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    McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center

    3.3 (34 reviews)
    Open 10:30 am - 4:00 pm

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    Ken A.

    Had a fun day going here, lot of information about planes, space, moon, Mount Washington. Easy to navigate thru the displays. Lot of interactive displays. Eaven though we are adults and a lot of the displays are geared to kids we still had a lot of fun. Chose to see the eclipse planetarium show which was very informative. As a Star Trek fan was surprised to see some Star Trek displays.

    CJ M.

    Good place to kill an hour. We stopped here after the recent rebirth of the Challenger disaster, thanks to the Netflix series. Kids were interested in learning more about the space program and Christa McAuliff. Planetarium wasn't worth it, in my opinion. Went way over the kid's heads, outside of the cartoon theme. To be honest, I was really surprised that there wasn't more of a presence/memorial for Christa, seeing as she taught in Concord. We only saw a small photo of her on the way out. Glad we went, to check the box, but most likely won't be back.

    Rachael G.

    The best thing here is the planetarium! Went for a show today about the constellations and it was very informative! It's only 5 bucks for a show but you also have to pay the $10 admission price, so ends up being $15 but that's about the price of a movie these days. I want to come back for another one. We checked out the exhibits too but were done in like 30 mins. Wish they had more here.

    Grahame G.

    A fun local science museum paying tribute to a couple of New Hampshire's finest space heroes, Alan Shepard and Chista McAuliffe. Shepard was the first American in space and also one of the last men to walk on the moon, and McAuliffe of course was the schoolteacher who tragically died in the Challenger disaster. Outside the entrance they have a full-size Redstone rocket and Mercury capsule on display, and inside you can get a closer look at another Mercury capsule hanging next to the balcony. They have lots of hands-on interactive displays on offer, although many of these were broken or missing essential parts. I particularly liked the section explaining basic physics and flight mechanics, and judging from the noise level, the party of kids in at the time did too! Of the exhibits that were actually working, the best has to be the Space Shuttle cockpit, where you can actually try your hand at landing it; and the lunar lander simulator. There's some interesting stuff on weather and satellite imagery too, but overall it comes across as somewhat underfunded. There is a lack of big exhibits and the shop was pretty poor too, although if you bring kids I'm sure they'll love it. I expected there to be more about McAulliffe, but it was just one small section. Overall I'd say that it's not up to the standard of a similar NASA-funded space museum, but it's a good educational resource to educate kids about their local heroes.

    Susan D.

    We really enjoyed our visit. It's $9 for adults, and one of us got in free because of the NHPR Member Card Benefit of the Month. The Center is small and contains a lot of fun interactive exhibits. I liked the large sphere onto which is projected images of the different planets and some of their moons. (Pluto's not a planet anymore, sadly.) If you're interested in seeing what life is like in space, meteorology, and seeing astrological bodies in the observatory, visit the Discovery Center.

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    6 years ago

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    15 days ago

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    1 year ago

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    Melissa E.

    So glad that you enjoyed your visit with us!

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Great experience. The planetarium show is amazing! This was a great place to take the kids. Mine especially loved the playground.

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    14 years ago

    An interesting place to take the kids on a rainy afternoon. The planetarium show was very kid friendly.

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    Ask the Community - McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center

    Review Highlights - McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center

    Was a little suprised at the price of admission with planetarium show ($54 total).

    Mentioned in 8 reviews

    Read more highlights

    International Cryptozoology Museum

    International Cryptozoology Museum

    3.3(91 reviews)
    69.0 miLibbytown

    The International Cryptozoology Museum is a museum that opened in Portland, Maine in 2003. It was…read morefounded by cryptozoologist, author and TV personality Loren Coleman. Although he has a background in social work, Coleman has had a passion for cryptozoology (the study of animals whose existence is unproven: aka cryptids) for several decades. Originally from Virginia, he relocated to Maine in 1980 and wrote a number of articles and books on cryptozoology. In 2003, Coleman opened the museum in the first floor of his home. As his collection of cryptid artifacts grew, so did his need to find a larger museum space. The museum moved a number of times before it ended up in its current location in Portland's Thompson Point in 2020. There are plans to move the museum to an even larger space in Bangor in 2026. My extended family and I visited the museum this past summer while we were vacationing in Maine. I've wanted to visit it for several years. I'm very familiar with Coleman's work from his books and TV appearances on documentaries on A&E or the History Channel. The museum is loaded with an absurd amount of artifacts all related to cryptozoology. I would say that a majority of the artifacts are dedicated to Bigfoot (Sasquatch), the Abominable Snowman (Yeti) and other legendary ape-like hominids. There were plenty of sculptures, footprint castings, and other various artifacts. The highlight for me was the 8.5-foot-tall Crookston Bigfoot sculpture made by taxidermist Curtis Christensen. There are also artifacts dedicated to cryptids such as Lake Monsters (Loch Ness Monster, Champ, Ogopogo, Cadborosaurus), Swamp Monsters, the Feejee Mermaid, the Montauk Monster, the Mothman, the Dover Demon, the Jersey Devil, the Beast of Bray Road, and others too numerous to mention. We all really enjoyed exploring the museum and we highly recommend it to anyone who's interesting in all things strange and unusual.

    Although this place was geared more towards Bigfoot than any other animal, it definitely had a…read morelittle bit of everything and was oddly interesting. For $10 it's worth a stop. I think Parking was two dollars for an hour. There were a good number of kids there who obviously seemed to love it. i'm not sure that I would consider it an actual museum. It's more of a collection of odds and ends.

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    International Cryptozoology Museum - Dover Demon

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    EcoTarium - City science Interactive exhibits

    EcoTarium

    3.7(94 reviews)
    67.4 mi

    Follow the instructions to science and technology. Let's explore !…read more Our nations majestic bird greets you as you walk down a path from the parking lot . The parking is plentiful and free! As you walk this beautiful place it's divided between different animal paths and eco systems! You will learn visual and physical features from each habitat. Make sure and enjoy the experience that has been created to show how these creatures interact and exist in their surroundings . They maintain well funded environment by individuals that care for the animals. Thank you for this opportunity. If you're a local to the area the yearly pass would benefit greatly . Make sure and visit the gift shop for a souvenir. Until the next time.

    We recently visited the Ecotarium which is almost an hour away from where we live; and while it had…read moresome highlights, I left feeling the admission price didn't quite match the experience--especially with a toddler. For our family, it came out to around $55, and for a 2-year-old, there wasn't a lot to engage with at this age. Many of the exhibits are better suited for older children who can read, explore independently, and understand the science concepts. Both the planetarium and the train ride require an additional fee beyond admission. My toddler enjoyed the train and we thought the planetarium was nicely done, but it would've been nice if there was an option to just purchase tickets for those experiences instead of paying full admission. We were excited to see the mountain lions, but learned they're often resting high up and out of view. It was a little disappointing since that's one of the main animal exhibits. The bubble exhibit was also not functioning properly during our visit. Overall, the grounds are nice and I can see older kids having a great time exploring all the exhibits. For families with toddlers, though, the value just isn't quite there. I'd recommend this more for kids 4-5 and up who can really interact with and appreciate the exhibits.

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    EcoTarium - Feeding otters

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    McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center - museums - Updated May 2026

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