Museum of Life and Science

Address:	433 W Murray Ave, Durham, NC 27704, USA
Phone:	+1 919-220-5429
Site:	lifeandscience.org
Rating:	4.7
Working:	10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 12–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 6

Anu Anand

We had my childs birthday party there. Nobody helped us get the things up to the birthday room, which was in the building with the butterfly house, which can only be accessed by a path. When we got to the birthday room, there were food crumbs on the floor, tables and the counter top on the side. The room was not even cleaned for our party. There were ants on the counter top too. When I asked the staff member there, I was told that "It should have been cleaned, but maybe the previous staff member was in a hurry. When I showed concern that my child had an egg allergy, and i saw cake crumbs there, answer it was probably camp, where most food are allergen free...!! Really!!! I had no help to set up and had to wipe all the tables & counter top with paper towels that I had luckily carried with me!! Well.. my ordeal didnt end there. I had emailed the birthday Party coordinator for 20 party favors. but, when it was time to hand them out, there were none available. Then, to my embarrassment, the parents of the kids, had to go to the gift shop, on the way out after an hour, to get the party favors. I expressed my dissatisfaction to the party coordinator, but all i got was a apology, with no further action. I paid to get a good party for my kid, which did not happen as expected. I am so disappointed, I for sure will not have a birthday party there, in the future!! On the other hand, a kids birthday party that I had hosted at the Marbles museum was an amazing experience!!! We had a party coordinator with us all along, who took our stuff from the car, at the museum entrance, stayed throughout, to set up, cake cutting and all the little stuff, right up to helping us load up the car at the end of the day.

Andy Bonner

If you live in town, and are part of the Stroller Set, a membership is totally worth it. Otherwise, if you only have a day at the museum: - Make peace with the fact that you wont see everything. By all means, get there early and leave late--but you still wont see and do everything. - Ask your kids (and yourself), before getting there, "Whats most important to you? Do you want to see lemurs? Climb in a big treehouse? Go inside a space capsule?" Then target your day accordingly. - Although you could easily spend a day (maybe a rainy day?) on just the indoor portion of the museum, the outdoor portion is a REALLY BIG DEAL. Its a farm and a zoo and a butterfly house and a train and a freakin Ewok village up in here. But its really big--expect to walk. It will be a tiring day, even if youre in good physical shape. Give yourself enough time to take it easy, and expect tired kids by the end. - Expect to shell out for the extras. Even if youve come on a free day, or have a membership, you can still pony up for train tickets, gift shop items, and food. (Plan on eating lunch at the cafe--it just makes things so much easier. And its good food! Like, actually enjoyable for adults good!) Or, of course, use the visit as an opportunity to teach your little Ferengi that they dont have to acquire a new piece of personal property every time they visit a place with a gift shop.

T Merrill

I would actually give the museum 4-5 stars but their customer service and policies leave a lot to be desired. I arrived with a small group (11 people total) and asked for the group rate. Staff said we couldnt receive it because we didnt reserve the date online (you dont have to pay, just reserve the date). I told them that I didnt see anywhere online that said you had to reserve the day/time or else I wouldve done that and that we drove 90 min to come to the museum. She said sorry and that it would be full price to go in. When she saw that we were hesitant she told us that we could go to the botanical gardens in Durham and that it was free to go there. She even said she would give us directions. Ive never heard of a business trying to get you to leave their establishment and go to another one especially when 8 of the people had never been to the museum before. Talking to the manager he said, "Sorry weve met our group reservations for the day, but you can still go in for full price." I NEVER make a fuss, but, really!?! What happened to the customer is always right. Pretty much feel like they could care less who goes there.

Shawna Neill

We have a yearly membership to the museum. It is a great place to take the kids to play. There are a lot of great hands on science exhibits for the kids to try out and learn from. There is an animal exhibit inside the building as well as red wolves and black bears in an outdoor exhibit. They just had baby wolves born on April 28, 2017 and they are cute. They also have a farm exhibit with pigs, rabbits, alpacas, goats, chickens, cows and a donkey. They also have a ton of outdoor play areas in activities to do all year round. Within the past year they opened a new tree house area. The tree house even has ramp access for mobility impaired and wheelchair bound people. My three-year-old and 10-year-old daughter really have a lot of fun with the water features that are outside. There is an area called into the mist. The kids tend to get pretty wet there so you might want to have a change of clothes and a towel with you. There is also a little river down by the treehouse that the kids can splash in. The train tickets cost extra but its always a lot of fun to take a train ride around the facility.

Kierstyn Myers

I gotta say, I love museums, and this place doesnt disappoint. The admission isnt much, 16$, can add up quick fir a family of four and yes, they offer military discounts. I went before the tree houses were built, so I cant give my opinion there other than it looks like fun. Also, I went when it was cold, so I didnt do any of the outdoor exhibits. The butterfly house was lovely. Its a magical feeling to be surrounded by butterflies. I loved the museum overall. It was a fun, interactive, creative adventure and a great place to take kids to work out some energy. They had an adorable cafe. The coffee was good, wasnt the most amazing Ive ever had, but was acceptable. The decor in the cafe was cute. The place was extremely clean and well kept, it was comfortable. Its a great place to take your kids during the summer, spring, or fall. Dont go when its cold or youll miss all the outdoors exhibits unless you dont mind the cold. Its a fantastic place to take your kids and enjoy a day full of fun adventures!

Amanda Howell

Its a nice place but is very cost prohibitive. Has some live animals to see which is fun, the butterfly house is amazing, and the new tree houses are quite cool and fun for all ages but unless someone else is going Id personally just take my kids to a park or downtown Raleighs museum of life and science which is free. I went with my sister and her family and they said when we bought are tickets we could apply the cost towards membership but then when we went back they said you could only apply the portion of the admission cost that corresponded to the membership you were getting - so if you were getting a four person membership you could only apply the admission cost of four people towards the membership not the total amount you spent that day (in our case 8 admissions). Honestly I think most of these places the adults should get in free with the purchase childrens tickets since really you are there to make sure your kid doesnt break anything.