NCMLS Reviews

Awesome!!!!! Great museum! Staff are excellent and exhibits are great!

Volunteers are very polite and patient. The food at the Sprout Cafe. Is wholesome and fresh, served promtly.

We had an awesome time! Beautiful grounds, great place to go with kids! Well worth it and the food at the restaurant was really good!

We especially enjoyed the butterfly house! There was a wonderful volunteer who was almost invisible, but was there to answer questions and engage us in the amazing life in the butterfly house.

This museum was amazing, and my 3yo had a blast! We went on a cloudy day which made it even better with the cooler air. My favorite part was the treehouse and my son loved the fog area. I highly suggest this museum and if you live closr, just buy the membership

So much new stuff! We became members again today (had a membership over a year ago) and we were not disappointed! The new Earth Moves exhibit was a huge hit with my 7 and 9 year old. We can't wait to experience it in warmer weather. Lots of seating at each exhibit so your kids can play while you save your feet. Plenty of animals, interactive exhibits, and many different subjects for any interest.

Kids love it here. As an adult I even love it here. Great museum!!!

Great day with young family everyone was fully engaged

Exceptional place for kids of ages 1 and above. Lots of neat stuff. Lots of diverse stuff. Combines learning and active fun with a really well organized layout. Just an awesome place. It's the first place we think of when out of towners are looking for something fun for their kids.

My kids loved to visit. My daughter really enjoyed the life sized dinosaurs when we visited and my son found all sorts of fun all over the exhibits. It was remarkably well suited for children with receptive disorders and did not overwhelm them as i was concerned about.

Fun place to walk around and see the exhibits. Be careful at the vending machines. 12oz water was stocked with 10oz.

We were really excited to visit this museum because my husband grew up in town and attended 15 years ago. He found that many of the exhibits were the same and many were broken. We have a wonderful zoo in our hometown so we weren't very excited about the animal areas. The butterfly and bug space was nice but very crowded. We expected more from the Cafe but it looked like a Cafeteria and the food was very expensive. Overall the price of admission compared to what you get seemed disproportionate.

Thank you for having an electric charge port!!!

The 21+ Museum Afterhours are always a blast.

This museum is just incredible. Like many of the museums in NC, you don't need small children with you to enjoy them. My husband and I have walked around the museum/outdoor facilities a few times, and it has been a lot of fun. Though the main museum section is tailored to small children with interactive exhibits and learning opportunities, the area that really makes the museum shine is the live animal enclosures, cafe, and butterfly house. It's really neat to not have to drive all the way to the Asheboro Zoo and deal with all the huge crowds in order to see/learn about specific or local animals. The Sprout Cafe food is tasty, while the gift shop (which also has a coffee spot) is terrific as well. We think the museum admission is a bit pricey, but considering you can easily spend most of the day there, we think it's worth it. It all really lets you experience that same spark of curiosity you get as a kid.

We love this place. The hours fly by and you can spend your whole day inside or out...all depends on the whims of the kids. The butterfly house and giant treehouse are not to be missed!

$40 for myself and my 4 year old son. It was not worth it. The only, the only engaging thing they offered was a paper airline station that I could do at home. These mothers must be paid to write 5 star reviews. I would give it 2 stars had the train not cost additional money but it did. The butterfly exhibit was small, the entire building which is large, was a waste. A bunch of bugs living in there for no reason. The restaurant was closed, really disappointed in that. We had to walk everywhere, the exhibits just were not for kids and some were really pointless. Once again $40 for one adult and a child. I could go to any zoo in NC for less and see amazing things. The animal exhibits were all blocked off. You couldn t see the bears up close. The coyote exhibit you couldn t see the two coyotes either. They were laying about 80 feet away 30 feet up on the cliffs. It was just a really disorganized museum. I promise you as. Father, I ll never drive 52 minutes to go there again. Go spend your money at Marbles in downtown Raleigh, the Aloha Safari Zoo where you actually get to be 3-5 feet from tigers and kangaroos and you can feed llamas and zebras off a safari tractor pull or the outdoor drive in theatre at Raleigh.

Not too bad for a small museum. The one in Raleigh I think offers more.

This is a fantastic museum. There are a wide variety of interactive exhibits for kids of all ages. The new treehouse area is fantastic! We always try to make a stop at the butterfly house - if you can get there when they're releasing the newly hatched butterflies, that is an experience not to be missed.

Great time for the kids. Very hands on. I home school my children and like that the events work with my curriculum

Great place... wonderful for family... worth to get the yearly pass !!!

This is a really neat place to visit if you have small children. The outside exhibits are far more interesting than what is inside. Hideaway Woods exhibit was closed for maintenance and that was disappointing. My children range between 11-16 and the exhibits are geared toward the younger children. We enjoyed our time but probably will not be back.

This place is amazing! It s humongous, has some of the best space artifacts you ll find in the state, a beautiful butterfly greenhouse, a train, and cool animals!

We recently became members of the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. We had visited the museum before; but, this visit was even better. The customer service from the museum employee (Terrence) at the front desk was fabulous! From the moment we walked through the door to the moment we left the museum, he seemed very genuine while assisting us. Also, Corey (I believe he was the manager) was very nice and helpful as well!

I love all of the cool things at the museum! There are so many exhibits to enjoy. But, great customer service is the icing on the cake.

The Greensboro Science Center has more to offer and at a more affordable price. The staff members were very unkind to my children.

The Museum of Life and Science is a great science museum with many unique spaces to learn from and to enjoy both indoors and outdoors. With hands on exhibits and some great learning and playing spaces, this museum offers a wide variety of experiences for the whole family. Wear some walking shoes if you are going to see any of the larger outdoor animal or nature exhibits!

Exciting AdventuresMonday

(Memorial Day)

10AM 5PM

Holiday hours

Very nice museum for both children and adults...great play areas for children! Especially liked the butterfly world area.very scenic..

A museum that truly celebrates the diversity of life and the wonder of science via a myriad of interactive stations...! There's truly something here for every one, across the age ranges, and makes the life of this toddler mom so much more interesting, educated and full of joy.

There are activities for all ages and more than you can even for into one day. Indoor and outdoor activities that are both fun & educational. It's one of our favorites places!

Great place for family fun. Tons of activities for the kids, indoors and outside. You can easily spend a full day visiting the various places outside; the butterfly house, the dinosaur trail, the play ground or the farmyard. Then there are all the activities inside the main building, all of it is very much hands-on activities. All encourage your child to learn or use their mind. Exhibits are always changing. So even for annual members like my wife and I, there is always something new to see when we visit.

I have been going to this museum since I was in kindergarten. I'm now 22 i have a little boy and he loves this place. They have made tons of improvements and have added many many things. My son's favorite part of the museum for some reason seems to be the stairs in front of the butter fly house -_-

Loved the releasing of the new butterflies at Magic Wings Butterfly House!

Went on a field trip with my grandson Bryce had a blast.

Love this place. IMO, best for kids over 18 months old. Lots to do inside and out. You can bring a picnic, but you'll have to eat outside the museum. We usually bring snacks inside with no problem. The cafe is good but pricey. If it's warm, be sure to check out the creek outside in the tree house area. I recommend bringing a change of clothes and shoes (and a towel) because my kids always end up getting in and getting pretty wet. Bring a stroller if you're going outside - there is a ton of walking. And if your kids want to ride the little train, make sure to buy tickets at the front desk. You can't buy them at the actual train. Have fun!

Lots of things to explore for all ages. We've gone several times and still haven't seen everything. I bought an annual membership and it's well worth the cost. It's awesome they rent strollers but take Clorox wipes because the one they gave us was filthy. I asked the girl if they clean them and she looked at me like she didn't understand what I was talking about. It took me 10 minutes to clean out the cracker/food crumbs, dirt, etc. It was gross.

Super good my 5 year old boy I enjoy it to the fullest.

Great place for kids combining wonderful outdoor playcity, small zoo and quite expansive nature museum

So much to do both inside and outside. Loads of interactive exhibits.

With a huge variety of activities, this is an amazing place to spend a Saturday.

The perfect place for children to have fun, and have fun learning. We have been there several times but there is still so much more to experience and see.

Plenty of room to socially distance. Cool outdoor exhibits. The new Earth Moves exhibit was way cool. The boys had fun.

We had my child's birthday party there. Nobody helped us get the things up to the birthday room, which was in the building with the butterfly house, which can only be accessed by a path. When we got to the birthday room, there were food crumbs on the floor, tables and the counter top on the side. The room was not even cleaned for our party. There were ants on the counter top too. When I asked the staff member there, I was told that "It should have been cleaned, but maybe the previous staff member was in a hurry. When I showed concern that my child had an egg allergy, and i saw cake crumbs there, answer it was probably camp, where most food are allergen free...!! Really!!!
I had no help to set up and had to wipe all the tables & counter top with paper towels that I had luckily carried with me!! Well.. my ordeal didn't end there. I had emailed the birthday Party coordinator for 20 party favors. but, when it was time to hand them out, there were none available. Then, to my embarrassment, the parents of the kids, had to go to the gift shop, on the way out after an hour, to get the party favors.
I expressed my dissatisfaction to the party coordinator, but all i got was a apology, with no further action. I paid to get a good party for my kid, which did not happen as expected. I am so disappointed, I for sure will not have a birthday party there, in the future!!
On the other hand, a kid's birthday party that I had hosted at the Marbles museum was an amazing experience!!! We had a party coordinator with us all along, who took our stuff from the car, at the museum entrance, stayed throughout, to set up, cake cutting and all the little stuff, right up to helping us load up the car at the end of the day.

Amazing tree houses, small train, animals galore.. wonderful place for kids to learn & explore! & fun for adults too!

Need to rename it as a zoo....you know how hard it is to find it if you're looking for a zoo in Durham is almost impossible unless you know where it is already by things around there. is a very good place to go and check stuff out since I was a kid but seriously put zoo and train ride in the name.

A perfect indoor/outdoor play and learning extravaganza for kids.

Great for families. Everything is an interactive experience. There is nothing there that you just look at. You are always touching or using something.

I have kids ages 0-11 and we can spend a little or as much time here rotating through areas and everyone is engaged.

Large, plenty of interesting exhibits, fantastic for kids!

Great place for a family day. Visited with my Wife, Son, Daughter in law and 3 year old Granddaughter. It's all about hands on play and learning for the little ones. The butterfly garden was interesting and fun.

Really expansive museum and outdoor play area. They don t limit visitors, multiple bus loads of school kids, which makes it impossible to use the facility if you have smaller kids. We will probably visit again on an off day.

Awesome place to take the kids to learn. So much to do and different environments. My neice loved to mist zone.

This place is amazing! A lot of stuff to do for kids. You can literally spend a whole day here just exploring the different sections and what not. There's something for all ages and plenty of exhibits and activities that are really educational. Most of the museum is outside but there is a large indoor section as well. My 3 and 8 year old kids loved this place and were exhausted by the time we were finished for the day. We drove all the way up from Charleston, SC to spend a weekend in Durham, NC and enjoyed the area a lot! With that being said, the reason for the 3 star review was the poor customer service that we ran into with multiple employees. Specifically the Sprout Cafe where all of the young workers there were miserable and had ZERO customer service. It's very sad to but unfortunately there's not a lot that can be done about that.

Life is not easy on brick and mortars these days so I try to bear that in mind. I saw a lot of young people who made sure to greet us with a smile and that's greatly appreciated. Some of the policies enforced by the more senior staff are hard to stomach though. We are members and could only find tickets at later time slots, even a week out. We arrived (from Charlotte) early and thought we'd check in with them in case they could take us in early. We were told we could enter only if we paid for full price tickets, again. That just doesn't feel right. So you have time slot availability and you'd rather not fill it (and accommodate a member) if it doesn't make you extra money. I get it if you're down to a few but when you tell me "we have lots of room for non-members", it sounds like you could have spared a few.

Meanwhile, that electric vehicle charger on the right (there are two total) is still inoperative. Is it ever going to get fixed? Given that both days we visited there was a car parked in the one that works, I'd say they're very appreciated by your customers.

Lastly, we look forward to visiting when the insect museum is open, when the main museum is open (not just the gift shop), and when in general we're not paying full price for a limited experience.

UPDATE: 10/24/2020 The right charger works! Thank you!

Visited for work on Wednesday. Very impressed and can't wait to bring my kids here!

Last time I was there, they kept the largest Alligator Snapping turtle in the tiniest space. Probably shortened the poor thing's life by several years.

We have been members for two years and will continue to be as long as we live in North Carolina. Worth the trip from Fayetteville even off just for a day trip. Booth My 6 and 3 y/o absolutely love it, both inside and out. Always a great atmosphere for any age child. Kids can roam free and explore at their own pace. limit seems to be only their own imagination.

Great place for kids and adults. Prepare(i.e. hydrate and comfortable shoes) for a fun, hilly, and scenic walk. It is a hidden jewel.

Great museum but the guy at the front desk was very rude

Great exhibits and trails for kids. The new treejouse area is great! My kids always love the train!

This place kept my nephews entertained all day. Have you seen that tree house? It makes me want one in my back yard. The food at the cafe was was delicious and a lot for what you pay for at a museum. I will probably share a meal next time. Those flowers are beautiful too.

Side note: young employees running late for work will run your family over in the parking lot or try to hit you in your vehicle. If you're in the parking lot right before 10am, keep a close eye on your children.

We've been members for 2 years, since our son was 1, and there have been activities for him at every stage. He especially loves the interactive, natural outdoor spaces, and the red wolves.

So many things to do! This is a great place for kids and adults alike. You can learn and move at the same time with dynamic exibits.

We are big fans of this museum. There's lots to do for children of all ages and in all weather. Our favorite is the toddler area right now, with a toddler of our own, but the whole museum can be enjoyed even now.

This is a phenomenal science museum. They re ever changing, looking to each all ages and always have something new. They do offer a discount for zoological society members as well as offering a membership program to go more often.

Super fun place for adults and kids. We are annual pass holders and try to go a few times a month. The annual pass is a great deal. At just a few times a month it get the price down to a few dollars per visit. Parking is free. Food vendors all take cards except the lemon ice vendor who only takes cash. Train is extra and worth it but probably not an every trip activity.

Great place for younger kids to explore. Interesting exhibits and hands-on activities.

We had a blast here! 4 generations (11 months-70+) all found something enjoyable! However I wish there was just a touch more to do inside for older infants & toddlers besides the play area. We'll be back once our little one is a bit older & we find ourselves back in Durham!

Educational & Fun for all Ages!
I grew up visiting this museum, and it's only gotten better as the years have passed! I recently visited with my in laws and little nephews (and my 2 month old babe) and I was pleasantly surprised with how it has improved! (And how it's stroller friendly) My favorite additions were the giant tree houses! How neat! The outside is where we spent the majority of our visit, but inside is just as fun as well. I see myself definitely going back in the coming years as my son grows.

We held our wedding here on June 22, 2019. From guests who visited during the day to guests that were seeing the museum for the first time at our ceremony, everyone had positive things to say about our choice of venue. My favorite part was doing our first look in the butterfly house. It was such a magical place to see my bride in her wedding dress for the first time. I was awestruck. I couldn t have asked for a better moment.

The museum staff were great with Lauren helping coordinate our wedding up until the day-of and Chase coordinating the day-of. They answered all our questions and were on top of anything that came up. We were a little eager to move forward when we booked the venue nearly a year and a half before our wedding, but Lauren was great at working with us despite having other, nearer, events to work with. The timelines and all the materials we were provided were very helpful!

Lauren and Chase also coordinated our vendors so when we showed up the day-of, everything was setup and ready to go. It was a huge relief to see when we arrived!

All-in-all, we highly recommend the Museum of Life and Science for weddings (and visiting)!

They loved it! I can't wait to take them again. So many family friendly things and worth the cost of membership.

It makes learning fun! Not to mention my kids have no clue that they are learning! I sooo enjoy it myself! It's a win win win!

A great place for kids and adults! There's something for everyone- dinosaurs, animals, insects, engineering & space. The museum's indoor and outdoor exhibits are well-designed and kid-friendly.

Man this place is amazing several outside play areas. Tree houses, butterfly and insect building, main building full of awesome areas and there is a train to ride! You need to bring your family here.

We have had a membership for 6 months and we are still discovering new things to do. <3