California Science Center Reviews

Talk to a diver everyday at 11 and 2:30 during the Kelp Exploration show, ask about the Garibaldi.

Very interesting, educational and entertaining science center.

Great inexpensive place to visit. Food is best bought outside of the museum itself to save money but if you don't mind paying extra to support the museum you can always pitch in.

Excellent place to take kids. Many of the exhibits are made to touch and it s great for my toddler who wants to touch everything and get into everything.

It s awesome that it s free to get in. Special exhibits cost extra but there s so much to see that you really don t have to pay for the extra exhibits unless you really want to.

Endeavour is free during the weekdays but costs money on the weekends and holidays. However, I think the cost is minimal like $3 or something like that.

Parking is cash only at $12 which is steep but that s LA for you.

Also, the CSC has a food court that is also pretty pricey but has a good variety - American fast food, tacos, pizza, cafe/bakery, and a convenience store/market that offers all kinds of drinks (juice, milk, etc) and small bites like fresh fruit, cheese and crackers, chips, etc. The gluten free options are limited but you can bring your own food.

Food isn t allowed in the museum if it s out. As long as you keep the food in your bags, you ll be fine.

The Expo rose garden is just outside the back doors so you can go have a picnic and there is seating inside and out of the food court area.

Took my 3 year old and she had a blast. Spent all day here and she keeps asking me to take her back.

Always interesting and exciting to come here. The parking is expensive now 16 dollars and quite busy during school breaks. I suggest to go really early lots to do and see. My dav is the flash flood in the desert area. My daughter lives the bird experience of catching food with pretend beak.

You can see a real space shuttle.
The explanation staff was also a former engineer at my time and was able to hear the details.

Experience for both kids and parents, and a fantastic IMAX movie (not free)

I was here for a private celebration of life for a close friend. Walking in under the aquarium then sitting under the space shuttle during the event was breathtaking. This place is a must see. It has change alot from forty years ago when I use to visit.

We love this museum. This trip we saw amazing treasures from Tuts tomb and the space shuttle....where else can you do that!?!?!

Great experience, good to go if you have interest in science

Suitable only for kids. For adults, it's very basic

Dynamic views, wide information, interesting exhibits and the cherry on the whipped cream - the ferry!

Fun museum, great learning experience for the whole family.

We spontaneously became aware on the Internet that the Endavour is in LA and are then gone. It is absolutely positive that admission is free. And the parking lot was only $ 12 for the whole day. Unfortunately we did not expect that there was so much to see and do and had too little time. You can easily spend a whole day there. If you're into space and aviation, you've come to the right place.

If you have the time to go to L.A. make sure you have time for visit their museums.. and this is one of the most interesting they have the Endevour Space Shuttle that was used in Real space Missions. Mostly of the time is FREE. KIDS AND ADULTS WOULD LOVE IT!!. You can make a reservations in te web page.. but also enter without tickets. 10/10... !! And if you have more time check the museum of Natural History of L.A. next to the Science Center. YOU CAN TAKE FROM DOWNTOWN L.A THE RED LINE TO 7TH AND METRO STATION AND MAKE CONNECTION WITH EXPO LINE AND GO TO THE EXPO/ VERMONT AND CROSS THE STREET TO THE RIGHT.

Great place to take the kids and aside from paying for parking, the general attractions are free. But definitely recommend paying to see the shuttle. It's fricken amazing!

Fun and free they are slowly remodeling so some of the displays are pretty dated.

The only place in the world you can actually touch the Endeavour

My kids love it here so much to do and interact with They especially love the fish tanks !!!

I grew up coming here, they always have great exhibits and aquariums. It's an affordable family-friendly place to hang out, take photos, and learn about science and the world around us! I included some photos I took there.

It's Educational and lots of interactive displays. The Discovery exhibit has a short video clip about the journey to Los Angeles home. The King Tut exhibit is awesome, it shows many artifacts along with a paragraph describing what they are.

Saw the Endeavour today and it really was awe-inspiring. It's donation-based so absolutely affordable. I also really enjoyed the ocean area, complete with touchable creatures like anemones, star fish, and urchins. The Blackbird parked next to the parking lot was also incredible.

Went on an unfortunate day where there were many school field trips. It was too crowded, but otherwise very cool.

I was today at the Tutankamon exposition. It was mega overcrowded. Very few artefacts only and not the pharon's mask. Totally disappointed. 12 dollars parking.

We made the drive up from San Diego just for the Tut exhibit. I didn't realize what a massive museum this was! Included in our special Tut admission was the Endeavor exhibit. O highly recommend both! It was beyond amazing to see all of Tut's treasury even though the mummy wasn't there. And to see the shuttle up close was awesome. And these were just the 2 additional exhibits. The entire museum has so many different exhibits! We barely scratched the surface. We also did the IMAX movie about Tut which was great . Parking was additional. On

There are not many places you can see a real space shuttle.

I really enjoyed the way the exhibits were displayed. You want to learn? Come here, you want to hide from your significant other? Come here. This place is huge, you can easily spend and enjoy the whole day here

It s free! Which is wonderful but it s very dated. Mostly crowded with bus loads of school children. Has a food court (sells beer and wine too) and the rose gardens are beautiful!

This is a free museum that is great for a day trip, especially with children. The exhibits are fun, engaging, and thought out so that both adults and youngsters can enjoy!

The Endeavour was surprisingly moving to see up close. Get NASA back out there ASAP. The rest of the Science Center is still fantastic for kids and grown-ups.

Great facility for families. Most attractions are Free!

Free exhibits, awesome food court, rose garden.....options

Free to get in, an amazing aquarium, very cool exhibits, and you can see the space shuttle. By far our favorite museum. Even though it's free, we always donate money when we go in. Sometimes just a dollar per person, but more if we have it. Such a great deal for a family on a budget. And you can take the metro here, too! Gift shop is reasonable but the food is quite expensive!

It consists of several segments - Aerospace Museum (for enthusiasts), IMAX Theater, Creative World (shows technological progress), World of Life, Air and Space Galery. Everyone will find something for themselves, a place for people of all ages.
(Los Angeles card)
Parking cheaper on the street than on the premises of the museum complex .

Great place to explore for my preschooler. He asked me to bring him back here the next day. Hope we have this center in northern california ;) will be back when we come to visit LA again.

I always take my grandkids whenever I can, been taking them for the past 10 or 11 years now. Although they are teens now we always enjoy our visit.
They always have different hands on displays interesting and fun gadgets to play with even for us grown-ups!
They even have dinosaurs! A theater! and so much more!
This is a must see! Can't wait to go again!

An amazing place to spend the day with the hole family. Lot's to do and learn. We had fun!!!!

Very nice to hang around with kids for a large chunk of the day. The Endeavour is impressive. The IMAX movie was also worth our while.

Impressive museum. Also it's free! The shuttle is so inspiring to walk around up close. Also inside there are some fun displays and cool learning for kids. The IMAX theater is also awesome and worth the fee.

Very good place to visit, hope fix some experiences.

Wonderful!! It is to spend all day! Several areas with interactive activities.

Note, this place is still good for kids, I'm working from a perspective of someone in their mind 20s. I remember going here about 13 years ago as a kid and seeing all the cool things that they had and loving all the interactive displays that they had. Well, all those years later it's still mostly the same! Seriously, some of the things here after so outdated it's almost embarrassing to bring friends here. The endeavour space ship was a really cool thing to visit, and I skipped the human body show since it cost quite a bit for me and didn't really seem all that exciting. Overall, it looked outdated, run down, and just not the fun place it used to be. I think they got funding cut from them since it's a state museum. If they actually charged for entrance maybe they could fill this place with some really cool displays. If you're in the area, skip this museum and go to the natural history museum; that's a really cool place!

This Place is amazing! Right in the parking lot you are greeted with a display of the SR-71 Blackbird one of my favorite planes.. Once inside you are greated with a couple of more jets suspended from the ceiling. I have four kids and there was so much for them to see and do here we ran out of time. On our agenda was visiting Endeavour and seeing an Imax Movie. I highly recommend purchasing Imax/Endeavour Combo's. Out of the 3 movie choices we were so glad we watched the presentation on the hubble telescope.
I read some of the other reviews on here complaining of the displays being outdated and in poor condition. I have to disagree completely, alhtough there were a couple of broken interactive displays in the kids discovery zone area the rest of the displays were beautiful and inspiring. The whole facility itself is beautifully kept and clean. The staff was helpful and courteous. The really cool thing is its not to hard on the pocket book. Parking is 10 bucks, (as of 09/01/13) and that's all you have to pay for if you want to go to the science center. Endeavour and Imax require purchasing tickets but those prices are completely reasonable.
Those people who come on here and complain are either complainers by nature or have unreasonably high expectations.

A place to understand everything in science. It's not enough even if you stay all day. Good souvenir shop with good price and pizza is delicious.

The visiting exhibits are always worth the extra fee. Great place to bring kids.

Love coming to see the shuttle. The Science Center has been a favorite for my family for a long time.

Really interactive and fun, and the museum is huge and has exhibits for just about everything. Really good for families with kids (or anyone) who likes to do interactive things.

Really fantastic science museum. I particularly like the interactive exhibits

So much Science Under one Roof.....And big Cafeteria where you can Bring your Food to Eat......

Most of it is free but it is intended for small children.

We went to see the Body Works exhibit, it was amazing. :)

It is a fun activity when you are in the area. There are a lot of interactive things that help you learn. It is free to enter, but some of the other exhibits cost seperate fees. Will get crowded because Los Angeles schools take many field trips here.