Powerhouse Science Center

For children this place is not accommodating and extremely rude staff. «Those are the rules» can’t even take kindergarten kids to the restroom because they would be locked out from the galaxy presentation. Only 7 people in the gift shop? Are you serious. Oh and forget be a chaperone if you have smaller children because they don’t let sibling join the tour. It amazes me how this is a children museum and they have so many rules and regulation. They should really rethink the structure. Make sure to call and ask all the questions before going! Very disappointed.

While this location is on the small side they filled the every available space with fossils, living and stuffed animals. The fossils and dinosaur exhibit was a total hit with our kid ages 3 & 6. Space center was very cool to checkout, I wish they would start their space show earlier than noon. The outdoor grounds are nice to roam after finishing the museum which took under an 1 hour. A pond, garden and walking trail lead you to some outdoor space structures. Overall a nice museum to visit with the kids. Kids under 4 are free

First time. Took about 2 hours to see the whole place even though it was kind of small. Probably because we did a craft project they had going on in one of the rooms. We then saw a star projection show. That was pretty meat and they have a lot pf cool fossils and real animals. They had a tiny little owl that I wanted to take home, haha. I dont know that I would go again because its one of those places that once you see it, that chapter is closed. Although, they may have some cool event going on and then I would come. It was pretty cheap too. Kids had a blast, so if you have never been, definitely check it out.

went here for an outdoor gathering — nice little amphitheater — picnic area was shady and even had a little pond with resident turtles in it. a nice spot for a get together.

The main reason I gave 4 stars is because we have a dual membership with another museum so I can justify going. Paying full price might be disappointing depending on your child’s age.
I can’t quite decide on the accurate age range. My 3 year old loves the animals, rocket ship and fake food area… But everything else seems like an 8 year olds range
The dinosaurs were fun and we wish they were there throughout the year. It would be great if the exhibits changed more than every 6 months
If you only have a few days to tour Sac I wouldn’t make this one priority!

A fantastic place to bring kids! There are animals, a wonderful pond just outside, a small informational film theatre inside, and some great exhibitions!

This is a cool place for little kids. I am not interested in it, but seeing how excited it makes my 4 year old is worth it.

We came here on the free day to check it out. I loved that we were able to experience some of the things that they do offer. My kids loved playing in the space shuttle and there we many opportunities for the kids to play in the different areas. It did look old, but overall my kids enjoyed their time there.

We took our Delta Academy girls here on Free Museum Day. 14 young girls and 7 adults one of whom was a parent. This place is amazing. I grew up here in Sac and have never taken the time to check this museum out especially since it has been around since 1952. Alot of interactive activities to keep the attendee engaged. The volunteers were all super nice and friendly. I am glad we arrived early. The later it got in the day, the longer the line to get inside. I’m not sure what the entrance fee is on regular days but I’m happy we selected this place so they could enjoy Free Museum Day.

I brought my 3 year old an 1 year old to this museum and it was a little bit under «average». My one year old thought the shuttle play room was fun with the fake phones and control board. Everything else was pretty low end. It’s nothing close to the Chabot museum. Even the Sacramento children museum is better than this place.
Would I join membership? No. They would need to put new things there if they want people actually be a member or hold a birthday party there.
Would I go back? Not at $ 6! I don’t think I would go back even if it was $ 1, just because of gas money and time.
My wife thought the place was fine. Sorry, I’m pretty picky. Maybe because my expectations were too high.

I really really wanted to love this place. I brought my 2-​year old spawn here on a rainy day. He digs museums, so I thought he would be entertained. I let his little free spirit wander where he wanted– and he proceeded to sit and play with the plastic dinosaurs and watch «Dinosaur Train» for about 20 minutes before I dragged him to go see the rest of the museum. He liked the animal room, couldn’t sit for more then 2 minutes through the live-​animal show (we never made it through the insects, but if there was bigger stuff, I’m sure he’d be more interested), and then back to the dinosaurs. Bam. 30 minutes? There is apparently some space stuff here, but all I could find was a room set up like NASA central control, and you can’t go in and press things, so guess how interested mini-​me was with it? Exactly. So… most interesting things for him: the puzzles (which we have at home), the plastic dinosaurs (ditto) and the animals in their tanks (pet store). For the price… meh. I like supporting these little museums just because museums are awesome, but I don’t know that I would go again until he’s a wee bit older and can interact with more stuff (like putting on costumes and playing pretend, etc).

More like 2.5 stars, and here’s why.
For me, my Goddaughter, a family friend, and a little sister, I spent more or less $ 30 for admission. Admission got us a show about turtles with some actual animals (which only lasted about 15 minutes), a planetarium show which again was about 15 minutes, a few more animal displays, and a cool interactive salmon game.
Ok then…45 minutes later, and nothing left to do. By the way, these are kids I have taken to the Crocker Art Museum, plays, etc, so they have a good attention span and enjoy learning (somewhat, as much as kids would be expected to enjoy on a weekend summer).
Sorry, some of the stuff was good, but for $ 30, I would expect there to be more entertainment than 45 minutes.

Not for young kids under 4. Took us a total of 20 mins to go through. We can see coming back when our kids are school aged and able to do the activity sheets.

Not worth it. Small, takes no time to go thru. Everything seemed broken, unkempt, boring. I’d say the best part was walking around outside and eating lunch on the picnic table.
I took a 9 year old and we were there no More than an hour. So it’s a quick something to do if your killing time. But only worth it if you have a kid… otherwise I would have walked out sooner.

Okay it is a very small place. You can literally finish the exhibit within 10 – 15 minutes if you go through everything very fast. It might also not the best place to go with older children but my boys are 3 ½ and 1 and they had a blast! The admission under 4 is for free which meant that only my husband and I had to pay.
They had a dinosaur and space exhibition and then also a small area with reptiles, fish and bunnies! My oldest son loves dinosaur and is also a huge fan of dinosaur train. He had a lot of fun exploring and looking at all the different materials, toys and pictures. My youngest just had a blast crawling and touching all the hands on activities that were set out for the children.
They also have a great outdoor space for the children to continue their exploration and just run around.
They also provide craft activities and other fun things to engage children. Definitely a great place to take your children and let them explore!

Lackluster space but I learned a few things At the quick planetarium show and I’ve been to a few planetariums! There wasn’t anything unique or quite interesting. I’m spoiled by the Natural History Museum in Cleveland I guess. Money is spent better at the Children’s Museum in Rancho even though they are overpriced as well.
I wouldn’t go again but my daughter enjoyed it a little.

Ahh, nostaglia. I, not so vividly, remember going to the Discovery Museum and Science Center as a tiny person. Originally founded in 1951 as the California Junior Museum, the Discovery Center has entertain and educated kids for generations.
I have to admit, my main reason for going (especially as The Niece could not attend with me) was to get in a review before they move over to the Totally Awesome new digs at the Powerhouse Science Center. For comparison purposes. Not at all because I am a giant child.
Its a lot smaller than I remember (which makes sense as I was a lot smaller then, too) but the price is reasonable and the planetarium show is included in the admission price. The Bone Zone exhibit took up most of the space, but there was a nice little animal display room. I am, however, looking forward to seeing what they do with the new building.

I used to take my kids here when they were small and now I have taken my two young grandchildren. They had fun and so did I watching them get excited over the live critters, turtles, etc. We got to stay for a turtle presentation that was interesting. The place is a lot smaller than I remember but it’s been a long time.
There are picnic tables outside and a woodsy area to take a nice nature walk. For myself and two children cost a total of $ 20.00 Not bad for a fun time with the kiddies!

I went to the Discovery Museum many times on school field trips as a kid… I loved it back then and haven’t been in probably 15 years. J had never been. So what to do on a rainy Sunday? Discover things… perhaps in a museum setting! ;)
Admittedly it doesn’t blow my mind as it did when I was a kid, but I still love that museum. It is a smallish «kid-​sized» museum for kids, of which there were a lot running around. There’s a live animal room to the left of the entrance, then to the right are the dinosaurs, earth sciences, the space exhibit and the planeterium. There’s plenty of hands-​on stuff for the kids. Outside there’s a little nature walk and a pond (it makes for a great lunch spot with the right weather).
Take your kid if they’ve never been, they’ll have a good time. Also I can’t wait until Discovery moves into the new larger building near downtown… squee!

A well laid out, small science museum. This location has lots of hands on activities for the kids, a cozy little planetarium, terrific grounds to have a picnic in or go for a stroll. The animal room is always a favorite for my kids. Most recently the stick bugs and gigantic rabbit were favorites.
The best deal for this museum is the 1 year, $ 50 family membership. This membership is good at 250+ science and children’s museums around the country as well as repeat visits to the Discovery Museum. The Tech in San Jose, the Exploritorium in SF, and many more in the Northern California area as well as locations around the country. The same membership at other locations can be $ 120 to $ 240! The Discovery Museum membership is a great deal!