We go for a visit to see our favorite displays, for special exhibits, for short and sometimes day-long visits. The special exhibits, butterflies, and special weekends (paleopalooza, etc.) are interactive and very fun for everyone!
Nice hands on areas but would expect more on the show meet and greet the Animals would have expected a little bit more than 2 animals a armadillo and a snake for 30 minutes my boy's did not care for and got bored.
Excellent place to "see" creatures in their natural environment
Went during the Minecraft event with & for our 2 small children. They were more in all of the museum exhibits than the event. It is a quicker walk through then expected, but never the less, the kids had a blast
I know this isn't as big of a natural history museum as other, bigger cities have. However, for the price, it wasn't a good value. Alumni of Drexel do not get the same discount as the current students get. I do like the kid's "excavation area" and the butterfly exhibit.
Here you will learn more than you do not have knowledge.
Fun if you are under 5 or have a child under 5, some interesting information, but is for very little kids. It is a very small "museum." The staff was nice, but should be free for what it is. They pretty much have dead animals, electronic dinosaurs and kiddie activities. The butterfly thing was enjoyable, though.
One of my favorite museums in the city. It is heavily involved with the community and local areas, and supports several clubs (fossil, shells, etc.). I enjoy visiting and taking my nieces and nephews regularly.
The Academy of Natural Sciences may very well be the most family-friendly museum in the area. You will constantly find families inside. The collection is excellent, however seldom rotated. You'll find the same exhibits on display even five years from your visit. The building is very small, so expect to spend only half a day, if that, visiting.
Good place for little ones. They have large dioramas for them to look at and a dino dig area to play in.
A LOT of fun, the dinosaur exhibits were amazing. Highly recommended!
My son and I go there every year no matter what. We always have a great time just wandering the Halls. The Taxidermy is like no other and they even have an area that teaches you what Taxidermy is and how to do it. I highly suggest going to the academy it's beautiful.
Unless you have children, this museum was overpriced for what it offers. My partner and I love natural history and science museums and were disappointed that we covered the whole museum in about 25 minutes. We are detailed readers and take our time with the exhibits. Also, children were running everywhere and were out of control. Parents, please watch your kids and get off your phones! The dinosaur bone collection though is quite impressive.
A great museum geared towards young learners. There is a display of dinosaur bones though not vast can be quite impressive to a young child. There's also an area for little ones to pretend to be paleontologists and dig for bones. Other sections of the museum are very educational. There's an auditorium that sometimes has live animal shows which are educational. The displays are very dimly lit on the 1st level and 2nd floor I'm guessing for preservation purposes. My 2 1/2 yo son seemed somewhat disinterested by it and/or scared. The 3rd floor is a fun place for little ones with lots of live insects and bunny rabbits were there when I went, a sandbox with buckets and shovels/other digging materials were there which my son loved at his age. Staff would bring some insects out on occasion and talk about them with older kids. There is also an area with butterflies which is very hot. You definitely want to 'check your coat in' during winter months as the museum is fairly warm with winter clothing on. There's no actual check in though with someone supervising your jackets so your discretion is warranted though I can't say I've ever had a problem there. I would go with a full stomach as I did not see an area for eating or walk with snacks for younger ones. Lastly, there's a gift shop to find cute little gifts/ items. A fun and inexpensive activity/gift right outside of the gift shop near the staircase is a penny grinder that costs 51 cents and is fun for little kids.
Its a great place to bring children to. Or If you like to draw or study animals its a fantastic resource.
Excellent displays and helpful, friendly and enthusiastic staff. #family #kids
Great museum. A little old on some parts (NA animals) but otherwise a fun place. Butterflies exhibit is great, and hands on for kids on upper floors.
Incredible, huge museum, awesome displays and good food in the cafeteria, definitely more worth it if you have the membership
Good for dinosaurs lovers. Large collections of specimens
Had a wonderful experience at this museum. The exhibits were extremely detailed and stimulating. The interactive exhibits were fun as well.
Fantastic place to go, especially if you have children. Tons of cool activities and exhibits
I really would NOT recommend this place to folks without children. There aren't that many exhibits for $18 and they were pretty much the same things I've seen in other natural science museums/centers, and at least with the Smithsonian the admission is free. It was simply not worth the money for an adult visitor; I'm glad I had a coupon. The special exhibit of live reptiles *was* fairly decent, and that was extra $$! I hope the students and researchers who actually work there get more out of their day. So disappointed!
A lot bigger then you think we even got to touch a real dinosaur bone!
A lot of very COOL things too look at, like the World's Biggest Claws on a Lobster
Our 6 y.o. grandson loved it. Plenty for grandparents too.
This is a place that every one should visit at least once!
I enjoyed my time here. The staff were all very helpful in answering any questions that we had.
Neat to see many different animals posted in their natural habit types. Fyi Butterfly room is humid but very cool to see so many different colorful types flying about. Croc exhibit has live animals also
Even though it's a small museum the exhibits are very nice
We went to see the Crocs exhibit it was a lot smaller than we had anticipated. It was also quite expensive for a family of four almost $100 so wevwon't be doing that anytime soon again. We didn't know about the butterfly room so that was the saving grace for us. I will say that all of the volunteers were very friendly.
Science museum with hands on exhibit for children on top floor. Butterfly exhibit too.
Terrific museum to spend some time learning about how both our past and present effect our future. Gallery is well organized and exhibits were all done extremely well. Staff was both friendly and attentive. In this world of Covid 19, they did a great job of cleaning in the time we were visiting. Highly recommended!
I took my nephew there (age 6) and he had the best time ever. He couldn t stop talking about the experience where you unearthed fossils. Personally, I have to give a shout out to the woman working the front desk on 11/23. She was so nice and helpful! Great job all around!
A great family friendly museum that has something for everyone
Took my kids there for some Sunday fun. We had a blast it's highly recommended!!!
This "dinosaur museum" is great! It's not too large or packed like the Franklin Institute. They have shows with live animals and a kids area (Inside Out) where they bring out snakes and turtles.
This place is fantastic! My daughter's classmate had a birthday party here. The staff were great. They helped me find the location of the party easily and were great with the kids. There was more than enough to see and do hands on for our 2 and 7 year old children. And it really is cool to see so many different animals, dinosaur bones, and more. I highly recommend this place!
Lots of exhibits to explore, an animal demonstration & a dig for dinosaur bones activity for kids. And, an interactive dinosaur "movie". Had a great time!!
Great little museum. Only takes about 2-3hrs to go through, and that's including sitting in on one of the animal demos. Staff was friendly.
I have been to many great museums in Europe and I have to say this one is of the same caliber and has become one of my most favorite museums. The ticket price is quite high but believe me it is totally worth it. The background for the amazing real-looking animals is stunning, hand painted. I had the chance to see one (background) in the process and it is remarkable. The whole museum was enjoyable and my favorite were the dinosaurs. The dinosaur wing has amazing views of the outside so you can enjoy part of your day there too. The machine that takes you back in time for funny pictures (thanks to the green screen) was a reallt fun addition. I also liked that there were seats close to the dinosaurs so you could take cool pictures. The store is pretty great too. I also want to add how great the butterfly wing (no pun intended) was. I had the chance to see butterflies after so many years and before entering I saw for the first time a mantis! How great that was. In summary I had lots of fun and hope to visit it again in the future.
Great exhibits and educational presentation. Great for kids and adults.
Talk about a four year old's dream! The first 10 minutes all he said was "oh wow, look at that!" It was a great place and we had a fabulous time. We did splurge for the extras (butterflies and dinosaurs). Not sure the dinosaurs were worth it, but the butterflies were super fun (wear yellow and they might land on you).
Brought the kids and we all enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit
I love The Academy of Natural Sciences. I have been a big fan since I was a child and I'm glad to see the next generation of children enjoying the exhibits.
This is my grandson's favorite museum. He is five and is obsessed with dinosaurs, but finds the other areas interesting as well. We've been here three times in less than twelve months and each time it's as if he's experiencing the museum for the very first time. They make science and biology fun. Be sure to visit "outside in" and the butterfly enclosure.
Very cool place and good explanation about animals! I highly recommend to visit a section with slow animals.
Small but interesting museum to spend your weekend. Amazingly detailed animal models.
I've been visiting the academy for 6 months and I've noticed that they are having more kid-friendly activities and animal exhibits. The "outside in" playground in the 3rd floor is great for kids to be familiar with bugs, reptiles and many other types of animals with the scheduled animal touching, and in occasions, animal feeding. Worth the visit!
It's great here. Interesting for adults, fun for kids. My daughter loves checking out the Dino exhibits, the creepy crawly bugs in the kids area (they are in tanks), petting real live animals in the kids area, exploring the dioramas.. and she is 4. Their current crocs exhibit is fantastic. A nice mix of real crocodiles and alligators and some fake ones too with a lot of great information and cool interactive exhibits. We go to this museum often.
Cool kids museum. Paleontologist is the fossil room were awesome!
Some of the exhibits are a little bit dated but it's still a great museum experience you can see in a day
Good place for the money you pay. To enjoy with kids
Good for a quick museum tour. This is not an all day visit. Food was pricey and the service poor. If you are from out of town, keep that in mind and bring snacks.
Definitely a good place to bring little kids, a little drab for adults. Lots of dioramas, a few exhibits with live animals. Expected a little more for the price
My son loves dinosaurios then what better place than the museum. It's a little small but you can see different animals.
Great place to take the kids, great for the whole family. Very educational and fun.
Must see plus the omni theater is awesome! First flight air plane old school amazing and they're flown today . . . WOW!
Excellent experience while. visiting employees very helpful when asking for directions to different exhibits. I will spread the news the everyone with or without children should visit the Academy of Natural Science.
Great museum with lots to do for kids and adults. I think the main reason this isn't more popular is because it's hard to park nearby. TFI has its own garage but ANS doesn't.
Love coming here. The mythical creatures exhibit was pretty cool. Dino dig and the giant sandbox are always a favorite when we go. Staff always very friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable.
Went for Dinos after Dark and had a great time meeting and playing with some of the bugs!
Just ok. A nice museum but it has a lot to compete with in Philadelphia.
This was a family outing with a five year old. I was more than impressed with the variety of experiences. The granddaughter was a bit overwhelmed with the entrance, so we passed by the dinosaurs to start. We found the digging for dinosaurs section and she quickly warmed up to her setting. We enjoyed the live show and the butterfly room. We came back to the dinosaurs and she is still talking about the many animal dioramas. We spent a couple hours here. I highly recommend this museum.
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