that you can just grab and go so no real lines.
Parking: they do have street parking walking distance all around the museum but they do have a 3 hour limit. They do have a parking garage underneath and it is $20.
Overall a great place for kids and adults to learn more about science and have a good time. You can definitely spend more than 4 hours there. Worth checking out if you haven't checked it out before.
The museum is a few blocks away from the BSL, and the 2 and 3 buses. It is a must see for people who like things like fossils, interesting rocks, animal specimens, bones, etc. I enjoyed my visit, and will recommend visiting the museum to a few friends, including one that especially likes geology!
This was such a lovely find! We went for a special event on mushrooms on Saturday. They usually have special events the first Saturday of every month that are free and great for kids. The museum itself is not too large, but filled with many interesting specimens, minerals, taxidermies, etc. I loved it!
This is just a really neat museum with tons of specimens and skeletons. There’s no fee to enter but a suggested donation of $10-15 for adults and $5 for seniors/students. Seems like they have events that you could go to like their mushroom foraging event. It also seems like they had some activities for kids to do as well. I would say 45 minutes to an hour is enough time to experience it fully.
Relatively small but pretty impressive collection of various scientific devices, books, and other science-related historic artifacts. Very informative interactive desk on the first floor. Overall very well-organized display of the information. I’ve learnt a lot of new stuff about chemistry and physics, that’s for sure. If you get lucky, you might catch one of their guided tours around the museum where they tell you all about science and social activism and how they are interconnected.
I enjoyed the museum. There were many exhibits on analytical equipment on the first floor. The second floor highlighted many pioneers and innovators in science. I also enjoyed the Object Explorer which was a fun way to learn about the many artifacts on display. Finally, the Downstream exhibit was also very interesting, as well.
The Wagner natural history museum is another Philly first, tucked away on the Temple U campus. For more than 160 years, it's offered free science education programs to adults and now for all ages. The museum preserves its 19th century layout.There are rows of glass-cased specimens with antique hand-lettered labels. Photography is prohibited, but sketching is encouraged. If you enjoy scavenger hunts, there are multiple lists by the exhibit entrance table. The auditorium features the original projector which they claim to still use for programs. Collection highlights for us included the horse skeleton, brontosaurus bone and the cases of beautifully-preserved animals, birds and shells. Museum admission is free (donations welcome) and it is close to public transportation.
This free museum near Independence Hall is a hidden gem for anyone who's curious about the history of science.Their exhibits make an effort to be inclusive, celebrating unsung research pioneers who were women and/or persons of color. Their first floor interactive game made learning about chemicals fun. Another highlight explores the highs and lows of protecting Philly's watershed through the centuries. The staff are friendly and there's a table full of hands-on activities for children.
Very interesting museum with lots of room for learning! I love this place! The staff is cool too. I did a quick through and ended up taking more time than I expected to take. It was well worth it.
El mejor comercial que he conocido, si preocupa siempre por sus clientes. Gracias
A remarkable free and often overlooked museum which features a collection of natural science items (fossils, taxidermy items, skeltons) in a building which have both largely gone unchanged since the 1880s. Various events and educational offerings are held throughout the year to further the founders principals of providing free science education. The collections are only typically open during day hours throughout the week. Check hours ahead of time. The museum is not wheelchair accessible (due to the age of the facility) and there is no air conditioning. Consider parking at Temple and walking up Montgomery Ave.
Make sure to check out this rare and valuable facility.
Make sure to check out this rare and valuable facility.
This wonderful little gem is just a few blocks from Temple… I wish my biology professors informed us that the specimens we were studying in lecture were housed just mere blocks away! Its collection delves into systematics, conchology, paleontology, comparative anatomy, and geology.
The number of specimens and geologic objects this place puts on display is astonishing. I went on a quiet day and got what was essentially a one-on-one tour by an incredibly well-informed guide. I was so surprised about how much she knew about the building and how well she engaged with what I seemed to take interest in. The quality and variety of the objects there make the Wagner a must-see for anyone interested in the natural sciences or the history of science.
It’s a lovely little historical place that preserves its history without compromising modern scientific fact. Don’t forget to leave a donation! They hold tons of free programs throughout the year as well.
The number of specimens and geologic objects this place puts on display is astonishing. I went on a quiet day and got what was essentially a one-on-one tour by an incredibly well-informed guide. I was so surprised about how much she knew about the building and how well she engaged with what I seemed to take interest in. The quality and variety of the objects there make the Wagner a must-see for anyone interested in the natural sciences or the history of science.
It’s a lovely little historical place that preserves its history without compromising modern scientific fact. Don’t forget to leave a donation! They hold tons of free programs throughout the year as well.
The BEST staff, AMAZING shows - so much SCIENCE and so much FUN!