Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Discovery Place Science

    4.1 (255 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

    Discovery Place Science Photos

    More like Discovery Place Science

    Recommended Reviews - Discovery Place Science

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Drea H.

    Went here with a friend for an adult Halloween night - it was SO fun. Lowkey, this is better than the St. Louis science center I mean, if I was a kid I'd be here all day. The exhibits were so fun and relatable perfect for kids - made it fun to learn. They made it fun for adults!! It has multiple levels of exhibits, an imax theater, and a bunch of learning rooms. The interactivity of every single thing made it engaging the entire time.

    Nehal A.

    The Marvel universe is not there anymore (Jan 2025 update). Discovery is probably the most well known tourist spot in Charlotte downtown, excellent for kids, but for adults more of a visual learning activity. We tried to buy the tickets online for discounted price but it didn't work. So we bought them at the kiosk for regular price. It spreads over 3 floors. First floor has small aquarium, living things, theater, planetarium stuff. 2nd floor has cool thing about how human body is formed (my favorite section of the place), a walk by through rain forest, and special section for "Becoming Jane". There's also several of workshops for kids. 3rd floor is mainly for kids building and designing activities. The place is overall clean. Lots of staff all around to keep things tidy and safe. Cafeteria and gift shop is on first floor across the entrance.

    Wei H.

    Cool science museum for kids and adults. They have a special exhibition for Jane Goodwell now. Very cool to learn about her journey. The museum has lots hands on activities for kids. Great way for the children to try / touch / experiments on many things. It has many different sections: human body, aquarium, tech world etc. All are easy to follow and informative of the subjects.

    Barrie P.

    I had not been to the museum in over a decade. We decided to visit on a day trip to Charlotte. They have lots of signs to find the museum, and the parking deck was convenient. You save money getting tickets online, and on Wednesdays as of July 2025, kids are 5 dollars off. The special exhibit is included in your ticket, which was nice. The staff was nice and offered some fun hands-on activities. We enjoyed the rainforest and human body areas the most. We spent about two and a half hours, which was plenty of time to see all of the exhibits. Next time I want to see an IMAX show.

    Kathy K.

    This non-profit educational science center located in uptown area Charlotte, NC, offers all ages with a wide range of activities to engage those at the museum and an IMAX theater too. They have a wide range of interactive exhibits and fascinating displays that bring science to life. Discovery Place kids is oriented for children 0-7. They have a tropical and arctic experience and we also enjoyed the aquarium. General admission is $23.95, children 3-13 is $18.95 and children under 2 are free. Located 2 blocks from the city center and paid parking is nearby.

    Annie W.

    What an amazing science museum for children and adults! So many amazing activities and fun things to do with so much to learn! The little rain forest has a fantastic variety of beautiful birds. Right now there's an exhibit on the ocean and it's a great hands-on experience. Such a wonderful experience that teaches so much and makes learning fun! Absolutely wonderful place for adults and kids!

    Fish with disease.
    Madison D.

    First of all, the prices are outrageous. For two adults, the price is about 51 US dollars. Their live animals have some sort of sickness. In the attached photo, there is a small fish, who could not swim/"stand" upright, but could only fall over/down. Both the fish and frog enclosures are miniature, giving no space for the animals to feel safe and at home. All the frogs were constantly hiding, after having dug a hole in the back of their tank. The fish have about two feet of swim room, not nice. This place is not marketed towards kids, as they have another location specifically marketed towards kids however this place is for kids. The only okay part of this experience would be the rainforest area. Hot and humid for the birdies, and a bit of flying space. Although I would not recommend you come here unless you wish to give money to the abuse and exploitation of small, helpless animals. In one of the Jellyfish tanks, it was just dead, and no employee bothers to care for their live animals. Lastly, owners are lazy! Closing time of 4:00-30 pm is wild! Wonder why people kill themselves? They cannot find any joy in this world if everything is closed!

    Burgess P.

    Discovery Place science is a great place. I had a great time. I had a blast. It's definitely worth the money even parking isn't that back either I would highly recommend this location. Please check it out. Take your children. They will run around and have fun for hours. It's a lot of activities. Never a dull moment. Well worth the money Time and loud noises lol I'm definitely going back to visit again

    Jennifer E.

    I've been visiting this location since I was a little kid (90s) and always had a great time. They have their main usual exhibits, which are their toddler kids' water play, insects and forest creatures, their aquariums, and rainforest. Upstairs, they have their "cool stuff" exhibit, and when we went, they had a dinosaur exhibition. You can easily spend about 3 hours here actually looking and exploring everything. They do have their Imax theatre, and you can check out their showtime on their website. They have a parking garage where you have to pay for parking. They unfortunately do not validate. Another bad thing in uptown. Other than that, something cool and fun to do for the whole family.

    Karina T.

    I absolutely love science museums! I'm a kid at heart. I especially was excited about the Dinosaur Exhibit. The entire museum was interactive which is a huge plus in my book! So many animals and information! I would 100% recommend adults and kids to come visit. They also do pop ups of different exhibits. Last time they had a marvel exhibit which I'm so sad I missed.

    Rebekah W.

    Went for the Marvel after Dark, and thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit. The location of the Discovery Place Science building is awesome. In Uptown, within walking distance of several restaurants, and a parking garage directly across the street, it's a great outing for a date or for the family. The staff was very kind and professional, and patient! I did think that the after dark event would have no children, and I'm sure there are fewer; however, I gained clarity that an after dark event is also ideal for neurodivergence as there are fewer people, and less noise, in general. We really enjoyed this exhibit, and were greatly impressed by the center as a whole, and we look forward to getting a membership! @discoveryplacescience #Marvel

    Kristin F.

    Summary: A wonderful and fun place for kids to play and explore! Pro tip: museum is not too busy during the week int he afternoon. Buying tickets online is convenient and you save a little on the parking garage fee ($3) if you buy that online too. Children under 2 y/o are free. While visiting Charlotte, we stopped by Discover Place Science and what a cool place to be! Brought my daughter here and she had a BLAST! Her favorite was by far the Toddler sensory room with a water table and other sensory play. She spent basically most of her time in there. The mini aquarium area was pretty nice too. She loved the seeing the jellyfish and fish swim. There is also an aquatics room that had live sea creatures to pet and showcase. That was also very fun but my daughter was scared to pet the sea urchin, sea cucumber and others. The whole museum is very kid friendly and my daughter absolutely loved it! There's a mini Cafe where you can buy food and drinks but we just went out for lunch and came back afterwards. As long as you have your wristbands, you're able to go back into the museum. We went on a Monday morning but I say going in the afternoon is better during the week because I didn't account for school field trips so the place was PACKED with kids from when they first opened until about 1pm. We were thinking of only spending a few hours there but ended up staying the entire day from open to closer since my daughter loved it so much. We definitely got our money's worth. Highly recommend!

    Building

    See all

    2 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    19 days ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    17 days ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 13
    Thanks 3
    Love this 9
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 7
    Thanks 0
    Love this 5
    Oh no 0

    10 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    10 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    3 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    8 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 months ago

    This museum is a great place to visit with your children. Also a good place to visit with out of town friends or company.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 1
    Love this 2
    Oh no 1

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 6
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 months ago

    It was kinda boring for the kids and they were ready to go not long after we got there

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 5
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of S S.
    0
    12
    22

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Mookie W.
    59
    98
    35

    11 months ago

    Wonderful museum. Lots of exhibits and fun things for kids and adults to enjoy. Enjoy the iMax and the fun facts about the insects and fish

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 1

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 7

    Ask the Community - Discovery Place Science

    Is this museum appropriate for 9 and 14 year olds?

    Yes they have a variety of things for those of all ages.

    View All 4 Questions

    Review Highlights - Discovery Place Science

    There is an adorable little rainforest, a grossology section (must-see), An aquarium, IMAX theater and much more.

    Mentioned in 12 reviews

    Read more highlights

    The Light Factory

    The Light Factory

    4.4(12 reviews)
    0.3 miFirst Ward, Uptown
    $

    A photography gallery in Uptown, right next to the 7th Street LYNX Station. When I arrived, the…read moreplace was quite desolate. The security guard had me wait in the lobby while he went in to the gallery to turn the lights on. I got the impression that there wasn't a whole lot going on here. It's a good thing that it's free, because 30 minutes of looking at pictures wouldn't have been worth much. And even at 30 minutes, I was still moving pretty slow. When I visited, the exhibit was "Streetwise", a collection of pictures of America's troubled 60's. Capturing images of not just our troubled times, including Boston's "Combat Zone" and close-ups of the Black Panthers, there were also shots of just regular people and places. All in black and white, which gave it a feel of being very like a documentary. Pictures of the pictures are not permitted, but I took that as meaning not taking a picture of the individual pictures. Instead, my wide shot of the gallery doesn't give away the detail but helps you see what you're going to see there. I might come back for the next exhibit, but I think this is a "See it once" kind of thing.

    I had never been to The Light Factory and saw there was a very interesting reception called A…read moreShared Elegy. I was so happy I made it out to see what it was all about since I live so close by. Great intimate space, the artist were so insightful and the crowd genuinely appreciated the artist panel and the photography. It was very well curated. Great space, seasoned artists. Well done.

    Photos
    The Light Factory
    The Light Factory
    The Light Factory

    See all

    ImaginOn - The Joe and Joan Martin Center - Story time

    ImaginOn - The Joe and Joan Martin Center

    4.7(56 reviews)
    0.2 miFirst Ward, Uptown

    The Charlotte-Mecklenburg library district offers a number of very nice regional and special…read morelibrary settings: the South Park Regional, South County Regional, and the library collaboration with the Children's Theatre of Charlotte ... ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center on Seventh Street downtown to name just three. Each has specialties that make them individuals. The ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center collaboration between the library district and the Children's Theatre is a hands down wonder. While some libraries specialize in library things (games and toys) to engage kids and others specialize in library materials (books and puzzles), ImaginOn has it all ... including plays and story times. The library itself is free to enter, multi-story, newish, clean and easy to get to, with available parking that is free for 90 minutes with a stamped ticket. This facility absolutely had everything to stimulate kids of all ages ... probably 2 to 12 being the sweet spot. Do make a point of finding your way here for a visit someday ... you'll be glad you did. Highly recommended.

    I love that the Mecklenburg libraries have story times for various ages throughout the week…read more We've been coming here since February and my toddler loves it. There is always some sort of craft, legos, toys and computers for her to play with/use. They also usually have monthly events and a theater. I prefer to download the CMLibrary app to keep up with events. We prefer to come here on the Saturday's but it's definitely more packed. It's about 40ish families at every session. They have a parking garage (under the library) which you can take the elevator directly into the library. They validate for 90 minutes. The issue is when it's full or days they have events parking can really be a pain. They may direct you to park at 7th street parking garage but they only validate after 5pm on weekdays or anytime on weekends.

    Photos
    ImaginOn - The Joe and Joan Martin Center
    ImaginOn - The Joe and Joan Martin Center
    ImaginOn - The Joe and Joan Martin Center

    See all

    McGill Rose Garden - Herb garden, can buy herbs

    McGill Rose Garden

    4.6(47 reviews)
    0.7 miBelmont, NoDa

    As someone who moved here from the Bay Area and is still finding my favorite outdoor spaces in…read moreCharlotte, I'm always on the lookout for places that offer a little peace and beauty in the middle of a busy day. The McGill Rose Garden absolutely delivered on that. This is truly a beautiful venue--lush flowers everywhere, winding walk paths, and plenty of places to sit quietly and just take it all in. It's the kind of space where you can slow down, clear your head, and quite literally stop and smell the roses. I found it to be a wonderful spot for reflection, a casual stroll, or simply enjoying nature without needing to leave the city. One of the things I especially appreciated is that you can enhance the experience with a visit to the wine bar onsite, Rosie's Wine Garden, where you can grab a coffee, cocktail, or glass of wine and then wander the grounds at your own pace. It adds a relaxed, almost European feel to the whole experience. A quick heads-up: parking can be a bit tricky, as the entrance is off a busy street, so just take your time and be patient when pulling in. Once you're there, though, it's well worth the effort. Bottom line: If you're looking for a small but charming botanical-style garden in Charlotte--a quiet place to reset, reflect, and enjoy the outdoors--this is a lovely little gem. For me, it checked all the boxes and has become a welcome respite in the middle of a busy day.

    Talk about a hidden gem! This was a great place to get coffee, wine and/or a snack and hang out for…read morea while. Rosie's Coffee and Wine is adjacent and service there was super friendly and fast. There is indoor seating there, but the gardens have little twists and turns and different areas to sit, too. When we visited it wasn't too busy, so we had our choice of tables. There was a birthday or bachelorette type of party in another part of the garden.

    Photos
    McGill Rose Garden
    McGill Rose Garden
    McGill Rose Garden - Hydrangeas

    See all

    Hydrangeas

    Discovery Place Science - museums - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...