My kids enjoyed it in a 'things to play with' way, but not in an educational way. My first point is that I feel like this would be better suited for older kids (maybe 8 and up?). Maybe in the future when they learn about a concept at school, they will remember seeing an exhibit here and it will help them understand that concept better.

There were things to do and they had a lot of fun, but the science aspect of it all was lost on them. My kids were 4 and 6 when we visited so I will start by saying that I don't feel like we are the target audience for this place. They agreed with that assessment, so in the interest of time, we didn’t actually move any of the boxes around. After watching other kids rearrange some boxes, I told them I didn’t want to waste time on something they were already familiar with. I thought my kids would enjoy the Minecraft exhibit, but I just couldn’t figure out the educational value. We were limited on time which was a bummer because the kids wanted to spend a lot more time experiencing some of the exhibits. Also, I don’t know how often museums can replace things like a real human skeleton & a real human brain, so if those have been there on display for 30 years, let it be! The exhibits are a bit dated, but Still highly relevant and interesting. The hand sanitizer dispenser that was nearest to the cockroaches was empty, and that was as an uncomfortable situation also. We encountered many exhibits that we haven’t ever seen at other museums, so that was a treat.Įxcept for the hissing cockroach my children “got to pet”.that was uncomfortable for me to witness. Some exhibits require an employee to help operate, but we didn’t have a problem finding help. The kids don’t just sit there and look at something.they actually make things happen with the exhibits. There is A LOT to explore and learn here, and it really was fun. In fact, the opposite happened & I had to drag them away from activities to move onto the next one. I was worried that my tweens and teen would be bored but that wasn’t an issue at all. The exhibits are presented in a way that’s engaging for ANY age. This is truly a museum that is great for adults, teens and preschool kiddos. Very relevant and educational in a way that will stick with kids to reinforce what they learn in school.

Discovery center springfield mo