My grandkids still enjoy visiting but their interest has become less over the years. They've all aged out of Itty Bitty Magic city and are getting tired of other permanent exhibits/activities. We will probably take a break from it for awhile.
Great place for children to learn and have fun while doing it.
Went for free museum day and the staff was so nice and the facility was really clean. I went when I was a child and took my niece and it was just as great as I remembered!
My son and I love when we are in Birmingham and can visit here. Our only wish is that we lived close enough for a membership!
A must see if anywhere near Birmingham, for kids and adults alike! Such a delightfully fun place, and with the greatest one of a kind IMAX theater! I love this place and my sons do too! Hours of entertainment and worth every dime! A cool gift shop, little cafe, parking deck, and on street parking. Bonus- you feel smarter after spending a few hours here, really. You owe it to yourself to go to The Mcwane at least once! Everyone should! You're worth it! Super fun and super cool!
Awesome time with the kids! We had a freakin blast!!
Awesome place to bring kids. Even little ones will have loads to do. See if they are doing demonstrations when you get there.
Plenty to do, fair price, near parking and food. The McWane Center is a great place for children, especially young children to explore and learn. My daughter LOVES their Kiwanis Club little city play area where she can pretend to be a store clerk, mechanic, firefighter, and short order cook all in a day. It costs me about $50 to park and bring our family of 3 here. Given what all you get it's a reasonable rate I think and I definitely recommend a trip if you've a little one or two.
Fantastic for children of all ages including adults. I loved its cinema.
Our kiddos live this place 7th year with a family membership
We spent the day in Birmingham and wanted to see what else there was to do. The Blue Star Museums listed this as a place to visit so we went and used the free entry to just kill some time. We knew it would be kid oriented but it was actually more fun than we thought. I had been once before about a decade ago and it had been rented out for our work conference. It was fun then and was fun still too. The water world was more fun than the zoo! You can touch the animals in the tank which was fun. There were so many exhibits that you can really learn a lot from even as adults. We did enjoy getting most of it scene before the kids came as we went right at noon. Overall, it was a fun experience and really well thought out.
Really great kids museum. Will definitely come back.
Just plain go. It's amazing and fun, educational and well done for anyone 3-99
Beautiful, it lookd like you're out of space please visit their IMAX wonderful
This is a place I loved. So much to learn, so much to do and just leave your kid or toddler and let them go wild.
This was SUPER fun to go to! Especially if you add the IMAX to your adventure! For me, petting the Sting Ray's and sharks was the best... but my daughter loves the tension bike, and the tornado simulator!
Great place to take your children. The best part is adults love it too so it's a win-win. That know how to make learning fun and do it extremely well.
I give it 5 stars for the place and how much my girls LOVE it. Plenty to do. 1 star is because the lady at the front desk, Ashley, was one of the rudest people to me and my family. Had no interest in explaining the membership options to us. Was extremely annoyed that we asked about military discount and refused to let us ask additional questions. We even asked if she was having a good day and she responded incredibly hateful. Please hire ppl that have customer service skills
It's gone down hill since the last time we went. Like the last 2 upper floors are boring. All the fun is in that floor with the gift shop.
This place is amazing and well worth a membership! My daughter loves coming. We are actually memeber of the space and rocket center but get in here for free
Money well spent and hours well spent! My son can't wait to go back every time we leave!
Great place to give a joyful day to your kids ( or yourself :) ) Almost every single item is exciting for kids and adults :), and they give some insight into different scientific fields.
Great place for a school or family visit. Has a lot of scientific material and fun activities to do.
Amazing. Kids loved the interaction. Of course the Itty Bitty City was Great! We spent hours inside.....
My wife and I took our two kids, 10 and 2, on a Saturday. We have been during the week before and prefer that time because there are not as many people. They both liked the touch tank in the basement and all the different thi gas on the first floor. My two year old loved the Itty Bitty City section and the 10 year old played with him too.
It's as much fun for the big people as it is for the little ones.
Took the fam jam down (well, up) to the McWane Science Center on one of my cushy paid holidays and let...me...tell...you...IT WAS A BLAST!!! The kiddos (and the wifey) absolutely loved it! We will definitelly be back for sure!
Sidenote: There is also a very tasty Puertorican restaurant like 12 minutes away called "Tropicaleo" and you should totally give them a visit (perfect for a relaxing - and unique - lunch experience) and tell the owner that I sent you.
You won't regret visiting the McWane Science Center OR the Tropicaleo restaurant - promise!
P.S. If you eat at Tropicaleo...try the "Tostones" and the classic Rice and Beans.
I have a 5 year old and we came here on a field trip and really enjoyed. Its a great place for hands on learning and fun.
Really well done science center. So much to do for kids of all ages.
There's something for all ages at McWane. The Itty Bitty Magic City is a huge hit for the 5 and under crowd with all kinds of pretend play (fire station, grocery store, cafe, etc). Lots of hands on experiences throughout the entire museum, even a mini aquarium with a sting ray/shark touch tank. The whole family loves it.
Lots of exciting things to do. Even has an ocean discovery area where you can touch sharks and sting rays
Our kids really enjoyed the science center and so did we.
We have 3 small kids and have taken them to museums from Birmingham to Philadelphia, and we've been most impressed by McWane. Really a phenomenal interactive place for the kids. Great fun.
It was good went on Sunday me ,my daughter and grandson it was very nice i think a little pricey but overall nice for the kids
great place to bring your spoiled little brats and spend a lot of money
This is worth the money!! We all loved the whole experience!!
My children always enjoy and find something new to discover
Hands down one of the best destinations for children (and adults!) in Birmingham. There's more than enough to fill an entire day, with my daughters particularly enjoying the Itty Bitty Magic City play area, the rotating third floor exhibits, the dinosaurs, the zip line and model trains in the winter, and the Big Machines day. The daily science shows are always fun too, when you can catch them. Adults won't be bored either, there are plenty of exhibits that let the "big kids" play too, all while teaching you fun little nuggets of knowledge. Highly recommended!
Great place to spend an afternoon with the kids, great military rate!
We love McWane! I suggest getting a membership, especially if you have a large family, & plan to attend more than once per year. You will save so much money this way! I didn t know this until my 3rd visit to McWane when I finally took the time to educate myself on becoming a member. By the 3rd visit, I had paid more for my family s admission for 2 visits than our yearly membership costs! Plus you receive free parking, discounted food court, & all the perks (special activities for members only).....it is truly worth it. I would also suggest tying to go through the week if you have small preschool age children, because it can get very crowded & overwhelming during the weekends.
McWane science center was great even with some activities closed due to covid. Facility was clean lots of hand sanitizer stations throughout the building. The custodian was there cleaning areas and sanitizing them. I would definitely recommend taking your children there. My girls were 12 and 13 and they had a really good time.
Love this place! You need to go ahead and get the family membership. It pays for itself after like 2 visits. You also get free parking as a member. We probably go 4 times a year or so...
Our kids absolutely love this place!!!! Very clean, very interactive and a great value. Our membership has more than paid for itself and we live 4hrs away!
Always enjoyable. My 5 year old and 10 year old loved it.
We took our niece and nephew and I left my phone on one of the levels. A teen volunteer put it on security's desk. Security gave it to the front desk. I got my phone back! Sweet people and a fun experience!
Our 2 year old loves Mcwane Center especially Itty Bitty Magic City. We always have so much family fun when we visit. We just decided to get a membership and it is totally worth it.
Great fun for the children and adults. Did not see the IMAX movie but the three levels was neat. Would like to see more on the third level though.
The itty bitty magic city exhibit is the perfect environment for the small kids. Parents can relax a bit there. Limitless fun and photo ops.
Three generations of my family went for a day and everyone from my 18 month old niece to my parents who are in their 70s had a wonderful time! Everything was in working order and the variety of activities and subject matter was top notch. If you re in the area come spend the day it s well worth it.
Great activities for our 2 and 4 year old children! I didn't give 5 stars because some of the activities were broken.
I love this place.
This place is awesome.
Making memories with my children is one of my highest priorities & this is definitely the atmosphere to do it in. The kids can be kids & learn at the same time. I absolutely recommend this to anyone who has adventurous kiddos.
Cool place for kids and adults. It could use a little sprucing up, though. Some of the exhibits havent been updated in about 20 years.
It is spectacular! Recommended for 100% boys and family too!
Love this place. Kids love it and the get to see a lot of cool stuff.
This is one of the very best places in Alabama and by far the best place in Birmingham to spend time with a child. It's fun and educational which is very hard to pull off but they do it well.
The kids liked it. It was fun but made for an expensive day. Food and drinks have movie theater prices. Parking takes money. The Imax is the price of a movie ticket in addition to the admission. Don't see Apollo 11 in Imax. It was basically documentary footage used from 1969 shown on the ceiling stretched and blurry. The entire family was disappointed. We picked the space movie to see in Imax not knowing that is was nothing but footage taken in the 60's. A waste of time and money. Watch it at home on TV. Lots of hands on stuff for kids. I wasn't exactly thrilled with the day.
Great group adventure! Great for kids! Awesome dinosaur exhibit!
Great museum for families. Some features include a domed IMAX theatre and everything is hands on
Fun place to bring the kids on days that they can't play outside.
We went here with my daughter school and had a great time
I dont know who had the most fun the adults or the kids.
They are really good at changing out exhibits and bringing in new attractions. Our kid loves it.
We absolutely LOVE the science center!! It has places to learn and play for all ages. My son is 2 and this place is like the greatest place on earth for him. There is a place called the itty bitty magic city for kids kindergarten and younger - it is his favorite place ever! The summer can be busy when it's hot out, because everyone wants something to do inside. The school year can also be busy with field trips, but doesn't matter. It's still fun. They have an aquarium downstairs which is really cool and you can even pet stingrays and sharks. Oh, and there is an amazing food court across the street. Pizitz food hall - they have high chairs. Become a member of the science center because it is worth it!!!
This place is so fun for all ages. My 2 and 4 year olds really enjoyed Itty Bitty City on the 2nd floor. It was nice to know that they couldn't escape so I could focus on one child at a time. The other floors seem more geared toward older kids, but there really is something for everyone. It is also a really great price for a place like this. If you haven't been, please go!
Firs time with our 8 year old. He had a blast and we did too. Very convenient attraction.
The kids always have a fun time and leave tired and happy.
mcwane.org