Museum of Life and Science

Our favorite place in Durham.
Fabulous activities for kids from infants to teenagers. Great science games so kids can learn about everything from weather patterns to frequency of sounds to volume of containers while having fun. A big area to build with jenga-​style wooden blocks, a space command module to play in, and fun wind tubes to launch paper creations. There is a nice separate play area for toddlers and even infants. Tons of outdoor activities — a small farmyard, a butterfly house, a dinosaur trail with a digging pit, a playground with slide & sandbox, bears & lemurs, water exhibits in the summer, a train and a great treehouse/​climbing play area. They have a little version of the treehouse climbing area for little kids, too, which is very nice when the 2 year old gets a bit scared up high, or when you just don’t have the energy to try to follow 3 kids around the big play area.
(We do miss the music play space they had at the old Loblolly playground though — so if anyone from the Museum reads this, please bring back the music play area!)
We come to the museum very often, but it is big enough that the kids can do different activities each time and never get bored.
The train books up fast, so if you want to ride it, get tickets as soon as you get there.
We’ve had a couple birthday parties here as well, which are very fun. You can even order the cake through them which makes the whole thing so easy.
Summer camp is fabulous here, too. My daughter loved lego robotics last summer — only 6 years old and she was programming a lego lion to roar. My youngest can’t wait until he is old enough for camp here, too.
Even the adult events are fun. My husband and I really enjoyed the wine and chocolate tasting at the Science of Wine event a few months ago and we plan to go to more after-​hours events now that our kids aren’t infants anymore and we can start going out again!

Waste of a day. Drove 30 miles to get there and paid the entrance fee, no information or maps offered
Noticed the restrooms in the main building were closed. And the rest of the main building was closed. Then the next set of restrooms were closed. And the restaurant was closed. Zero info except another visitor said there was a power outage. Walked the trails, saw lemurs, Red wolves, bears. Finally found an open restroom. Then went to the butterfly exhibition, which was also CLOSED. If all these things were closed they should have told us before taking our payment. Evidentiary taking our money was open.

I mostly come to the museum for the After Hours events. I have attended many different ones (Science of Eats, Science of Beer, Cocktails and Cosmonauts, Science of Sour, Science of Attraction, etc.). I have really enjoyed these events and getting to see the local vendors available. I also enjoy testing out the many science experiments (like microwaving marshmallow peeps to see them blow up and testing out how UV light works in forensic science). I particularly have fun with the ones that involve food like the Science of Eats and the Science of Sour.
I have been to the museum once during the day. The outside is quite expansive with many exhibits and animals. It is a decent walk to get around the whole park. To see all of the exhibits and to take time to explore the different ones, involves walking for the better part of an hour if you move at a steady pace (and do not spend too much time farmyard and the the hideaway woods like I did). The dinosaur trail is odd and does not really seem to serve an educational purpose other than being statues. The Butterfly house though is beautiful.
Inside the museum, I have fun with the aerospace exhibit, folding origami and creating parachutes at the launch lab. Fortunately, these exhibits are open during the after hours events because it adds some more fun to the events.
This is a very family friendly venue with many fun things to see and explore.

One of the best places to take the family with children young and old. Train ride is a experience not to be missed.

I was in a really bad mood after going to that one mall and being yelled at by various store employees, but lemurs make everything okay. The dinosaur trail and bugs are awesome, A++++ alpacas, fat goats who were too busy eating to get petted, but oh well, WOLVES, LEMURS, GOATS, LEMURS and that playground with the poison gas rising out of the ground is awesomely creepy. Kind of pricey but not so bad if you’re a weird adult visiting on your own and can afford admission + kind of pathetic mac’n’cheese + an adorable gift shop LEMUR to keep the party going.

Love, love, love this place! So many fun things to do and see! My kids love coming here. We are members which makes it easy for us to come frequently, and each time, we do something new. We also hosted my daughter’s birthday here with a butterfly theme. It was perfect for her and her friends.

A great hands on type of museum for kids and adults. The café has good espresso drinks and strong WiFi. They rocket engines and lemurs. What more could you ask for?
Check out the butterfly house!

This is a fantastic place to take your kids. It’s educational and entertaining. As a parent, you can be outside in the fresh air, you can get exercise and you can see your child’s brain growing in the short 2 + hours you are visiting. I have two little girls and they love the butterfly conservatory as well as the mist park the most. The new playground is so fantastic for play and meeting new friends. Well done Durham!

I love children’s museum and this is my third time at this one and as much as I want to love it, I don’t. I think part of the problem is I can’t help but compare it to Marbles.
Marbles is smaller yet it seems to handle crowds better. As the mother of a child with autism, crowded spaces and flow of traffic is the difference between a good time and a meltdown.
So much is outside of the museum’s control that it seems unfair to give it a bad review. There is also the high cost of entry, limited seating, restrictive rule on outside food and the tone of the visitors. I recognize that it feels a bit out of my league, but this could be my bias and not the museums fault. But for almost $ 30 at Marbles I can cover admission for my family and have money left over for snacks.
So why did I go, it was a treat and I love the creative programming, I drove half an hour for the Frozen exhibit which had a great sensory element. I love the adult programming in the evenings and that it is close to the highway. I love the outdoor exhibits and the living museum elements.

LOVE the outdoor space and play area. Sure, it’s great for kids, but it’s also awesome for adults! i love the variety of exhibits here and provide hours of fun. The butterfly enclosure is also really cool and interactive. In the end, though, it’s still definitely for kids so be prepared for the little ones running around.

Our kids love this museum all year round. It’s nice that there’s so much to do indoors and when weather permits the grounds are beautiful to explore. You can definitely spend an entire day here.

This place has it all, where do I begin… I have 3 girls that range from 1 – 10 and they all have something here they love. The wolf and bears were displaying themselves proudly for us, the interactive science exhibits inside is designed to challenge those youngsters minds. The train was exciting for all ages and the natural play area with giant treehouse thing was outstanding. We stayed for about 4 hours and all the kids were wiped out by the end of the visit. We would love to come back.

Awesome family-​friendly museum with live butterfly and insects sections, an interactive astronaut permanent exhibition, a train ride (tickets for specific time periods can only be bought at the front desk), live birds, houses in trees with toboggans to climb for adults and kids, a fun dinosaur trail, a zoo with bears, wolves,… a barn with lamas, pink and black pigs, rabbit, etc.
The weather was extremely nice and mild. Thus, the train ride tickets were sold out until 4 pm by noon. The last train ride is at 4 pm.
The restrooms were clean and with changing tables for babies.

Awesome museum with live butterfly and insects sections, an interactive astronaut permanent exhibition, a train ride (tickets for specific time periods can only be bought at the front desk), live birds, houses in trees with toboggans to climb, a fun dinosaur trail, zoo with bears, wolves,… a barn with lamas, pink and black pigs, rabbit, etc.
The weather was extremely nice and mild. Thus, the train ride tickets were sold out until 4 p.m. by noon. The last train ride is at 4 p.m.
The restrooms were clean.

Nice Place If You Have Never Gone I Highly recommend You Go And Enjoy A Walk There. Food is pricy but very good. Lots of things to see and explore

This is my second time to the Museom of Life and Science and it is a great place to spend the day with kids. My niece is 2 years old and loves the outdoor treehouse, sandbox and seeing the farm animals and butterflies. You can park in either lot and I noticed that it fills up pretty quickly. Once you enter the museum, those for general admission go to the left and those with museum memberships stay to the right. An adult pass is $ 16 and you can get a senior citizen or military discount of about $ 2. My brother said he purchased an annual membership for $ 100 for two adults and a child so that is a great value if you come to the museum often. The grounds are very clean and it is a great way to get outdoors and spend time with family. The treehouse is for kids and adults and is just a fun way to climb up the wooden stairs and wind through the different swing bridges. I enjoyed seeing the alpacas and goats and also the butterfly exhibit. You can walk on the path to also see beers and wolves. I did not get a chance to take the train yet the time are posted when you enter and all the kids always talked about the train so it must be very popular. The exhibits are for young and old and a great way to spend the day.

Beyond amazing. We lived here three years ago and had an annual membership. i would regularly take my infant then toddler, even on rainy days.
We visited last week and were able to go for two full days, now with three children!
Tips: buy an annual membership if you’re local. So worth it.
Ditch the stroller. Yes, is huge. But the stroller really interferes in most exhibits.
Don’t use a shovel at the fossil pit. Sharks’ teeth easy found looking carefully on the surface.
Sneak in your own food. Café is pricy and always crowded.
Bring a change of clothes, including socks, for all children. Let them play in the creek and sand. Don’t be «those» grown ups.
Bring something to occupy yourself. The let kids play for as long as they want at an exhibit. They don’t care about seeing it al, they want to have fun.
Don’t forget the indoor toddler play room. This is a great spot to wind down your busy day and transition home.

Yes it is expensive. And it being closed on a good number of Mondays is another drawback. Because of these things I’ve been an off again on again member for 7 years.
The reason I decided to finally write a review and give it 5 stars… the new feature Hideaway Woods. It is a spectacular network of treehouses and is a must play/​see for anyone — even if you don’t have kids.
Worth the drive, worth the money and worth the weekend crowds (although I highly recommend weekday visits if possible)

So I’ve been here twice for after hours events at the museum, but I haven’t been able to make it out to the museum in proper daylight hours until this past weekend. While the inside of the museum is sort of small and a bit of a letdown, I was pleasantly surprised at how large the outdoor section of the musuem was. (Spoiler: It’s huge!) There’s basically a mini zoo out back, with a section dedicated to farm animals and another to animals (bears/​wolves/​birds). I think the best part of the entire place was bug building, which had some seriously cool (though seriously gross) bugs and a butterfly garden. Overall, I think this place could be four stars but it’s a bit lacking in content to justify the somewhat expensive ticket price even though there are some cool areas.

I love this place. I first took my kids here when we first moved to NC and just recently took my grandson. Love the hands-​on exhibits! Really a great place for kids, no matter how old!
All of the staff members we interacted with were great too! Very helpful and friendly!

I attended the Science of Sour event at the Museum of Life and Science. This was a really cool event where people were able to learn about how exactly our taste buds tell the brain that pickle is sour, or warhead candies are less acidic than lemon juice.
The museum was clean and the bathrooms were very clean.
There displays were very inviting. My favorite was the pickle tasting table, but the yeast bag experiment was a close second. The honey bourbon display was also a popular table. There were many displays and something I would recommend to anyone who enjoys any type of sour food or beverage.

We wanted to go to the zoo in Asheboro, but the weather was a little too questionable to justify the drive, so we opted for this place instead and were very pleased. To me, it’s a mixture of the zoo and Marbles. It’s got some animals and a lot of hands-​on activities. While my daughter is a little young for most of it, she likes the action and the outdoors.
It doesn’t replace the zoo outings, but it has now earned a spot on the kid-​friendly spots.

So this place was waaaaaay more than I was expecting, though it was not without it’s slight imperfections.
Let’s start off with the price. $ 14.50 for adults and a little more than $ 10 for kids. This is pretty steep for someone who is used to getting into downtown Raleigh museums for free. It’s actually kept me from visiting this place for years (yup, i’m cheap)! After spending the day there with my seven year old niece I have decided that on a warm sunny summer day it’s TOTALLY worth the price. We spent almost five hours here which is insane for a kid with the usual attention span of a bean. Now if it’s raining or too cold to venture outside? I’d skip the trip. The inside pales in comparison to Marbles or the Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, but the outside rivals the North Carolina Zoo or any interactive park in the state! The outdoor exhibits feature dinosaurs, farm animals, lots of room to roam and even a cool misting play area… The inside is a little more complicated for small kids, and bored my niece a bit. There were a few exceptions though… The paper airplane launcher kept her entertained for an hour (i’m not joking, I was slowly going crazy waiting for her to lose interest).
My nieces favorite spots outside were the various animal exhibits; which were for the most part very visible for the kids (since hiding animals is always disappointing)! She also had a blast in the butterfly room and taking a look at all the creepy crawlies…
While visiting we also grabbed lunch at the Sprout Café… Which (like many museum lunch spots) was overpriced and disappointing. I had a herb turkey sandwich which basically tasted like cheap deli meat with an odd mayo slathered all over. My fried okra was falling apart (and that was after they accidentally gave me fries instead of what I ordered…) but tasted decent. My niece’s PB&J was fine but the mixed fruit that came with it was basically 90% pineapple and three grapes. Boo. All of this was almost $ 20, so definitely skip the lunch and grab it before or after from the museum. I also grabbed a Chai latte on our way out from the coffee shop which was surprisingly good and pretty inexpensive!
One final cool note is that The Museum of Life and Science features a kid friendly gift shop where all items are under $ 15 and all prices include tax. I gave my niece $ 5 and she went crazy in there! It’s a great way to reward a kid for a great day without having to break the bank.
All in all I will definitely be back with my niece! We both had lots of fun here!

The Museum of Life and Science is amazing! There are so many reasons that I love the museum: first the actual museum. From the dinosaur trail to the butterfly house, the farmyard or the nocturnal animal area. If you are in the mood for a more science oriented adventure, they’ve got the lab and investigative health area or if you’d like a more scenic adventure wined your way outside and over to the wetlands. Not only is the museum kid friendly, but it’s also adult friendly! They have adult «after hours» events every couple months where they open the museum up (usually on a Thursday night) with a special theme and serve cocktails and beer. The prices of these events has gone up a bit but you can always save some money by becoming a member. And what’s the best way to become a member? Volunteer at the museum of course (membership with 100 hours!) Plus, show your membership and enjoy free or reduced admission to more than 280 science centers worldwide.
I’ve been volunteering at the museum in the butterfly house/​insectarium for the past year and LOVE it! It’s a great way to give back to the Durham community and I’ve learned so much. Since the museum is a non-​profit, they take in volunteers in every exhibit, so you can volunteer with whatever suites you best. Come visit me in the insectarium on Friday mornings, I’ll show you a millipede or pull out my friendly tarantulas! I love learning and I love passing that learning onto whoever is walking through the doors. Plus, I’ve become a much braver person when it comes to insects!
Among the long list of things I love includes the elements coffee bar (great lattes for parents that need that extra pick-​me-​up, and members get a discount!) Food isn’t supposed to be brought into the museum, but they do have a couple picnic tables across the street if you’re in the picnic mood. So whether you’re looking for a way to help out at the Museum of Life and Science or trying to find a great way to make learning and science fun for kids (and adults), this museum is where it’s at. As a final note, I definitely encourage you to check out the butterfly house (they have two butterfly releases daily at 11AM and 3PM) and unlike the science museum in Raleigh, you’re allowed and encouraged to let the butterflies land on you!
If you’re a planner like myself, I recommend the following: get to the museum after lunch (or bring a lunch to eat before heading in. While they do have a café (sprout café) I’d skip it, it’s nothing special). Exploring the main building/​exhibits first. Then head all the way to the back (stopping by the dinosaur trail if you fancy it). Check out the «into the mist» and «catch the wind» first (I’d skip this unless you have kids) and then take the back path to the wetlands (see the wolves, lemurs, etc.) before 2pm for Meet the Keeper, 2:30pm head to the insectarium for Spiders, Frogs and Other Feeding Frenzies, and then right next door is the butterfly release at 3pm. From 4:30−5 PM visit the farmyard for Farmyard Up Close. After the farmyard, if you still have time, you can venture back inside, snag one of the last train rides, or eventually check out the new playground – it’s still a work in progress, but should be fantastic when it’s completed!

We booked a birthday party for my 5 year old daughter. The party was nice and clean and the young lady working there was nice. But, they had said there would be activities included for the children and all that consisted of was putting paper and markers on the table and putting out a container of legos and dinosaurs. Nothing educational for the party portion.
The museum itself is cool, but I imagine it would be better suited for 7 or 8 year olds.

The Museum of Life and Science is great if you have little kids, and enjoyable at best if you don’t. Other than the interesting display of items and exhibits related to space exploration the museum section is definitely geared toward simplistic exhibits suitable for very young children, while the outdoor area offers more for those out of grade school/​anyone who doesn’t like being inside a building surrounded by other people’s (often running/​screaming) children. The butterfly habitat is absolutely wonderful; it’s like taking a short trip to an ideal tropical destination where you’re surrounded by beauty and marvel at every step. The dinosaur sculptures and mini-​dig area will delight any kid who likes dinosaurs and any adult who used to be that kid!
The trail with wildlife enclosures is a very pleasant walk whether or not the wolves, bears, lemurs and other creatures are out to view or not, and the birdwatching display by the wind exhibit is a nice place to rest and contemplate the beauty and diversity of North Carolina’s wildlife. I wish it were possible to get a ticket just for the outdoor exhibits as ticket prices for the MoL&S are rather steep — it’s definitely a special-​occasion sort of thing if there are more than two of you attending rather than an affordable family outing that creates regular exposure to the delights and wonders of the natural world that turn children toward the sciences, as it should be. It’s worth a visit if you’re in Durham, especially during the autumn and spring when the trail is especially lovely.

Okay, imagine you step into this humid psuedo rainforest like environment. You’re not sure what to expect, then suddenly out of the corner of your eye, you see the most intensely blue butterfly you’ve ever seen — and it’s the size of your hand. Soon, you see 5, no 10, 20 butterflies! They’re everywhere! All different sizes, different colors. They start landing on you. OH man, best experience ever.
If this weren’t enough, there’s bear, wolves, LEMURS!!!, cows, and pigs, not to mention the gorgeous trees and water.
There’s plenty to experience, and it’s well worth a trip. I took Über here and it was absolutely the highlight of my trip.

A good place to go if you have small kids since it used to be called a «Children’s Museum». With mostly interactive exhibits and play areas, toddlers and kids have plenty of places to use excess energy while parents stroll along and watch. It is stroller friendly, but be prepared to let them sit out if you ride the train or go into the Sprout café.
The café was better than those at most museums I’ve been at, though next time I’ll eat somewhere before hand. The butterfly house has a significant number of the floating colored insects but only takes a few minutes to go through, while the live insect exhibit had me looking around for a can of RAID. The dinosaur statues may inspire your little ones into paleontology and make you feel diminutive since they are life-​sized. The mini-​zoo they have is surprisingly clean and lets you get up close and personal with some farm life.
Overall: good for kids, science nerds, and curious parents.