Great Science Places to Visit

All around the country there are great museums, discovery centers, science centers, zoos, factory tours, etc. where you can learn all kinds of stuff. Here is a big list sorted by city. If you know of other places, feel free to add them to the list!


Akron, Ohio

• Inventure Place (national inventors hall of fame)

Albuquerque, New Mexico

• New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science

Alexandria, Virginia

• George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate

• George Washington's Gristmill

• Alexandria Archaeology Museum

• Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Shop

• Alexandria Seaport Foundation

• See also Washington, DC

Amarillo, Texas

Anaheim, California

Anchorage, Alaska

• The Imaginarium

Annapolis, Maryland

• Annapolis Maritime Museum

• U.S. Naval Academy Museum

• Chesapeake Children's Museum (Children's museum)

Anniston, Alabama

• Anniston Museum of Natural History

Arlington, Virginia

Arlington, Texas

Atlanta, Georgia

• Georgia Acquarium - an amazing aquarium experience

• Fernbank Science Center

• The Cyclorama

• Zoo Atlanta

• Stone Mountain Park

• SciTrek (closed)

Augusta, Georgia

• The National Science Center (Fort Discovery)

Aurora, Colorado

Aurora, Illinois

Austin, Texas

Bakersfield, California

Baltimore, Maryland

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Birmingham, Alabama

Boise, Idaho

Boston, Massachusetts

• The Discovery Museums

Bridgeport, Connecticut

Brownsville, Texas

Buffalo, New York

Burlington, Vermont

• Ben and Jerry's Factory Tour

Cape Coral, Florida

Carrollton, Texas

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Chandler, Arizona

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

• Morehead Planetarium

• See also Raleigh, NC
• See also Durham, NC

Charlotte, North Carolina

• Discovery Place

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chesapeake, Virginia

Chicago, Illinois

• Museum of Science and Industry

• Shedd Aquarium

• The Field museum

• The Notebaert nature museum

Chula Vista, California

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Columbus, Georgia

Columbus, Ohio

Concord, California

Coral Springs, Florida

Corona, California

Corpus Christi, Texas

Cortez, Arizona

• Mesa Verde national Park

• Canyons of the ancients national monument

• The Anasazi Heritage Center

Dallas, Texas

Dayton, Ohio

Decatur, Alabama

• Cook's Natural Science Museum

• See also Huntsville, Alabama

Denver, Colorado

Des Moines, Iowa

Detroit, Michigan

Durham, North Carolina

• Museum of Life and Science

El Monte, California

El Paso, Texas

Elizabeth, New Jersey

Escondido, California

Eugene, Oregon

Fayetteville, North Carolina

• Airborne & Special Operations Museum

Flagstaff, Arizona

• Museum of Northern Arizona

Flint, Michigan

Florence, Alabama

• Children's museum of the shoals (children's museum)

Fontana, California

Fort Collins, Colorado

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Fort Worth, Texas

• Bureau of Engraving & Printing

Fremont, California

Fresno, California

Fullerton, California

Garden Grove, California

Garland, Texas

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

• Gettysburg National Military Park

• Gettysburg Cyclorama

Gilbert, Arizona

Glendale, Arizona

Glendale, California

Grand Prairie, Texas

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Greensboro, North Carolina

Hampton, Virginia

Hartford, Connecticut

Hayward, California

Henderson, Nevada

Hialeah, Florida

Hollywood, Florida

Honolulu, Hawaii

Houston, Texas

Huntington Beach, California

Huntsville, Alabama

• U.S. Space and Rocket Center

• Sci-Quest

• Cathedral Caverns State Park

• EarlyWorks (children's museum) (Also contains Alabama Constitution Village and Huntsville train depot)

• Hellen Keller Birthplace

• See also Decatur, Alabama

Indianapolis, Indiana

Irvine, California

Irving, Texas

Jackson, Mississippi

Jacksonville, Florida

Jersey City, New Jersey

Joliet, Illinois

Kansas City, Kansas

Kansas City, Missouri

Knoxville, Tennessee

Lakewood, Colorado

Lancaster, California

Laredo, Texas

Las Vegas, Nevada

Lexington, Kentucky

Lincoln, Nebraska

Little Rock, Arkansas

Long Beach, California

Los Angeles, California

Lubbock, Texas

Madison, Wisconsin

McAllen, Texas

Memphis, Tennessee

Mesa, Arizona

• Arizona museum for youth (children's museum)

Mesquite, Texas

Miami, Florida

• Miami science museum

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Mobile, Alabama

• The Exploreum

Modesto, California

Montgomery, Alabama

• Alabam Science Center (does this place really exist?)

Moreno Valley, California

Naperville, Illinois

Nashville, Tennessee

New Haven, Connecticut

New Orleans, Louisiana

New York City, New York

• American Museum of Natural History

• New York City Fire Department Museum

• South Street Seaport Museum

• Bronx Zoo

• Central Park Wildlife Center

• Intrepid Museum (closed for refurb)

Newark, New Jersey

Newport News, Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia

North Las Vegas, Nevada

Oakland, California

Oceanside, California

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Omaha, Nebraska

Ontario, California

Orange, California

Orlando, Florida

Overland Park, Kansas

Oxnard, California

Palmdale, California

Pasadena, California

Pasadena, Texas

Paterson, New Jersey

Pembroke Pines, Florida

Peoria, Arizona

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• The Franklin Institute

Phoenix, Arizona

• Arizona Science Center

• Children's museum of Phoenix (children's museum)

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Plano, Texas

Pomona, California

Port St. Lucie, Florida

Portland, Oregon

Providence, Rhode Island

Raleigh, North Carolina

• North Carolina museum of Natural Sciences

• Exploris

• New Hope Valley Railway

• N.C. museum of history

• Playspace (children's museum)

• N.C. Museum of Art

• See also Durham, NC
• See also Chapel Hill, NC

Rancho Cucamonga, California

Reno, Nevada

Richmond, Virginia

Riverside, California

Rochester, New York

Rockford, Illinois

Sacramento, California

Safford, Arizona

• Discovery Park

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Salem, Oregon

Salinas, California

Salt Lake City, Utah

San Antonio, Texas

San Bernardino, California

San Diego, California

San Francisco, California

San Jose, California

Santa Ana, California

Santa Clarita, California

Santa Rosa, California

Savannah, Georgia

Scottsdale, Arizona

Seattle, Washington

Shreveport, Louisiana

Simi Valley, California

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Spencer, North Carolina

• N.C. Transportation Museum

Spokane, Washington

Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri**

St. Petersburg, Florida

Stamford, Connecticut

Sterling Heights, Michigan

Stockton, California

Sunnyvale, California

Syracuse, New York

Tacoma, Washington

Tallahassee, Florida

Tampa, Florida

Tempe, Arizona

Thousand Oaks, California

Toledo, Ohio

Topeka, Kansas

Torrance, California

Tucson, Arizona

• Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

• Flandrau Science Center

• Tuscon's children's museum (children's museum)

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

• Alabama museum of natural history

• Children's hands-on museum (chlidren's museum)

Tyler Texas

• Discovery Science Place (children's museum)

Vallejo, California

Vancouver, Washington

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Waco, Texas

Warren, Michigan

Washington, DC

• Air and space museum

• Marian Koshland Science Museum

• National aquarium

• National museum of natural history

• National museum of American history (closed for renovation)

• Bureau of Engraving & Printing

• National Geographic Museum

• National Zoo

• National Design Museum

• Postal museum

• Arts and industries building (closed for renovation)

• See Also Alexandria, Virginia

Wichita, Kansas

Wilmington, North Carolina

• Wilmington Railroad Museum

• Battleship North Carolina

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Worcester, Massachusetts