They had amazing customer service. I took my fiancé as well as my 3 and 4 year old boys and one of…read morethe employees (Ms. Jeanine) made us feel so comfortable and welcome. Definitely will bring my family back.

While celebrating my nephews birthday, I had a blast here!…read more It's really a good time for the entire family! I played as hard as the kids, honestly. The carousel was a fun experience to close our visit. My nephew also enjoyed the outdoor play areas. There were Christmas themed activities throughout the day, to include a Grinch Slime activity in the steam lab and crafting snow globes in the art studio. There's a game room with an air hockey table, basketball, as well as other games. It was a nice trip, I'm sure we will be back to enjoy more of what this location has to offer. I noticed they do have a cafe and seating area to dine, if you want to explore the menu while visiting. There is a private parking lot for this location.

A Greensboro Classic, Fun for Kids and Adults Alike!…read more I've attended a few of the adult-only events (On-Tap, 90s Night) and a couple of standard visits to the Miriam P. Brenner Children's Museum, and they are always such a treat! It's so much fun to explore the exhibits without kids around and enjoy the playful, creative atmosphere. The museum was the first children's museum in the Triad and still features some of its original exhibits -- including the iconic big red chair, which is a total photo favorite! During regular hours, the museum is perfect for kids ages 0-12, with hands-on learning and interactive play spaces that spark curiosity and imagination. But my personal favorite -- the Neptune Climber XXL -- is definitely for all ages! It's an amazing structure that brings out everyone's inner child. I mean it is 2 stories high. The staff is friendly, the events are well-organized, and the museum continues to be a special part of Greensboro. Whether you're bringing little ones or attending an adult night, this place never fails to bring smiles and good memories.

Greensboro Children's museum is a neat experience considering it's quite different than the others…read morewe've visited in the triad. Inside you will find life size vehicles for children to explore such as a real fire truck, police car, big rig, race car and ambulance. They even have a section of an airplane for kids to sit inside. It's a great place for children to use their imagination and get up close to the cars and trucks they enjoy playing with at home. There is also a pretend grocery store, pizza parlor, play house, construction site and doctors office. The toddler area allows free play for littles and is enclosed. Another section of the museum also has a water station. Outside you'll find a garden with a mud kitchen, fruits and vegetables, as well as a chicken coop. The additional outdoor section is a massive climbing area with ropes for dayzzzz. The staff is so friendly and they just started implementing a frequent visitor pass. I believe after 5 visits you get free admission. You can get a punch card at the front desk. I thought that was neat, and also encourages families to visit again. It's the least stimulating museum we've visited and much more enjoyable than the Kaladieum in Winston salem which has TV's and screens everywhere. Though this museum is geared towards a younger crowd, it's nice that parents have a place to bring children that sparks imagination, creativity and can be a break from the constant exposure of electronics that younger kids are so often drawn towards.

Fabulous kid friendly museum! We like visiting and checking…read moreout the new exhibits and the permanent ones are wonderful. Hot tip is to park on the roof and walk in upstairs where you can pay and get your parking validated.

To the Discovery Place Management Team,…read more I am writing to formally express our deep disappointment regarding the experience our second-grade team had during our field trip on April 28. While we chose Discovery Place for its reputation as an educational leader, the lack of professional communication and logistical support we received was unacceptable. Our primary concerns include: Total Lack of Communication: Leading up to our visit, we reached out multiple times via phone and email seeking guidance and logistics. We received no response until after our trip was already completed. For an educator planning a trip for over 80 children, this silence is incredibly stressful and unprofessional. Inadequate Logistics and Materials: For the price paid per student, we expected a baseline level of organization. We were not provided with maps, a detailed itinerary, room numbers, or specific class times. We spent a significant portion of our day navigating blindly rather than focusing on the educational exhibits. Safety and Departure Issues: Most concerning was the lack of staff assistance during our departure. Because no direction was provided regarding exits, we were forced to lead 83 second graders out onto a busy city block to walk to our waiting buses. This created an entirely avoidable safety risk that could have been mitigated had a staff member simply directed us to a proper exit or bus loading zone. As a result of this experience, we will not be recommending Discovery Place to our coworkers or other schools in our district. We expected a partnership in education, but instead, we felt ignored and unsupported. We hope you take this feedback seriously to ensure that future student groups do not face the same disorganized and potentially unsafe conditions. Sincerely, Nicole Roberts

Great place to bring kids to play and learn. Location is in downtown Mocksville. There is some…read morelimited parking right in the front of the building. Cost, at the time of this review, is $5 per person, including the adults. There is an outside area (fenced in) but most of the kids displays are inside. They have several stations where kids can play and learn. A farm area, grocery store, restaurant, dentist and doctors office, and construction area. Kids can spend hours here. I normally have to pull the plug after 2 hours max, because I am done. :-) You can get a family membership, which is a good option if you go several times a year.

We were looking for a fun summer activity. We had never been to Cognition and wanted to check it…read moreout. It is a smaller children's museum in downtown Mocksville. It only costs 5 dollars a person and was well worth it. The staff was friendly, and the museum was clean and well maintained. My son had a blast. He loved the grocery store the best. Each area had a lot to do. I would highly recommend coming here.

My husband and I took our grandson for spring break and honestly, we acted like big kids ourselves…read morethe whole time! From the moment we walked in, it was a wonderful experience overall. The highlight for all three of us was definitely the stingray touch tank, getting that close and actually petting them was so cool. And seeing the penguins up close? Absolutely amazing. There's just something special about watching a child experience these things for the first time. It took me right back to when I came as a kid, and getting to share that with my grandchild made it even more meaningful. The staff was consistently friendly and helpful, the temperature inside was comfortable, and the weather outside cooperated beautifully. We also appreciated how manageable the crowds were and parking was better than expected, we even snagged a front spot! The reason this is four stars instead of five comes down to timing and expectations. We visited during spring break, which is one of the busiest weeks of the year, and unfortunately several exhibits we were looking forward to, including the red panda, the tigers, and the meerkats, were not available. For a week when families, grandparents, and school groups are specifically planning around this visit, you would hope the full experience would be ready to go. It was a noticeable disappointment, especially for the little ones. That said, what was available was genuinely enjoyable and we will definitely be back, hopefully with the full lineup next time!

Love coming here for the exhibits, but the way the animals are kept worry me sometimes…read more Some enclosures seem very small There is a parrot tucked in the back who is very afraid of people and is seemingly alone in the cold. Parrots are flock animals and require multiple birds. Other than that, it's nice to visit. Lots of room to see different animals . Love coming here

Very educational and interesting. The tour was definitely worth the time and money. Make sure to…read morestop by the school for some fun games and loved the gunsmith shop

We popped by on a whim and ended up spending a lovely, informative hour-plus strolling thought this…read morehistoric village site, which is a collection of restored old homes and businesses (and yes, gardens) from the 1700 and 1800s. Interestingly enough there are private residences mixed in as well. OK, so maybe it's really not incredibly riveting but it's still kinda interesting to see how early American life played out for Moravian, Black, and Indigenous peoples that lived in the South. A few of the buildings had docents in period dress relating the history of the particular house (some of these require separate admission tickets) or demonstrating their trades. For instance, we passed by a gunsmith's shop with a working craftsman inside, but it cost to go in. The whole area includes the Historic Town of Salem, the Gardens at Old Salem, the Frank L. Horton Museum Center, and the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) and is a few blocks from Winston-Salem's main downtown area, so probably best to park at the lot of the Museum/Gallery/visitor center and walk across the very cool Old Salem Covered Bridge to the village. We didn't have time to see all the grounds - which by the way, also have the site of the Original Site of Krispy Kreme Doughnut shop, which we did see, and were hugely disappointed by. It ain't nothing but an empty lot. But if you like old stuff like I do, you'll dig Old Salem even if you just go for half an hour. Plus it's mostly free.

The North Carolina Transportation Museum has been on my list to visit for a while now, and I…read morefinally made it to Spencer, NC, to check it out. I love museums and have been to a lot of them, and some are better than others. This one felt disjointed and not cohesive. It could be improved. Tickets are purchased near the building near the train tracks. You get a wristband and a map to go on your way. The museum is on 60 acres, so there is a lot of walking. The Southern Railway Spencer Shops were once located here. 3000 people worked at Spencer Shops to keep the steam engines working properly. Spencer was halfway between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, GA, and the steam engines needed to be serviced about every 150 miles. They could run for about two hours, but then needed an hour of service to keep everything operating properly. I started in the Back Shop (look for the BE CAREFUL sign), which was built in 1905 for steam locomotives that required more extensive maintenance. The building is the size of two football fields. The building now shows all forms of transportation, from bicycles to fire trucks to cars to airplanes to rail cars to boats and canoes. This was a large building, and it wasn't clear which path we were to walk through it, as there were two aisles with items on both sides, along with empty areas. Building F housed the Roundhouse, which was the best of the buildings. It is the largest remaining roundhouse in the country. This was like a garage with 37 stalls to repair the steam engines. Now, inside it, you will find steam and diesel locomotives, passenger cars, and a full-size replica of the Wright Flyer. There is an area where you can see people working on the cars, and at the end of the building, there are some train cars that you can enter. The exhibits in this building are well done, and you can read the storyboards about the exhibits. I started in the orientation room to watch the video about the site's history, but it wasn't available to me. I was just handed another map. I'm not sure if he didn't want to start it for just one person, but I would have liked to see it as it would have provided background on the complex. The staff member wasn't friendly and didn't seem like he wanted to answer questions. Building G was the wheel balancing exhibit in a shed. The scales made sure the weight was correct for being on the train tracks. Buildings C, D and E felt like a waste. C was decorated for the Easter events, so it didn't seem the building was being properly utilized. There were some dining car exhibits in there. Building D had a model train layout and is used for storage. Building E had more classic cars. More signage would help to get from the buildings, if they made a path to follow. I didn't see any signage for getting from building G to E, so I had to backtrack through buildings F and B to get there, as I wasn't sure where I was allowed to walk on the gravel and tracks. This is where a guide would have been helpful to direct guests. Then, the inside buildings could use better descriptions, like those used in building F. It would have been nice to have helpful, friendly guides to better understand the complex. The trains weren't running on the day of my visit, so that may have provided the background information that was lacking during my visit. I'd remove buildings D and E from the tour and relocate the exhibits to fit everything into two main buildings for better flow. If I returned, I would just focus on building F and spend my time in the building, better curated.

We had the best day at the NC Transportation Museum!!! We took the Amtrak from Charlotte to visit…read morefor the day (only wish there was some kind of shuttle from the Salisbury train station since the Amtrak doesn't stop in Spencer, but it was an inexpensive Uber). We started our visit with the train ride experience -- it took us all through the Spencer Shops property and they were playing a history explainer of the speakers (was a bit hard to hear with people talking but still interesting). Our two favorite parts of the property were the Roundhouse, which is filled with all kinds of different trains and train-related exhibits (like a real switchboard and a U.S. Army Hospital Car) and the Back Shop (literally has just about every kind of mode of transit you can think of on display, from bicycles to dugout canoes to fire trucks to boats and so much more). All the staff we met were so friendly and welcoming, too -- we had the best day! This would be the perfect place to take kids who are old enough to enjoy museums (especially those who are into planes, trains and automobiles)!!!

Went here to waste some time with the young kids. $6 admission for everyone. (Had a 2 yr old and 7…read moreyr old + my own admission $18) for a few hours spent here it wasn't too bad. Staff was huddled in the painting area. Kids were running around freely as to be expected. Just slightly disappointed with some of the zones. A lot of them were missing items that you would need to interact with and some just had a few items that looked like donated toys from goodwill. For what it's worth it's not a bad space to spend a couple of hours. But my kids got bored pretty quickly. Bathrooms were semi clean. But did have the tools needed for toddlers potty training. Overall not too bad. I wouldn't come here every week. Just once every now and then maybe.

It's excellent for very young children 2nd grade and lower. My son was in first grade he enjoyed…read moreit. Great place for elementary school field trips.

Wonderful place to take kids of all ages. So much to do, see and explore. Highly recommend.read more

What a neat place. I've been wanting to take my nieces here for years and finally had the…read moreopportunity to. I've taken my nieces to discovery kids places in other states but not this one. They had such neat and cool stuff in here. My nieces had an absolute blast on just about everything. It was neat to see different exhibits at this play center such as the firetruck, the boat, the car mechanic, the cafe, and the airline setup. My nieces could have spent all day in there if we would have let them. They also have volunteers walking around through the center cleaning up too! Although we enjoyed our time here I was surprised at how small the place was on the inside. It's two stories but there weren't many play areas upstairs. I've been to bigger discovery kids centers and I wish this one was a little bigger. My youngest niece is only 2 so she was able to play in the small kid area. Even though there were volunteers coming around the facility did not regulate age appropriate kids in the small kid play area. There were 10 Year olds and above coming in the area trying to play. I think they should be a little stricter on this. But overall a cool and fun play for kids!

I love it here. I am a very science-y girl, I love anything to do with science and medicine. So, of…read morecourse, I started coming here a few years ago. The planetarium shows are gorgeous, my particular favorite was one about monarch butterfly migration. The Aquarium and reptile section is so cool, you get to see these massive tortoises and an alligator named Lucy, pet sting rays, fish of all kinds, etc. You can also explore the human body section and the physics section, where you can play on a special pulley system on a physics playground. There is also a section with insects where you can take a closer look at different types of preserved butterflies. And, every three years or so, they hold a butterfly exhibit where you can watch the butterflies flutter about. They'll even give you some sugar water on your finger, and butterflies will come flocking to you and even land on you! I had the privilege of being present for it last year and butterflies landed on me left and right, I absolutely felt like Snow White! All in all, the Catawba Science Center is a family friendly learning environment that is perfect for field trips of all kinds. You won't regret visiting!

The Catawba Science Center is located next to the Hickory Art Museum in the SALT complex so I…read morestopped here too. It was about $15 to visit the museum. I had reciprocity but didn't think to ask about it and they didn't ask like is done at the other museums. The Science Center was on the small side and a lot of the exhibits were out of order. The exhibits they had seemed geared more to younger children. So there wasn't a lot there. I never found my way to the aquarium as that is apparently in another building and that was not mentioned. The planetarium show wasn't starting until 2pm so that was disappointing. I will go back with my reciprocity to see the building I missed.