Usually an interesting exhibit going on here! Very cool children hands-on activities.
However, their Genghis Khan exhibit was cringeworthy with glorification of racist Genghis portrayals in cinema (i.e John Wayne).
But generally, the Exploreum us a great family day out!
My husband and I went today. The Imax movie we saw was fantastic. This place is non-profit and unfortunately it shows. About 40% of their displays didn't work. The place needs updating, but they have done well with what they are working with. The staff was friendly and it killed a few hours.
Not impressive at all. Exhibits aren't complete; leaves you feeling you missed something.
My kids and I LOVE the Exploreum! You can't beat the Imax and the hands on center is too much fun!
My friend and I enjoyed viewing the museum and tour of the home of Jefferson Davis. It was interesting to note that he had had a black child to live with them as a member of their family before moving to Mississippi. The home is quite lovely and filled with antiques. In one of the smaller twin houses that flank each side of the homestead, a movie depicting the damage suffered during Hurricane Katrina was playing. However, don't miss the opportunity to check put the side of the building where quotes from Jefferson Davis are etched. Also spend some time under the towering magnolias where Jefferson Davis also went to pray and do Bible study.
We loved it! A great family outing not that far from Pensacola. They are right downtown in Mobile with lots of neat places in walking distance. My 2 1/2 year old loved all the hands on exhibits. I think it's great for all ages.
The front desk person was very friendly and helpful. Google says they close at 5 daily but close at 4 tues-fri. We chose a 3:00 digital dome showing. The snack bar was completely clean and basically shut down at 2:35. The front desk person popped us popcorn but we were not able to get fountain drinks/combos so we ended up spending quite a bit more on snacks. The place was smaller than the one in Birmingham but our kids still had fun.
A fun place to spend the day, especially with kids.
This museum "inspired" me to write the following post on Facebook.
I'm a US Citizen living in the US. Kids museums in Canada are just plain ol' better by a factor of at least 10+ than US museums. I've taken my son to no less than 10 museums in the US since May. Only 2 impressed and neither of those two were better than the least interesting museum I've been to in Canada. Today we went to the Exploreum in Mobile, AL. What I have noticed is that while there are interactive components on both sides of the border for kids age 10 and down, above that age level, the US museums think they can just slap up big touch screens with gratuitous environmental and health/diet messaging and this will elicit a child's passion and intellectual curiosities in biology, earth science, technology, medicine, math, civilization, space, etc. In addition, the pervasive use of *little more* than those big touch screens in the US where kids of all ages are supposed to be drawn to learn or do anything is egregiously counter-intuitive...and I'll say-- it is pathetic, teaches nothing, inspires nothing, challenges no one. It seems that museum designers believe that in order to inspire, they have to become a walk-in 'leap frog' device or it's game over for the institution. Think again curators, design committees and sponsors! You were kids once. What was the essence of your childhood experience that compelled your interests, your passions? Better yet, how about you just pay your staff-members way to a few museums in Canada and you'll quickly say, "Oh my god, we're totally doing this wrong." On top of this, some of the better things in the US museums are pay-only! Really?!?!? Come on. I pay to enter and you want me to pay additional to see a vortex of mist inside a closed plexi-glass tube with a self-service POS device on it? Nevermind that the IMAX cost 8.75 per person for a short movie. And we wonder why our institutiins are cranking out disinterested, uninspired minions who all hit the gloriously high mark of "meets expectations" in school while US companies get beaten in the face for importing actual foreign intellectual capital. Please! Exploreum, you've missed the mark like so many other museums in AL and elsewhere.
We didn't realize that this was a children's museum. It's a great museum that had gone a long way toward making science understandable and fun. On the downside, the healthy body section is in desperate need of repairs and not all of the broken exhibits are marked.
A great family orientated place that has continually changing exhibits at a reasonable price.
Wonderful place for families and children. A bit run down, would be great if more people went so they could do more repairs.
I really would like to give this place more stars. It's nothing against the people working there. They're great. It's the parents who let their kids run roughshod all over the place without consequences. That is what loses stars for this place. I had to do other parents parenting for them. That is not my idea of a fun day out with my son. Parents, pack your patience. This is going to be a really fun time for your kid or kids. However, not so fun for parents. Maybe look up the least busy time and take them then. Busy times here are just a giant ball of stress. Exhibits were good though. Could be more well maintained, but I get it.
This place is absolutely amazing! They have the IMAX theater and a clear glass windowed room where you can see the huge IMAX reels in action! The interactive children's science exploration room was incredible for adults and children. I especially enjoyed the paper airplane testing and the musical harp. There was a health exhibit that had a giant 8 feet tall beating model of a heart and a fascinating interactive maze with blocks and tools to show how difficult the task a surgeon has to do work inside the body around important and immovable structures. We only had 2 hours and ran out of time. Next time, we'll have more time! Only 4 hours' drive from Atlanta!
Enjoyed a great field trip to see the animation academy. The staff is great help moving the group through all the exhibits.
The STEM theme is a complete joke. It was just legos and construction paper. Next time I want to drop $40 on my kid to play with legos, I'll just go to Walmart
It was ok.. But expensive for the limited things you can do .. Small area under general admission
Great place for a rainy day...oh wait that's a lot of days here! Lololol
We took our two year old grandson. He played in the play area. They were between exhibits and it was kinda sparse in the museum.
Absolutely loved The National Parks Annette movie at the IMAX. We took our 17 month old with us and he loved it. It was perfect for how age, only a 45 min movie and nothing scary in it.
We enjoyed the science portion on the human body, however many of the interactive exhibits were not working and I don't believe it was related to covid because similar exhibits were working properly. There are other areas of the museum that have been adapted to covid precautions that are obvious. I'm not sure if the museum has reflected any sort of discount between non-working exhibits and altered exhibits related to covid, but it would be nice to consider that. Also, in regards to the Aerospace & NASA exhibit, to be honest, we were a bit disappointed. We were expecting something more interactive than reading and pictures. They did put it in a maze which I guess for younger kids makes a difference, but for us it was underwhelming. We spent the majority of our time in the human body exhibits.
My kids love exploreum i kown i love it too me and my older brothers we grew up every Saturday our mother and father take us to the imax
This place was absolutely fantastic! I wish I lived closer. We went here with my daughter on a field trip and I couldn't be more impressed! So much for the kids to do and learn and don't even get me started on the IMAX theater. We watched the Gallapogos Island's and it was definitely an experience to see!!!!!
My Daughter loves it here. We hang out a lot in the Scratch room that has a giant, very clean, Ball pit surrounding a ship with hundreds of sea toys to play with. The exhibits are always intriguing and the IMAX is a plus.
Great place to go but hopefully they can get the things that are broken fixed soon. Cause my kids love going.
What a fun place to spend a day! Your little ones are learning and they dont even know it!
Great place to take the kids! Lots to do and worth every $
Great place to take the kids! Mine really loved it, though my daughter WAS a little scared of the VERY inlarged HD face of a bumble bee and cried for a sec. My boys loved it
The hands on Exhibits are an awsome addition my son spent an hour there alone. The snack bar is very well priced. Most of the time they're so expensive you can't afford to have a snack. The snack bar has nice and healthy options at good prices. Having the card to take to each of the medical exhibits makes it even more fun.
Amazing museum. The dinosaur event they are currently having is absolutely perfect! The body section of the museum is awesome too. Definitely a must see
Great for hands on, all age groups have something they will enjoy learning about.
Worth the 2 hour drive to check out this place. Very fair price for what you get. Definetly get a ticket for the IMAX theater. Staff was super friendly and I always see them wiping and cleaning equipment. A great fun way to get your kids and adults to learn. Definetly be back!
My kids & I always enjoy our experience at the Exploreum with plenty activities to keep my kids engaged from open to close. Great membership deal for teachers, too!
Many of the exhibits were not functional. My child was pretty disappointed.
Great place and friendly staff. My boy had so much fun
Was expecting more... Things were either broken or it malfunctioned...
Great place for kids. My son is 1 so he got bored easily.
Kids liked it. Child area is nice. Some exhibits and paint need repair, cleaning, and updating. Workers are really nice.
We always have fun with exhibits, interactive learning & playground area for the small kid. IMAX theater is ALWAYS a must. I love that you can eat popcorn in the theater now.
In need of a little maintenance and new attractions/activities. We had a fun afternoon though. Plus, my daughter got to see her first IMAX movie.
We were on a field trip. It waa great! Seats were comfy.
Good place to spend 3-4 hours with the family, interesting movie theater with 25ish min films on dinosaurs, space etc
Cool place to bring your kids with neat scientific exhibits!
My kids love it. It was kind of small but they are doing construction.
The Exploreum holds a special place in my heart, truly. However, my most recent visit (my first as a paying adult) has left me incredibly disappointed. The "My Body" exhibit which has been here for a very long time is basically non-functional. My niece gave up even trying to interact. The dinosaur exhibit, for how much it's advertised, is very small and offers very little to learn or do. I will say the animatronics are amazing, very well done on creating the dinosaurs. I just wish there was more.
They have also removed the old exhibit that was upstairs, I believe it was called "mind on", which had some of the most fun and interactive gadgets. The kid's hands on fun zone has been drastically altered and minimized. We barely even had room to walk around, and again, my niece did one walk-through and was over it.
I know as we grow up, these places lose their wonder, but even my niece noticed how lackluster this visit was.
This place is always great. The exhibits are a fun way to learn about new things. And the "Warf of Wonder" is an awesome in door playground for younger kids.
Very neat place. The exhibit on the human body and surgery was very interactive and educational.
Good option for any age. Spent 2 hours with 3 year old. Decent sandwich choices in Cafe. Adult ticket seemed a little expensive.
It was nice but i did notice some of the displays and toys where broken. I plan to go back and hopefully that was just a one time thing
Fantastic exhibits to engage kids of most ages! The wharf of wonder was right up the 5 and under age group's alley! There is relatively little parking available close by. Be prepared to walk a couple of blocks just in case!
Had a Great time, lots of things to do and always changing. Great staff nice people.
Seemed nice at first, but once you got in there and playing with things, nothing worked. Seriously, I think maybe two things actually worked. Was extremely disappointed.
The young children's area seemed to be the best place here and where everyone congregated. There is an indoor slide area right out side the 5 and under area.
Outstanding place. Kids loved it. Very educational. Nice military discount. Well done exhibits. Would strongly recommend to others.
A number of "work in progress" signs...and hands on things that didn't work as intended. Fun for children and very educational! But a little disappointing!
I've been taking my boys to the Exploreum since they were babies. We love it and go as often as we can. The classes offered by the Exploreum staff are outstanding, very high quality hands on education. TIP: If you plan on going more than once or twice in a year's time a membership is definitely worth it, plus it gets you into other great science centers and museums for FREE!!!
Tons of stuff to do here for kids of all ages. The adults enjoyed it too. We went for the Halloween party today. Between the special activities and the regular exhibits we could have spent the entire day but we left after 3 hours because of much needed naps. We did not visit the cafe or gift shop & we did not watch an IMAX film. We would definitely buy a membership if we lived in the area. The best part of the day was definitely the pumpkin explosion.
Wonderful day outing for our ages 11 and 7 kids. Hands on experiences of all kinds, we all had a great time. Special area for 5 and under kids to enjoy. Family outing or school field trips, you won't be let down!
Good place to take the kids. They always are getting in some new exhibit. The IMAX theatre is always neat. Makes you to feel like you are there. The dinosaur exhibit was cool as was the medical and human body exhibit. They always have some child "touch friendly" exhibits.
I would like this place to get more funding. It was my first time going, and it was awesome.
I cannot say enough, fantastic place, I remember the Egyptian gallery
Didn't have as many attractions as shown online, was still interesting. Would be better for younger children.
My children love this place. Great exhibits and fun filled camps in the summer.
One of the main reasons that we decided to visit this place is because they were on the list for Blue Star museums that were free for military families. The other reason is because I have had other friends recommend it to us. All the stations they offered kept us busy but some of the items did not work properly or were not working at all. All in all we still had a great time and spent about two hours there. I wish that the staff would be more interactive with the patrons to advise us what each display was about and how it worked.
My kids loved this place. Plenty for my kids age (4, 6, 8) to do. Get the IMax with it. Of course, as with every place like this, it would be way better to buy the membership. We don't live near here so we just went for the day.
So many fun activities we didn't have time for everything! Nice spaces carved out for the under-five-year old crowd.
Loved visiting here. The kids and adults enjoyed it
Great place to visit as an adult or a child. Love the Hands-On science experiments.
The Explorium offers traveling exhibits and can also host birthday parties and other events.
IMAX theater is always an excellent addition to the visit.
A little cafe is available for light snacks and the food is edible. Be warned you may want to have cash for the cafe because there is a $3 minimum balance required to use a debit or credit card
Fun place for the whole family. Imax theater is great.
The theater is under renovation but everything else is available. The fear exhibit was fun and interesting.
Great price. Great hands on for kids. Military discount. .Thank you.
Learning science for all ages and income levels. I highly recommend this hands on museum. My students did not want to leave
What a great place for education exlploration and fun
Wish it had more rooms or signs telling to how to get to the other exhibits.
This is such a fun and educational experience for kids
exploreum.com