Texas Museum of Science & Technology

I had hoped to make my son’s 11^th birthday really fun and educational this year so I typed in «Planetarium near Austin» into Google. So before I went here, I read ALL the Unilocal reviews. Some good, some bad. Then, there was this one post explaining that they are still raising funds for this Museum and Planetarium. I wasn’t sure what to expect but having not been there, I bought the tickets anyways. Let me tell you, I bought 2 Groupons (each for 4 kids) so that 8 kids could go have a good time! I took another mom with me to help drive the kids, and let me just say: THIS PLACE IS COOL. I’m 32 and I thought it was cool. Yeah, it may not be like the well-​funded multi-​story Museum of Natural Science in Houston, but for a place that is trying to put something really educational for the kids in Cedar Park and Austin, it’s great. First off, the people at the entrance were really nice. The young man who ran the Planetarium live show was very informative and we all laid back in the seats looking at the night sky and learning about the constellations. Then, because it was my son’s birthday, he asked my son what he wanted to watch next. He chose «Back to the Moon.» It was such a cool show! I even learned new things and the other mom thought it was great since she had never been either. Then, when the kids went back out after the Planetarium shows they got to play on different interactive exhibits. I think it definitely helped that there was room to run around, chairs and tables to grab a drink, etc. I wish I would have brought more cash on me for the gift shop, but I didn’t. They had some really cool things and the kids loved the «black death» stuffed toys. (They were all germs or diseases or amoebas, so the kids though it was awesome). We played a lot and stayed 2 hours and I did buy the mini puzzle cubes for each child. I would like to go back and watch more Planetarium shows in the future. This place is great for parents with kids, for birthday parties, and a great place to just explore! My son said he had a GREAT birthday by going here with his friends, We did the cake and present part at home afterwards, but all the kids talked about how much they loved the Planetarium and interactive things.

Underwhelming. My husband and I visited with our 2 year old daughter. Some of the interactive stations were broken or missing parts. It seemed to me that these were likely acquired second hand. The planetarium show (1 short about dark skies and a longer about telescopes) were again underwhelming. The acting was abysmal in the telescope film. If another cool exhibit comes here, we may make the trek up to CP.

This is not for young children. The price for admission should be free for children under 5 as it was not designed for children smaller.
The experiments were for kids 5^th grade and higher. I would have been very disappointed had I’d paid full price. We used the groupon.
It took us less than 2 hours to do all of the experiments. This place has potential, but it is overpriced for what it is offering at this time.
I would not recommend a family membership as it will not be something we do repeatedly.

This place has a lot of potential, but it’s going to take some work to get there.
Very large building with 20 or so hands on stations and what looks like a blow up planetarium. Planetarium show was good, but the speaker clearly wasn’t prepared and wandered around the presentation dialog. Not saying they need to hire someone with a PhD in astrophysics, but writing and practicing the narrative would greatly add to the experience.
As the shows are scheduled every hour or so and it would be great if they had other things going on outside the shows to entertain/​educate the kids. Tickets allows you to see all the shows during the day, but there’s not enough to entertain kids between shows to keep you there more than 90 minutes.
Hope it continues to grow and becomes a great place to visit more than once.

I was thrilled to learn that this place was very near to where I live. I’ve always loved museums, and the fact that this place has interactive exhibits and a planetarium only makes it better. It’s pretty reasonably priced, and offers student discounts as well. I was surprised though at the overall quality though. Some of the exhibits do not function, and the entire place has the feel of something set up temporarily which just happens to have been left as permanent.

I love science museums and frequent the Texas Memorial and Thinkery with my 5 year old twins all the time, so we were so excited to hear Cedar Park was getting a science museum. I had heard lots of good things about BodyWorks, but we never made it to that exhibit as I thought it was a little too scary for young kids. Recently, they changed exhibits and added a planetarium and I saw they were offering a groupon, so we thought we would check them out.
We were arrived, the outside of the complex still looks like an old soccer practice warehouse, but they have added some new murals to make it look more «sciencey». However, once inside, it was a huge let down. They basically had one big room of about 20 or so small «exhibits» or stations. They were hands-​on, which was neat, but sadly about six or seven of them were broken or weren’t turned on, which I couldn’t believe, as they just opened this new exhibit about five days before we came. Many of the stations were very similar to ones they have at the Thinkery too, It took about 15 – 20 minutes for my two boys to go through everything before they were asking what else there was to do.
Fortunately, the planetarium was starting a show about that time, so we went in there. They offered a live presentation of the solar system and constellations and two 15 minute videos about space shapes and sizes, which were perfect for the age group they were presenting for, as most of the people there were families with kids under the age of 8. The live presentation was really neat, however, there were so many little kids talking over the presenter that it was really hard to hear her. They really need to get her a microphone.
The planetarium was by far the best part, and I certainly wouldn’t mind paying $ 5 – 10 a person to see that part again, but their new pricing (they just raised their rates when they opened these new exhibits) is NOT worth it. There is no way I would pay $ 11 for a child or $ 15 for adults for what they are currently offering (15 minutes of broken or boring science experiments) and if I hadn’t had a groupon for half off, I would have been pretty pissed off. I’d say that in theory, this could be a really neat place, but to make it worth the admission price they are asking for, they either need to add a lot more exhibits or lower their pricing to half of what they are asking. We might given them another chance in the future if they are still around, but for now, I’ll stick to the Thinkery, the Texas Memorial Museum at UT, or the Nature Center at Zilker for my science fix.

So happy to finally have a science museum in central Texas, but this one has got a bit of growing before I’ll stop driving all the way to Houston. I was very impressed with the facility overall, especially since we’ve needed one for so long. My family came for the body worlds exhibit and it was very well set up and the employees were friendly and helpful. We’ve seen body worlds 5+ times in the last few years and it was awesome not to make such a long drive this time! I’m really interested in the planetarium they have coming up soon and will definitely check them out again as soon as that is open! I highly recommend a trip here, but check their calendar for events that are going on. As long as you go in with an open mind you will not be disappointed.

Today is Austin Museum Day. The fun of it is that you can go to all of these museums for free. I wanted to check out Body Worlds so I was delighted when I noticed that they are participating. Their bio on the Austin Museum Day site highlights Body Worlds & the planetarium. They had a series of science projects on display, I didn’t see a planetarium and Body Worlds was not free.
It would have been nice to include an accurate description so people don’t make the long drive for nothing.
Additionally the groupon lists the original price as $ 42 so you think you are saving 50% but really that’s the same price as buying at the door.

I’m delighted that we’re finally getting this type of museum in Central Texas! Went by yesterday to check out the Bodyworlds exhibit. If you don’t know, Bodyworlds is an exhibition of dissected human bodies, preserved by a process called plastination. It’s meant to showcase different body structures and sometimes disease processes.
The museum itself is sort of out of the way, but with GPS wasn’t difficult to find. It seems like it was built in/​on some sort of indoor sports field, the floor is artificial grass. Right now, the only exhibit they have is the Bodyworlds exhibit, but there’s talk of a planetarium within the next year.
My only complaint is that it was SO HOT IN THERE! Not quite sure if it was by design, but my friend and I were both dripping with sweat within walking through the first third of the exhibit. It was gross.
Aside from the heat, I look forward to what this museum has to offer going forward.

Well, how can I not be a fan of learning more about Science and Technology?
They are still in their temporary building, which is a little disconcerting when you are trying to find it for the first time. It’s in an indoor soccer stadium with painted sports figures on the side.
We went for the Body Worlds exhibit. Took the kids. Which was, how do you say… interesting.
Since it is a make-​shift exhibit, it doesn’t have the luster of a normal fancy museum, but the exhibit is a traveling one, so understandable. They have a viewing area set up as a precursor video to the self-​guided walk through. It definitely prepares you for the exhibit.
I couldn’t give 5 stars because a) temporary building makes it lose it’s allure and b) a tour guide would have been super handy in this situation, as it is not something most people have seen of or even heard much of before.

I was here recently to see the Body Worlds exhibit which is something I highly recommend you do if you’ve never been before. I went once many years ago in Dallas but upon returning noticed a lot of things I hadn’t the first time around.
I don’t want to give too much away because it’s more fun to go for yourself and see in person. Once you get past the fact that it’s actual bodies you are observing it’s actually quite fascinating.
If you are bringing children, fair warning that some images may be disturbing to them. The video they show before the exhibit features the bodies being prepped which they might find scary, so I would bypass that and go straight inside. Also note that you do see ALL the parts of the body (both male and female) so there may be pointing, giggling, and an explanation of the birds and the bees afterwards. If your family isn’t as immature as I am however, then this won’t be an issue.
As amazing as the exhibit is, I found the location itself a bit odd. They left the sporting logos on the outside of the building and kept the AstroTurf flooring which at first made it hard to take the art they were showcasing seriously. Still, it’s a cool concept and I look forward to seeing what else they have in store for the future.
The snack area is nice and I ADORE that they sell Dolce Neve ice cream sandwiches. Firstly because they are delicious, and secondly because they are made here locally.
The staff were all extremely kind and welcoming so go check them out! This exhibit is here until September 20^th and open 7 days a week. 10am-​7pm Monday through Thursday, 9am-​9pm Fridays and Saturdays, and 11am-​6pm on Sundays. You can purchase tickets there or save time and do it online at

I was/​am blown away by the BODY WORLDS exhibit at the new Texas Museum of Science & Technology. I was also blown away that this museum came to fruition as a result of a handful of very dedicated and passionate individuals who have been working for years to see this museum (and planetarium in the works!) a reality. Kudos to them for finding this building and beginning to create a space where I was completely transported to another world. The current ‘Body Worlds’ exhibit is fascinating — it gave me an entirely different perspective on, and new appreciation of, the intricacy and delicacy of the human body.
On a practical note — everyone is super friendly and knowledgeable — the guy at the front event took the time to explain the entire plastination process to me and answered all of my questions.
It’s exciting to see the beginnings of this endeavor and I look forward to its continued development. Well worth the visit!

I attended this event this weekend and was blown away. I did not really know what to except as I do not frequent museums often and had definitely never been to one showing actual people.
However, I was pleasantly surprised how tasteful and educational the event was. Its entertainment meets education. You walk in and the place is pretty dark, there is seating to watch a brief video describing what you are about to see. You then enter and the whole thing is a maze you walk through to view the different structures.
My favorite part was being able to really understand illness that my relative have had. They showed a brain that had Alzheimer’s which was very intriguing, amongst many other disease and organs. I brought my 6 year old nephew whom was infatuated with learning about what it all was. I would highly recommend everyone go at least once.

Came to the Texas Museum of Science and Technology to see the Body Worlds event with some friends. I’ll start with the featured event first and I will share my thoughts on the location second.
So for the actual event it was really cool. I was surprised just how much I enjoyed the Body Worlds event. It was very educational and they had a bunch of really interesting displays of «plastinated» bodies to show. It covered all of the major systems of the human body and there was some good literature on all of the different sections. I thought I was going to be grossed out but it was very interesting overall. They had a video outside of the display that showed us the plastination process and how they build these particular displays. I have heard a lot about these Body Worlds shows and I was really glad I was able to experience it. There was a good amount of kinds there too so it looked like a good opportunity to bring them if you have them.
In terms of the location it is in an old indoor soccer arena. I think this place is still pretty new which might explain the confusion when I saw the soccer display painted on the side of the building and the indoor turf on the floor. But it looks like a work-​in-​progress and I really glad they have something like this up North. Everyone whatwas working here was very nice too. The two ladies working at the front table were very friendly and accommodating.
Overall a great experience.

The Texas Museum of Science and Technology is a new museum located in the former SoccerPlex building in Cedar Park. There is ample parking and check-​in here was a breeze.
We toured the Body Worlds Adventure exhibit here this weekend. It was pretty incredible stuff. Per the museum’s site, the tour usually takes about 45 minutes to one hour, but I easily could have spent two hours here. Take that from someone who nearly flunked anatomy and physiology class! I was fascinated by the bodies on display, the various organs and systems of the body broken down and explained and the individual cross sections of the body showing particular ailments such as obesity, cancer, lung disease. Incredible stuff! Even my 7 year-​old niece couldn’t help but ask questions.
Definitely go check out this museum and this exhibit in particular while it’s still here!

Sure isn’t much to look at from the outside, nor even when you first walk in, but once you get into the Body Worlds exhibit you completely forget about all that.
The exhibit is amazing! Seeing the bodies in different stances (loved the Flamenco dancers) really helps you to see the human body in a whole new way. Be sure you walk a complete circle around each display as the backs are just as interesting as the front. My favorite was the old man with the cane. When you walk around back you see him completely open down the back. It was so cool to see.
Take your time in the exhibit. Read everything! So much to learn and so much good advice.
I did see one girl there sneak a picture and I wanted to scream at her to have some respect. If you find yourself tempted to sneak a pic, please remember these were once living people who donated their bodies so that we may learn. Respect that!

Just saw the Body World exhibit today. I’ve been wanting to see this for many, many years so this review will be based on that. Upon entering the museum, it has a dark open feel. Starting the exhibit the bodies can be shocking if even a little disgusting at first. Once you move past that the exhibit is extremely educational and interesting. You will learn about and see all parts of the body including the organs, veins, muscles, and bones.
I really enjoyed how they took a humorous and spiritual approach to many parts of the exhibit. There are quotes from famous people on the walls including the Dalai Lama and Abraham Lincoln. There are writings on the importance of exercising and living a healthy lifestyle. They also talk about the importance of being happy, enjoying life, and laughter. I wasn’t expecting this perspective but it made the whole exhibit more relatable in a weird way.
I definitely recommend this for everyone who is interested in their own bodies, human anatomy, diseases, and science. Really, come see it!

The process of plastination of dead humans, in itself is quite fascinating. In this exhibit, Body Worlds, you are seeing who you are from the inside out. The first thing you will do is watch an introductory film on how the body’s were preserved and dissected after death. If you have a weak stomach, or seeing blood is not your thing, I recommend to avoid this. However, if you love to see how the body works, then you will love this. You can see every detail of a healthy body, to an unhealthy body, and it may just change how you live your life after seeing the decay. They take you from the fetal start of birth… And end you with the hope that you leave past 100. It’s truly the ultimate anatomy class. I brought my 8 year old who seemed to be pretty engaged the entire time.
The prices seem steep for a 45 min walk through, but I have seen people present Groupons when walking in, and you can volunteer as well.

From the outside this place looks like an old warehouse. When you walk in it looks like an old warehouse with some artificial turf. They have a really cool rock and gem display at the main entrance. When we were there that was pretty much it. They have a café area but it wasn’t open. This museum is young and is in the making. Right now they are hosting the traveling exhibit by Gunther von Hagen: Body Worlds & The Cycle of Life.
This is a must see exhibit for the entire family. So educational. To show respect for the people that donated their bodies for this, pictures are not allowed. Parents please give your kids a quick anatomy lesson before going. When we went there was a couple of teenage girls that couldn’t stop giggling at the penises. I found this to be rude and disrespectful.
The museum did a great job with the display. We really enjoyed ourselves minus the giggling teens who were eventually asked to leave. You can do an audio tour if you want, but, we enjoyed self-​pacing and just studying without the audio. The exhibit takes you from embryo to old and kyphotic. It is amazing. Military discounts available.

The Texas Museum of Science & Technology opened their doors yesterday. When you first walk inside there is evidence that this new museum was a former soccer/​sport center but once you enter the exhibit area you will soon forget. Besides a small collection of nicely displayed rocks and minerals at the entrance they are serving as an exhibit only. But this will change! Eventually the museum will grow and will include a domed planetarium. Besides the exhibit the space is very open. From the entrance you can see the museum store, café and movie viewing area.
The café tables were dressed with beautiful bouquets. The menu notably has several healthy options, vegetarian offerings, organic snacks and some indulgent desserts. They serve Austin’s own Dulce Neve gelato cookie sandwiches which is worth the trip alone! I need to inquire if they allow access to the café without visiting the exhibit. I would definitely return just for the gelato and juice offerings.
Currently admission is $ 21 for adults, $ 18 for seniors/​military/​student with ID, $ 16 from the ages of 6 – 17 and children under 6 are free. For the current exhibit they offer an audio guided device for $ 4 for adults and $ 3 for children. Through fall of 2015 the Body Worlds & the Cycle of Life exhibit. The exhibit itself is amazing. It was intriguing and educational on many levels. The museum did a wonderful job with the layout/​display and I hope their future exhibits are all of this caliber.
I love planetariums and observatories so I am so looking forward to the planetarium to open later this year! I also look forward to what exhibits they will get in the future.
Tip: If the museum is a trek for you and you enjoy craft beer and coffee, make sure the check out Red Horn Coffee House & Brewing Company just down the street.