A very subdued environment that's an eclectic mix of area history, vegetation, animals, and…read moreobservatory. The staff was very friendly, but it appeared to be a "one-man-band" while we were there.

Great 3-D show at the Planetarium--Marston Exploration Theater!!!…read more Times: Wednesdays at 7:30 pm; Saturdays at 1 pm and 3:30 pm Cost: Adults $7.50; Students $5.50 My boyfriend and I came to check this planetarium out all the way from Los Angeles, CA! We caught the "Undiscovered Worlds" showing, and I must say, I compared it to the Griffith Observatory and thought this one was more enjoyable! Why? Well, first of all, we had a real-time, live narrator explaining everything in person and being able to manipulate the 3-D showing according to their narration and explanations. As a result, no two experiences will be the same. Everything was explained in detail in words I would understand (me, being a not-so-science-savvy person). I stepped out the theater truly understanding how small and vulnerable Earth really is--our home sweet home. The ending of the show really made me feel quite emotional (don't really want to spoil it). Sadly, my boyfriend and I didn't have time to check out the rest of the Planetarium since we were behind in our schedule. We would love to come back and check out the other showing and the rest of the Planetarium though. :)

"The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple…read morepies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff." ― Carl Sagan, American astronomer and astrophysicist Come view the stars. The Gilbert Rotary Centennial Observatory is open on Fridays and Saturdays, from sunset - 9:30PM, weather permitting. The cost is free but there is a suggested donation of $5/family or $3/adult. Donations are gratefully accepted for the maintenance of the equipment. See the moon, planets, double stars, open clusters, and other wonders of the night sky. Join them on the second Friday of each month for their Public Star Party. An astronomy talk is presented in the adjoining public library at 7:30PM and is hosted by the East Valley Astronomy Club (www.evaconline.org). Visit their website (www.grcoonline.org) for special events, solar viewing, and to book private group bookings.

Although they have public viewing sessions, we reserved a private session for $40 for our family of…read morefive. It was over an hour looking at the sky, learning about astronomy, and getting a crazy view of the moon and several stars. I never realized how awesome the stars were going to look thru a powerful telescope. Claude and Gordon led our session and their passion for astronomy really came through. Our kids 8-18 yrs were all engaged and thought it was really wonderful.

My husband and I took our three month old daughter here and it was great! A sweet man named Owen…read moreOse told us fun stories and let our daughter hold a little clothing iron that he had inherited from his aunt. We visited in April, so there weren't many people here. The vibes were calm and peaceful. Museum tickets were reasonably priced. We're new to the area so it was a great experience to learn the history of our new home.

To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect, but my son and I are on spring break and I have to keep…read morethis 4 year old busy! I learned several things here... 1) it's a bit of a hike, which I wasn't prepared for 2) Always carry water in your purse (I didn't) 3) carry tweezers and bandaids (splinters happened) 4) these volunteers were the most knowledgeable and friendliest people I have ever met 5) Elvis Presley spent time in AJ. I think it is definitely worth the trip out and it was interesting enough, until my son strayed from the path and a cholla stung him. I took several photos. It was a gorgeous day in March.

We visited the museum on a weekday morning. We enjoyed the displays of rocks from various parts of…read morethe earth, the Arizona-Mexican artifacts, and of course the dinosaurs, especially the aquatic dinosaurs. This museum has an active dinosaur fossil dig - you can watch and even talk to the paleontologist working on it! There's lots to see and enjoy here, including real elements from a jail that held prisoners from the 1830s to the 1970s!! The gift shop is reasonably priced and you can even purchase a "memory bag" filled with pencil, notebook eraser, etc, for only $2.50 each.

Paid $14 and only stayed about 40 minutes. There were multiple groups of school children that were…read morerunning around, screaming, jumping and bumping into everything. I expect that behavior to be tolerated at a children's museum, not a public museum where a basic level of respect and decorum is expected for EVERYONE inside. Wish I could say I enjoyed it but the hundreds of screaming children ruined any experience I could have had and left with a migraine. **Would appreciate museums to have specific days for "field trips" or hours for school days. Unfortunately many museum experiences are ruined due to the behavior of unruly children, and I'm still the one paying full price.

Love this museum! You can definitely spend a full day here as there are multiple floors and kids…read morelove all the interactive exhibits and activities. I've been here about five times over the years and my kids never get sick of it. From exploring a giant human body and sliding down a digestive track to experiencing hurricane winds with fake water bursts, this museum is pretty awesome. They also offer various season exhibits that cost extra as well as free science demonstrations throughout the day that are interactive, educational and pretty cool. While pricy, it's totally worth it in my opinion - especially if you plan to spend the whole day here!

I should have read the one star reviews before we spent $80 for general admission and the Pompeii…read moreexhibit. As most have said, half the stations didn't work and/or there was zero context about... what the point of it was? So disheartening. This would be expected in a small town but in PHOENIX?! The Pompeii exhibit was okay. Not enough to redeem the poor experience other wise. At the end there's a grand finale video, unfortunately there were technical difficulties and it would t play. I really felt for the gal who was acting as host of that section. People were pretty grumpy and couldn't hear her. The music was too loud and overpowered her mic. I'll be reaching out for a refund. I likely won't get it. But I can't believe we spent just shy of $100 and it was such a WASTE of time and money.

This museum is hard to find but it's in an old elementary school building…read more I was very underwhelmed. The best part was the portable planetarium show.

This museum exceeded my expectations! First, it was larger than I expected. Next, the collections…read morewere more comprehensive and interesting. I LOVED getting to a "tour" of the Space Station! Great for adults as well as kids. My only suggestion is to have much better signage on the outside. People driving by don't realize you are there.

We love the i.d.e.a. Museum and have been going for years. It's been really fun watching how the…read moreexperience changes as my kids get older. They've aged out of the soft play areas, but now they can spend hours at the stop motion video station and exploring the newer exhibits. The recycling area is also one of their favorites. It's such a quaint little space and incredibly affordable for what you get. I also love seeing downtown Mesa continue to grow, and the museum feels like a big part of that energy. From a parent perspective, it's really easy to visit. There's ample parking, it's very stroller and diaper bag friendly, and it's a perfect place for a playdate. You can actually have conversations while the kids explore and move between activities. The mural in the courtyard is gorgeous and the puppets are always a hit with my kids. It's one of those places we keep coming back to.

Amazing place for toddlers and school aged children to learn about science in a fun way, explore…read moretheir imagination and interact with others. There are soft blocks for building or balancing on, a play kitchen, play vet, barn, magnet wall, Lego station, gear powered musical windmill, lots of art stations to create, a backlight wall, even and outdoor area.

Fantastic for all! Safe and informative and my grandchildren loved it!…read moreNow they're looking in sky,waking up in middle of night to look.

This was a cool interactive spot to learn more about UFOs. Good AC, lots of info, a "moon walk" for…read morekids. It's small but utilized well!

I've been coming to the Mesa Arts Center for years! For graduation ceremonies of the university i…read morework at. The staff are friendly and helpful. The sound engineers are very knowledgeable. There are two green rooms we use - both have the space to accommodate approximately 40 faculty members who make up the stage party. I sing the national anthem for the graduation ceremony and let me simply say how amazing their sound system is. There used to be no sound delay. The sound is crisp. And I think the sound system makes me sound even better than I really am!! lol The lobby area is spacious and great for after-ceremony gatherings. It truly is a great place! I also have contemplated taking some of the arts classes they offer. I haven't found time in my busy schedule but I do know they offer a variety if classes. I look forward to when I can take a class!!

My mom and I came here for the first for the Shen Yu. Great event we go every year but this year we…read moredecided to try the mesa location. We chose the sitting on the higher levels which we liked but don't chose the edge of the row cause then you can't see the side of the stage. Choose more in the middle. I was not happy with the bathroom stall I used. It seems when so many other people slam their doors my door became unlocked and opened on me while using the restroom. The bathroom was very clean!! The other annoying part was there was only one person working the concession stand. So we couldn't get anything. Cause our intermission ended by the time we got to the front of the line.

I had my first experience at this museum & it was such a good one!…read more My favorite part was capturing the illusions in my photos! There are so many illusions to choose from. I loved that they had stickers that helped navigate you to on how to take the perfect picture with the illusion within it. The customer service was 10/10. The staff was so helpful and offered to take photos for us. If we were having a trouble finding the illusion, they would guide us through it. This is the perfect activity for a date night, solo date, or family fun day! There is something for everyone!

3.5/5 I've been to…read moreone other Museum of Illusions and I think 95% of the exhibits here are the same. My kiddo and I still had fun though seemingly defying gravity and conjuring all sorts of optical illusions. We didn't look at some of the illusions on the walls so it took us maybe 45 minutes to go through the whole museum. It's a little pricey even with the discounted admission if you book online I feel, since it's not a very large museum and you don't spend a ton of time here. All the staff here were very nice though and willing to answer questions and take photos for us.