Rochester Museum & Science Center

Reviews 3

PA

Paul Cicotta

The Rochester Museum and Science Center is the place to go for ever changing exhibits done routinely each time you visit. They are a host to a variety of high class events in the Rochester area, such the Da Vinci Party. With 4 floors of entertainment and educational fun, you can end up spending an entire day here. Dont be a afraid of the size, just go all out for the experience! Now lets talk about the main show on stage right now, and its none other than Leonardo Da Vinci himself....he was " Uncorked, and on Tap". Uncorked and on Tap was one of the most incredible experiences of my life, seeing over 50 food and wine vendors scattered across the entire museum!!! I got to enjoy seeing the giant mastodon with a refreshing beer from 3 Heads Brewing Company. Speaking of beer, Rohrbachs Beer Company graced us with there presence next to the Earthquake machine in Exhibition Earth. It was hard to balance my drink, while standing on this ground shattering earthquake simulator. Even Climbing Vines Craft Ale Company joined in on the beer excitement over the T-Rex..grrrrr. Downstairs in Adventure Land it was a toast to homemade Vodka, Bourbon, Gin, and of course Wine. I started with the Home Town Brew Distillery, where Mark Phillips did a excellent job of showing me how to make a raging cocktail with homemade moonshine, and potato vodka. In fact he was so insightful about the process, that he truly had the insight to see into other human beings. Trevor Demott did a great job with his craft beer from The Lost Borough Company, while I waited in line to get into the Virtual Ride Simulator of Lake Ontario. I also have to give a shout out to Leonard Oaks Winery who gave me some great advice " Paul there is going to be a lot vendors here, pace yourself, your doing just great". Immediately right after I went to the Weather Station with endless rows of gourmet foods from TOP local chefs around the Rochester area. Jakie from Char graced me with delicious risotto meatballs, while i gave a simulated weather report. Jim Hall the Executive Chef from North Coast Food Company made a delicious pulled pork brisket with lamb chops. Owl House made an awesome Date Salad with fresh scallops inside. After giving out my weather report, I was off to the Da Vinci Exhibit. Before I stepped a foot in to see the Mona Lisa, Damiani Wine Cellars was very pro-active at refreshing my wine glass. It was neat to learn about the various works and inventions of one of greatest geniuses of ALL time. I enjoyed watching the adults in suits, and ball-gowns play around with the Da Vinci inventions. Even the Artisan Cheese Club passed out various cheeses over Da Vinchis spinning wheel. The Mona Lisa was the dessert I needed after a long night, and it helped that Lisas Quality Catering and Cafe was there. Endless rows of pastries and desserts, I hope no one smeared the Mona Lisa. Of course I cant forget about those Native Americans that graced a couple of exhibits at the museum. It is always great to get a re-cap of that part of history. Finally, the educational seminars at the museum are the extra added bonus that you need. In my case I was honored with the presence of Elle Andrews from Flight Wine Bar, who gave a class on learning about sugars and acids. Marios helped with the catering during the class, as I dropped a delicious Alfredo ravioli on the floor next to Elle Andrews. Overall: A World of Exhibits, Leonardo Da Vinci, ALL the Food and Wine Vendors, Lake Ontario Ride, Earthquake Simulator, T-Rex, Mastodon, The Weather Station, and the Native Americans....I close out this night while sipping a glass of wine from Vizcarra Vineyards while looking at the Museum Gardens out the Grand Window......I will be back.

SU

Suzanne Smith

My experience with RMSC was extremely disappointing. We brought our 2 older children (6.5 and 4.5) to see the dinosaur exhibit. I was pretty sure the other exhibits would be beyond them, but figured we could explore the ones that were more appropriate after the dinosaurs which was the real draw for us. It cost 4 of us (2 adults and 2 children) $62 to get in. The experience was possibly worth $20. The dinosaur exhibit was far from exhilarating. The robotic dinosaurs were cool and intriguing for the kids. They made great noises and moved in an engaging way. However, that was the extent of the exhibit. We were done with it in 45 minutes (and that was only because we milked it for every single second we could). There were not a large number of dinosaurs there and they were all located in one small room. This was not even close to what I was expecting. Many of the other hands on exhibits in the museum did not work or were not appropriate for kids under 10-12 (and even then, only for very science geared children). The information provided at each exhibit was minimal at best and did not provide for a true, engaged learning experience. There were some special events today: making slime and a fire fighter visit. We thought maybe the kids would enjoy this. The slime was a complete bust. There were 2 young teenagers "manning" the station and neither had any clue about the process. The slime "wasnt working" and all they could do was apologize. Neither of them thought to get help from someone else. Finally, what I assume to be a supervisor wandered by to check on them and asked them how it was going. When they said it wasnt working, he made a limited attempt to try the slime himself and walked away without providing a solution to the workers or the kids wanting to make slime. The firefighters were supposed to arrive at noon. At 12:10, they were nowhere to be found, so I decided to ask where they were (thinking maybe I had made a mistake). No one on the floor where they were supposed to be housed knew anything about them, so I went to the front desk. They said, "Oh, I dont know. Maybe they havent gotten here yet." As I was about to walk away, a fire man came in. He started talking to the 2 employees at the desk and between the three of them, no one knew what he was supposed to be doing there. He finally made it to his exhibit area and he was very kind to my son and daughter, gave them firefighter hats, and spoke to them, but it wasnt quite what I was hoping it would be (no equipment, no demos; just one guy in a blue uniform). Please know, I am not unhappy with the firefighter... he is a hero who needed to be better prepared and directed by the museum. He is not at fault, the museum is. In all, I expected so much more from the museum. If I were you, I would skip this museum in favor of almost anything else in Rochester. As a result of my abundant disappointment, I will never return to this museum again and I would not recommend it to anyone. It simply is not worth the admission cost.

RO

Rob Wilder

I would like to tell you about my experience at your museum. I drove from Syracuse to Rochester to visit your museum, I drove there because my son (8 years old) is interested in science. I promised him if he was good in school for the week he could go to a science museum. I could have taken him to the M.O.S.T. right here in Syracuse. I wanted to make it a trip for him. (incentive to be good in school) . So we arrived to RMSC at 3:30. 3 adults and 2 children. We went through the exhibits on the 1st floor, digging for bones, feeling earthquakes, and reading a little history. We moved to the second floor. I believe this floor had some hands on stuff, teaching about how breaks and stop lights work, we tried to build things with the Kinex and we made a car. this was a fun floor. We moved to the 3rd floor and read many things about indians. there was a lot to look at on this floor. Many tribes to read about and nice exhibits to look at. The kids a little bored at this time. So we went to the 4th floor WOW look at all on this hands on fun. The kids were happy now. We were there long enough to see it existed. NO time to play because the 5 minute warning stating the museum is closing. I said to a lady who worked there " we just got here, we just paid $41.00 to get in, nobody said you were closing" She apologized and offered a refund at the front counter. Up set because id rather watch the kids play and learn, We all went down to the counter. We stood aside for several minutes while the gentleman took care of paying customers from the gift shop. He finally was free, I explained the situation. The security guard was standing there waiting to talk to him also. Laszlo was the gentlemans name. I told Laszlo what the the girl upstairs said and he said " Shes not by boss shes just a kid" Laszlo turned my situation into a worse one. He seemed to be amused by telling me NO he stated it was my own fault and I should know that the museum closes at 5. He said it wasnt his fault that I drove from Syracuse. He said I should have read the door on the way in. He refused to budge. I offered to purchase a bunch of stuff from the gift shop for the kids, if he would discount the merchandise. Laszlo said he would only give me 10% off what I bought. He seemed happy to be so inconsiderate and rude. The security was getting giggles off of the free show he was getting. Laszlo gave me 2 free passes for the 5 of us. Im sure he was being condescending. I work for Time Warner who sponsors your museum my word of mouth will spread about my experience in customer service. We went to Nick Tahoes to eat, and they asked what brought us in. They were so disgusted in the experience I had that they gave my kids gifts. They couldnt believe how rude and smug Laszlo was.

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