The Tour the Universe with Pink Floyd" Planetarium Show with James was absolutely spectacular. An…read moreamazing value with tickets under $10. I can't wait for the next one.

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.

"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.

The Superstition Mountain Lost Dutchman Museum, is set on a 15-acre parcel in the shadow of the…read morebeautiful Superstition Mountains. The museum, itself, showcases the Apache origins of the land while the outbuildings include what remains of the Apacheland Movie Ranch (it largely suffered in a fire in 2004), a working 20-stamp gold mill, the chapel Elvis filmed "Charro!" in, the Apacheland barn, a historical model railroad, Western storefronts, a gift shop/bookstore, and a labeled nature trail. Things of note The Apacheland Barn houses a number of horse-drawn buggies and carts used in 17 television series, 29 full-length feature films, and hundreds of commercials filmed on the site. The buildings scattered around the land include a few Old West scenes and full-size dioramas, complete with plenty of mannequins depicting the scenes. The "crown jewel" is the "Elvis Chapel" - a mini-museum and wedding chapel dedicated to "the King" and his unique western movie, "Charro!" also filmed on site. It is a GREAT way to spend a couple of hours!

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.

Right in the heart of downtown Mesa and crafted with love. I remember having a great time here as a…read morekid decades ago and finally returned for the first time as an adult today. It's still really great, I thought it might feel like a children's museum but not at all. Chock full of artifacts and tons to read and take in. I liked its three winding levels with stairs in the center and the ceiling height display throughout, so charming with its big waterfall and recurring thunderstorms. Parking was super easy in the free garage right next door. The museum was wide open on a Sunday, all families with kids. I'll definitely be returning here solo to take more time, there's a wealth of information on display and you could kill a whole summer afternoon here easily.

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.

Went to see James Hood's "Astronomica" at the Dome - what an experience!…read more We had VIP tickets and sat in the reclining chairs, the whole dome ceiling covered in twinkling stars before the actual show itself. The music was performed by an orchestra, I believe it was the Hungary Philharmonic in the credits, and the narration was about how we are all part of the Universe, stardust over millennia becoming bodies. This is a visual performance without astronomy as a lesson; the graphics are fantastic and all around you as you lie back - just like gazing at the sky at night. I couldn't help smiling during the entire hour! The seats were great, I'm so glad we sat in the recliners and not upright for the display. Parking - we found out later - is at the Heritage building and they will validate your ticket; we parked in the other garage and it wasn't cheap due to the game nearby. It is wheelchair accessible, but in the Ladies restroom there was only one stall for disabled. In the atrium there's a gift shop as in all museums, and a cafeteria still open when we left the Dome. The ongoing Julia Child exhibit was right near the Astronomica show, so I went and took a walk around the exhibit: big fan of Julia so it was an extra bonus :) I enjoyed the experience very much, I hope you will too!

I DISLIKE MY EXPERIENCE…read more.. first of all, I went to this k-pop demon hunters thing at the dome thinking it was going to be this cool thing and it was not. All it was is music and backgrounds and you dance. NONE OF THE BACKGROUNDS RELATED TO THE MOVIE. mind you.. it was a hundred dollars. i could've bought CHICK-FIL-A for my family with that. if you go... you will regret it.

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.

Very mixed reviews by bias adults acting like children (hey. My b) just take your kid here and let…read morethem explore. Stand idly by while they "figure out a way" on their own. They can do it. Just have to have more faith/hope. With that being said, I've been to this museum a couple times. It always seems to bring new wonder to me as an adult just trying to learn and grow. Very much worth your time. Please don't hesitate to take your time and share your experiences with your kiddos. They just want a little attention. They're KIDS. (:

IDEA museum is such a great little play museum for little kiddos. My son has gone here at age 3 and…read more4. He loves it every time. They have a bunch of different rooms for older kids to explore- music, crafts, and the middle room always changes with different displays they can play, the other big room has the scarf and air toss, building, crafts, puppet show, ball drop and more. The baby-small toddler room my son still enjoys, it has a big soft middle area, play kitchen, play vet, play theater, a very small enclosed area for babies to crawl around which is great. And another area with magna tiles and other toys like that. I also saw the reading story time area in the back of that. They have a room for eating and also an outside patio which is huge for play and eating. Would recommend to anyone. Very affordable!

This was our second visit to UFO Experience (my mom, my nephew, and I came last year too) and I…read morehave to say, I really like the new layout! The redecorating makes everything flow better, and it's still packed with fascinating UFO exhibits, fun photo ops, alien-themed tv show and movie memorabilia, and all kinds of cool, quirky things to explore. It's definitely one of the most unique attractions around. Unfortunately, this visit wasn't quite as magical as our first because a lot of the interactive exhibits were no longer working. The alien shooting gallery only had one working gun, and even that didn't keep score...it just flashed red and green lights while making gunfire sounds. The listening station had several damaged, missing, or broken headphones, and seemed to have fewer stations than last time. Out of the three View-Masters, only one worked. The moon bounce had large holes where the seams had split apart (which seemed like a tripping hazard), plus it was pretty dirty and even had a wad of gum stuck to it. There were also a few technology issues. The interactive touchscreen maps didn't respond at all and were missing buttons. One of the MUFON touchscreen displays was completely out of service, and while the other one turned on, trying to read the articles just brought up a login screen asking for a username and password that wasn't provided. I completely understand that it must be difficult to stay on top of maintenance, especially with the number of kids who probably aren't exactly gentle with everything. But that's also why I was surprised, because when we visited last year, everything was working and it made the experience so much more fun and immersive. I really hope they give the exhibits a little TLC because this place is genuinely awesome. It's such a fun, fascinating, one-of-a-kind attraction, and when everything is working the way it's supposed to, it's absolutely worth visiting. We'll definitely come back and hope to see it restored to the great experience we had the first time!

Staff quoted 45 min to 1.5 hours to get through this attraction. But honestly you can get through…read moreit within half an hour, even with eight different galleries, especially if you don't have kids with you. I don't think reading every single description is necessary because some share very similar details. The various rooms and exhibits included reports of sightings throughout the years, a "moon walk" which is just a jump house pillow (kids play), depictions of aliens through time, aliens in pop culture, a documentary about an abduction, items from the 1994 film Roswell on display, and of course a gift shop for all your alien needs (selling mainly toys, shirts, and water bottles). Also, speculation into the creation of pyramids across cultures as an indicator of alien encounters, including the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico, Tomb of the General in China, and Borobudur Temple (world's largest buddha temple) in Indonesia, among others. It's a little bit of history, a little bit of sheer entertainment. The alien shooting range was cool, though only two of the 4 guns were working, some headphones for other interactive exhibits also broken/out of order. I did enjoy listening to a Jimmy Fallon recording as he interviewed Chris Colfer about a UFO sighting. So I wouldn't say you won't learn anything new here. The re-creations of characters and sets didn't look super cheap, so the quality of displays here wasn't bad. I thought it was worth checking out. And if you go with the right person, you'll probably enjoy a lot of it and have some laughs. If stuff wasn't broken during my recent visit, this would be a solid 4 stars IMO, good for a one-time experience.

We arrived at downtown Mesa about 7:40pm, parking was ample, easy and free. We parked on the street…read morenear the piper parking lot. A short walk had us arriving at the theater about 7:50pm. We easily visited the bathroom and arrived at our seats before the show started. The theater was clean and modern looking. The staff were very friendly and helpful in assisting in finding our seats. The sound quality was excellent. On this night we enjoyed the Australian Pink Floyd concert. They have been covering Pink Floyd for 38 years and doing it quite well. Great show and venue! Highly recommended!

This is a very nice theater. I sat front row middle stage to see a friend's daughter perform in…read moreAnnie. The theater is really nice. We were in auditorium 3. There are several staff members and ushers to help you get to the right place and get you to your seat. Of course there weren't any pictures or recordings allowed during the show but there is plenty to take afterwards. The production I went to see was put on by CYT Phoenix. I do love the floor-to-ceiling mirrors on the restrooms but I don't like the smell that was in it. It probably doesn't smell all the time but today it particularly reeked of cat piss. Anyway, there is also plenty of parking because there are a couple of parking spots plus street parking. I didn't get a picture, but there is also a really sorting area right outside the entrance to the building in case you wanted to hang outside during the break.

My family and I recently visited the Museum of Illusions, and we had a great time! We purchased our…read moretickets online, and if you sign up for their email list, you can receive 10% off. We visited on July 24, and there was plenty of parking available. The museum was easy to find, very clean, and the staff was incredibly friendly. They were happy to answer questions and even offered to take pictures for guests, which made the experience even more enjoyable. There are also several other attractions nearby, so it's easy to make a day of it. One thing to keep in mind is that it gets extremely hot during the summer. It would be nice if there were sprinklers, misting stations, or cooling areas outside to help guests stay comfortable. The only downside was the ticket price. While the experience was fun and memorable, I would love to see family package deals or discounted pricing for families of three or more to make it more affordable for everyone. Overall, we had a wonderful experience and would definitely recommend visiting if you're looking for a unique and interactive activity for the whole family!

Went here with my kids (6, 8) and unfortunately they have the attention span of a gnat. They just…read morewanted to rush through so I didnt get to see everything. But what I did get to see/experience was pretty cool. The place is not that big but they pack a lot of stuff in. Most things are interactive in some way. Went here on a Go Pass and I'm not sure if I would go on my own if I didn't have the pass (especially since my kids zoomed through).