NCMLS Reviews

I love this museum. They have wonderful educational exhibits that are just as much fun for adults as the kids. This museum has after hours activities that are great fun for the whole family. Recently, they had a Science of Beer exhibition with many local breweries for the adults and an activity on making root beer for the kids.

The exhibits during normal hours are great too. I love the butterfly house and the farm animals. Inside the museum proper, the space exhibit is fabulous.

Some of the moms at my sons school put together a packet of fun stores to stop by during weekend errands. Some local and chain kids salons were listed, barbers for dad's and day spas for the moms.

It's further away from costco than the map says (on the mothers packet from school.) and it was further away from the eno than listed.

However the museum itself was well worth the drive from cary! My kids all loved it (is very hard to find something all my kids will do!) off the bat that was exciting and allowed me and my friends time to talk and catch up. Worry free that someone would end up saying "can we leave now?!"

They do have a place to eat was great! Bc we didn't bring food, bc our kids class made it sound a lot closer to a shpppong center.

It might not be one stop shopping for a weekend. But it is one stop fun for the entire family of all ages. Kids we had (3 families.) 4-10

This is a great place to take your kids and the butterfly exhibit is really awesome. But other than that I thought it was too pricey for what you got. We had a great time but don't get your expectations too high.

This is one of my favorite activities. The museum is great rain or shine! It has something for everyone!!

Great place to visit with the family, affordable admission and a wonderful family outing.

It was the best we stayed there for like the entire time that was open

Awesome place to go with the family. Everyone loves their time here. There is so much to do and see. And it seems like it never gets old. Plenty of stuff to do year round.

We love this place. The new tree house section is wonderful. Bring water shoes as there is a stream running through this area.

This Museum is a must go if you enjoy science and wanna get your kids to learn and enhance their knowledge!!

I ve been going here since my school field trips in elementary school, and I go back every year. This museum is absolutely amazing, fun and informational. Even as an adult I go back and feel the joy I felt as a child.

Tons of great exhibits for science fans of any age.

Love this place. Very enjoyable for both kids and adults.

Clean, safe, lots of different things for kids to do.

I am a member of the museum. Every time we go we have a lot of fun and enjoy our time.
We love the farm animals, train ride, the walk , it is a great place.

This place is amazing for kids of all ages! The animals are not to be missed (especially the lemurs). Indoor exhibits are fun but the best part is outdoors. Butterfly house, dinosaur trail, train rides. So much to do and it doesn't get old.

This is a wonderful place to enjoy with the whole family. There is something for everyone to do.

We will be having our reception at the museum. Kelly (who runs events) could not be better at what she does. I can't even remember how many emails I have sent asking question after question and she always answered with patience and concern. The price of the reception was very reasonable for what we got. Also love going to the museum to visit, very cool exhibits and a very fan way to spend the day.

You don't have to be a kid to enjoy the Durham Museum of Life and Science, it can also be a great date spot! Some of the most memorable activities include: Climbable Treehouses, outdoor improvisational music section, live animals, live insects (some that you can hold [Tarantula anyone?]), a butterfly house, and LOTS of interactive sections inside. This place is just so much fun for everyone! Highly suggested, though some exhibits are becoming somewhat dated.

Great place to take the family! Lots of indoor and outdoor activities!

My daughter and I always have a great time coming to the museum. They have done a great job with the current situation. I definitely plan to book our spots again soon!

An expensive adventure that your toddler will enjoy. As other reviews already mention, the price of admission is very high relative to quality of the exhibits. That's the big downside. On the upside, there is a full day's worth of fun to be had here. The inside parts of the museum are small but have a good variety of activities, especially for toddlers and older children. The butterflies are great. The animal exhibits are most likely going to be boring, since the bears and wolves will be sleeping. The lemurs are okay, but Duke has the real lemur deal. Overall, pricey but fun. A membership would definitely make sense if you live nearby and have kids.

One of my favorite museums or science centers in the state. Tons of information exhibits, a working mini train with rides, a treehouse forest, petting zoo, climbing exhibits, learning stations, butterfly house, and more. Tons of restrooms and cafes because it is a lot of walking. Friendly staff and amazing experience.

My niece could spend the entire day here.
From a not parent point of view I enjoy myself when I baby sit and come here. There is food and and drinks available.

Parking will and does get full on weekends

My son loves this place. It's best to get here early because it gets really busy

My children really enjoyed this place! The dinosaur exhibit is what initially attracted us but once we got to the museum, there was so much more to see and do. We stayed here for approximately 5 hours and didn't get to do everything. My kids enjoyed the dinosaurs, running through the mists, the train ride, and the tree house playground. Definitely bring a change of clothes because there are some activities that involve water. Also, there is a picnic area just outside the parking deck if you want to bring food. The gift shop on the right when you come back to the main building is awesome. The prices are very affordable and my kids got to pick more than one item to take home with them.

Best place to spend a morning with your kids! Always news things to do.

This museum is an exciting day trip for the whole family! The museum features entertaining and educational interactive exhibits with special exhibitions happening on a regular basis. A large air conditioned building complemented by numerous outdoor exhibits and walking trails makes for an enjoyable day regardless of the weather. All in all a great museum.

I had guests come from out of town. It was 1:30 in the afternoon and we were walking on the dino trail with our kids when we were met by a worker walking the donkey. My friend told her son, "Look at the donkey!" The worker yelled at her, "Back off, give us room!!!" Unbelievably rude and so uncalled for!! It wasn't even as if she and the donkey were being approached by us. If the donkey is THAT dangerous to the public, they shouldn't be walking it on the trails during open hours!! I was so embarrassed that our guests were treated that way! 'Nough said!

Absolutely fantastic outdoor recreation for kids. Wish we had something like this in our city.

My wife's car pump adapter locked the bucket and the museum has nice private areas to go to for nursing Mom's. Lifesaver for a our older sons birthday when we had left our youngest son at home. Thank you!!!

Children enjoy it parents relax and fill ourselves with knowledge

My 1st grader went on field trip.. we had a great time.. very interactive

Lots of fun experiences for children. We'll be going back to see more. In three hours, we didn't cover a quarter of what they have available.

We just moved to Durham and I'd heard rave reviews, so I decided to check it out, with the intention that I'd get a membership if I thought it'd be worth it. I'm sure this museum will be more engaging when my kids are older. But for my toddler, there was really only one area where he could freely play and explore, which was disappointing to me. The animals were fun, but not enough to hold his attention for long. Most of the exhibits are just not meant for little ones. Combine that with the fact that we got rained on, and I think I'm going to spend my money on a membership at Marbles instead. We'll try this one again in a few years.

Really fun place to go for people of all ages. Really pricy to get in though, $20 is a bit steep for a college student (or just anyone over 12). Would love to go with my friends here more but I just can t afford it unfortunately

A fantastic local museum, with a constantly rotating set of active and interactive exhibits - everything from weather formation to getting up-close-and-personal with nature. When I was a kid myself, there was a raccoon here that I was convinced I was friends with.

Maybe I was. He was a pretty awesome raccoon.

Take your kids. The world needs more places like this.

Many exhibits and great variety...a really good place for youngsters...good hands on experiments ... Maybe a little pricey...also, go in cooler weather so the animals are more active

Great museum with a bunch of cool programs.The outdoor area is the best! Mind blowing museum for kids.

I can't rate the place because I haven't been there yet but before going I wanted to know if there was any food available there for my grandkids. The MLS website reveals nothing about food. I had to go back to google and type the museum name and the words and cafe and food and eventually I found the Sprouts Cafe. This amenity should be Loud and Clear on the Museum of Life and Science Website, easily seen.

So much fun! Great exhibits, so happy that they have adjusted to be open during the pandemic!

My daughter 6 year old love it this place!! Is excelent price for fun

Awesome place to take you kids. My daughter enjoyed it on her 3rd grade field trip. Fun for all ages!!

My family has a membership here and it is one of the most used and enjoyed memberships we have. Our kids love the treehouse playground and the dino exhibit. It is a great place for families and Lord of fun and educational.

Fun for all ages! Friendly staff.Staff was seen sanitizing highly touched areas, and hand sanitizing stations were all over the museum. The cafe food was very delicious as well.

The museum of life and science has been a part of our lives for years, and it is always a pleasure to be there. That said, the new "Earth Moves" exhibit is a whole nother level of fun. All sorts of entertaining and educational means have been devised to get sand in every crevice of a kid's body. Plus, they'll be soaked to the bone within two minutes. So much fun!

What a great place to take kids of all ages, to enjoy nature and learn about our earth and its inhabitants.

Big treehouse playground, some animals and a butterfly house. Great for kids!

Our go-to destination for education and fun in Durham. The annual membership is totally worth every penny. We are quite thankful for L&S so our daughter has a place to grow and develop, and get out that extra toddler energy.

Came with my family , nice exhibit, kids loved the$3train ride. Awesome place you can easily spend the whole day

Fantastic medium sized children's museum with indoor and outdoor play areas, wolves, lemurs, bears and NC fauna.

My family always enjoy our visits here. There is always something new to see and do.

This place is awesome. I took my 4 year old nephew to see the dinosaur trail. He loved it and all the other things the museum had to offer. The mix of indoor and outdoor activities are great. Be sure you have a good pair of walking shoes, you're going to need them. I'm going to go back by myself to check out some of the stuff that didn't really interest him at his edge. This will really satisfy the inner nerd and kid in me.

If you live there, you should go there once. Not good for an out of the way trip.

Great outdoor and indoor exhibitions for kids of all ages as well as adults.

Love this place! If you live in the area a membership is totally worth it. Our 5 year old loves it and we do too. So many fun and interesting things here and they're always doing something new.

We had such a great day(even jf it was pouring rain). Great outdoor exhibits !! We spend 4 hours and it was raining most of the time. We will be back!!!

Majority of children and adults were with masks inside and outside. The establishment requires masks in and out.

Also sanitizer station all over the place.

We went on a Wednesday with pre ordered tickets and it was not crowded at all.

Tons and TONS of stuff for kids to do, plenty for adults to enjoy too. Awesome exhibits.

We love this museum! We have gone two years in a row now and we could easily spend the whole day there! There are so many exhibits, indoor and out! My kids have a great time!!

A lot of hand on activities for everyone bto enjoy. Anyone will find something to love about this place. A little bit overpriced though.

Great time will be back well worth the money Kids had a blast as well as the adults

So much fun, great exhibits, reasonable price, decent on site food.

On a recent trip to Durham, NC we had the opportunity to visit the Museum of Life & Science- what a treat. Our visit was during COVID, so we were not able to visit the inside portion, however the outside portion kept us busy for hours.
The outside part of the museum is a life & science wonderland for all ages. I loved watching the children exploring the different hand on exhibits. The parents all seemed happy and relaxed, which says a lot.
They had life size dinosaurs area, which was really well done.
I enjoyed the Farm area, where you could walk around and see all of the farm animals.
Now, as an adult with no young children in tow, I enjoyed leisurely walking around checking out each exhibit. It was a very nice place to just hanging out and enjoy nature.

This museum is awesomeness truly! I used to regularly take my kids (in my small preschool group) for field trips there. Started going back when the Butterfly House was still an old greenhouse, lol. And there have been so many new things added over the years, that I m dying to take my 4 1/2 yr old to visit for the first time!

But I can t. The reason being, it s too outrageously expensive! It used to be affordable. But it s just too far out of my budget now that I m disabled. And it s a shame, because I m sure there are many, many families that would like to go. But can t afford it

I always enjoy taking the family around the outdoor exhibits and play areas. If it's raining, inside can be great too for a little getaway. The cafe is good as well. I recommend their BBQ and their french fries

Great to bring kids and there friends. Especially hideaway woods.

Variety of kids and family attractions, very clever areas like dinosaur path and butterfly enclosure.

This Museum is a local treasure. My family has had a membership for years, and it's one of the best investments I can recall. We can bring the kids here, spend an entire weekend afternoon, and head home with them happily exhausted without even having covered the entire premises (though we've done that marathon too).
The periodic rotating/visiting exhibits are fascinating, and they do a respectable job of refreshing exhibits on a regular basis.

Excellent museum. Hard to get through the whole thing in one day, which imo means we got our money's worth. Can't wait to go back.

My girls (4 and 1) can spend the day there. I enjoy the exhibits and that they are well maintained. We normally pack a lunch because the dining options can be a little crowded and noisy.

Just drove from Winston Salem with 2 kids. Have used Kaleidum several times for a reciprocal visit. This time, for some reason they would not let us use this pass. Very disappointed to be turned away after that drive. Please get these things cleared up on your website to benefit others in the same boat.

It is a peaceful place with many attractions for children and relaxation for adults.

My children have always loved coming to the museum and now with the virus they more then ever need a fun place to go to just have fun and be a kid while being safe. The museum has done an amazing job of putting social distancing measures in place. They have changed or closed a few different exhibits that it would be hard to social distance at but it does not take away from the fun. We have gone multiple times and are always able to play on all the outdoor activities and still keep our distance from other.

Best Museum in the area. I prefer this museum to the NC Museum of Natural Sciences and the NC Zoo! Tons of exhibits. Farm Animals, Bears, Red Wolves, Lemurs. Butterfly house. Train rides. Tree houses! The staff has always been very nice. I took our children to this museum right after moving to Durham and we have been members now for three years. We have gone with family, friends, Playgroup, Homeschool group, etc. This museum has made Durham feel like home! Thank you!

The best museum in NC, this place is an 80-acre interactive STEM campus for kids with endless opportunities for learning & playing both indoors & out.