We came here while on vacation, on the last day of the year, during my kids winter break. I honestly think this place rivals bigger places like the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Although it's not huge, there are so many interesting exhibits packed into a relatively small space. We could have easily spent hours here until close but we had plans to hit the road and head back home to the Chicago area. The gentleman upfront was nice enough to only charge me for 2 adults, even though I later checked the website and saw my 5 year old normally would have been charged at a lower price. My children, ages 3 and 5, had a blast. They ran around from exhibit to exhibit. I like that each one had instructions printed to explain the illusion. If you're into outer space, space stations, etc., the second room is for you! My son and I paid the $4/ person cost to Ride in the space shuttle VR experience. It wasn't really that exciting, but my 5 year old enjoyed it. My favorite part was the 3rd exhibit. Don't forget to head upstairs as well. The Van de Graff generator (to make your hair stand up) didn't seem to work. I have a picture of myself as a child standing there, so I was pretty bummed I couldn't get one with my children. Since it was cold and snowing, we didn't experience any outdoor exhibits, but there is plenty to do inside. You do have to walk outside briefly between exhibits, so dress appropriately. Definitely would return! read more

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This activity was more fun than I expected and the kids didn't want to leave. It is filled with lots of hands-on science experiments and before I knew it we were there for almost 2 hours. The kids would have stayed longer but we had another event scheduled so had to leave. Even the little kids will find something interesting. Even we adults learned lots of cool things. I think the ideal age is 5-10 years old but outside that range is still good too. If you are staying at a local resort ask if you can get a discount for doing so. The tickets are (as expected) not cheap but this one is worth the time and money. Be prepared to end this activity through the gift shop and brace for buying expensive souvenirs. read more

Tommy Bartlett Exploratory - 3 kids lifted a car! Science at its best - Museums Near Me - Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

This place is great! I have fond memories coming here as a kid, as a college student, and now as a parent with my own kids! It is so hands on, self-paced, and so fun. My kids loved the 1980s video games, reminiscent of the Wii, but very impressive for the time. There is so much to learn about energy, electricity, color, illusion and more! We loved it and will be back! read more

One of the best science places i've ever been to. The only bad thing about it is that there is no water fountains.

This place is awesome, awesome, awesome. It is the cross between a children's museum and a science museum. The staff there is very friendly and helpful, top notch. They have a decent sized parking lot that offers free parking for its patrons. This is great family fun and is good for kids from age 2 to 14 years old. It has 4 exhibit areas full of exhibits (well over 100) like the Van de Graaff Generator that makes your hair stand up, head on a plater, star room, Simon says, how high you can jump, shock chair, whisper cone, virtual sports center game, balance board, teleportation machine, soccer kicking game, moon rover, Russian Mir Space Station, and funny mirrors. There are a lot of exhibits. I mean a lot, a lot. Most of them are located indoors. The Giant Lever, where a kid can lift a 5 ton truck and the High Wire SkyCycle, a bike suspended 12 feet above the ground on a high wire, are located outdoors. There is a moon simulator that is located in the Mir Space station exhibit area. It cost a few bucks extra to do. I would suggest skipping it. I and my littles were fans and did not care much for it. It was a waste of time. The place had a lot of people, but it was not packed, or uncomfortable. And there was not a long wait, if any, for any exhibit. Be aware though, that you you probably see some parents reliving their glory days on some of this kid exhibits. It is what it is. You exit the place through, you guessed it, a gift shop. They have shirts, cups, science based toys, and candy. It is small and there is no pressure to purchase anything. We spent about 2 hours here and my littles really loved this place. It was a nice indoor option for the Dells. We visited on a rainy weekend day and was pleasantly surprised at how wonderful this place was. It was well organized and the staff was the best. The important part was that not only did my littles have fun, but they learned a lot. This place is sneakingly educational and more than worth the price of admission. read more

Tommy Bartlett Exploratory - Museums Near Me - Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

This place was amazing! My family and I had such a fun time! The workers were really nice and there was so much to do! I highly recommend you come try this place out, it's so worth it. That's are things to do from illusions that leave you with knowledge on how it's done, to physical things that will leave you in excitement and aw. If you are staying at the Dells, make sure to check this amazing place out! read more

Tommy Bartlett Exploratory - The second section of the museum. - Museums Near Me - Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

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Engaging, timeless fun and learning for us parents and our children ages 5 to 15. We spent about 4 hours there, with experiments to try and challenges to solve at every turn. read more

Tommy Bartlett Exploratory - Head on a platter - Museums Near Me - Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

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We had the best time it took us a couple hours but could of stayed longer but had to get in the road. The girls LOVED come to this place and we will be back. It was priced well and people were so friendly! Thank you read more

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It's basically a kid's science museum, and pretty cool if you don't already have one in your area. The exhibits could use some "freshening up" as it kind of smells "old" in there. Still worth the stop, if you have young kids. read more

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My kids are 4 & 7. They were so excited about riding the high wire bicycle. No restrictions indicated on Tommy Bartlett website. Approaching the actual exhibit, we saw there were height restrictions which neither of my kids met. So they were very disappointed. I asked to speak to a manager, but they were already on break at 11:20am after opening at 10am. The rest of the exhibits are largely outdated and could use a refresh. The virtual sports center exhibit in particular appeared to have so much potential on their website, but really felt outdated. Overall, wish we had spent our money elsewhere on our last morning in the Dells. read more

Billboard in Dells = WE'RE OPEN Magazine at Amtrack station = Exploratory open! Magazine at hotel = Exploratory open! Website = we're open! Here are our hours! Small sign at Exploratory location = Exploratory closed. I visit during what appears to be the only three days of the year it is closed. I get it, its the slow season. But, its a good idea to put a notice up SOMEWHERE if you're going to be closed - the website is a great option for such a notice. read more

It definitely has a ton of things for younger kids to check out. Optical illusions, puzzles, science tricks... We spent close to two hours in there and my daughter (6) skipped exhibits. I'm not sure but I think she learned some stuff. Even if she didn't she did have fun. read more

Best science museum ever. Went there and everything was amazing. Who know I could lift a 5000 pound car.

We went in December so it was very NOT crowded, which allowed my kids (5 and 9) to play with everything for as long as they wanted. We spent maybe 2 hours there and it was fun. There are LOTS of little puzzles, interactive models of scientific principles/phenomena, etc so the kids kept going from one to the next...some they would like, some they wouldn't but there were a LOT so there were plenty that caught their interest. read more

We took four kids (ranging from 4-15 years old) to the Exploratory and we all had a blast, including the adults! It's packed with optical illusions, educational opportunities, and wacky and fun exhibits. We had a lot of fun and I'd definitely recommend it, especially if you have kids interested in robotics, engineering, or science like ours are. read more

Light sciency fun for all ages. My toddler loved it. Many many fun tricks and illusions to play with, plus the MIR command capsule. Yes, the Soviet space station is here in Wisconsin. Definitely worth a stop for any age. You may learn something, but you mostly will just have fun. The place is huge too, so you are bound to see something new. read more

Tommy Bartlett Exploratory - MIR command capsule - Museums Near Me - Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

Just got back from the exploratory and I thought I'd find a ton of reviews for this place. It's listed in Yelp under an odd name considering that it's billed as "Tommy Bartlett's Exploratory". Regardless,this place is truly a mixed bag so I thought I'd share some observations. Part Americana road-side attraction, part carnival side-show and part science museum, the place is much larger than I expected with quite a number of exhibits. The exhibits were well-maintained and in good working order in spite of their obvious age. I get the impression that a lot of money was spent on this place when it was built in the late 80's / early 90's and it has been maintained in stasis ever since. One exhibit states "International Space Station, Started: 1998 - Completed: ?". An entire section of the tour is, roughly sort of, about the Mir space station. The prototype Mir command module (I guess it's a prototype - they don't give much solid information about it) is neat but nowhere in the exhibit is there any mention of the fact that the real Mir re-entered the atmosphere in a controlled fiery death-plunge over a decade ago. The exploratory may also lay claim to the single largest collection of still-functioning CRT monitors (you know the old big heavy ones) in the U.S. That many of them are still running old DOS-based ANSI-graphic displays is a humorous blast from the past (for some, anyway). I'd love to know the story behind this place. There seems to be an old-school electronics technician maintaining the exhibits. Amongst the Tesla coil, Jacob's ladder, 'mars rover' simulator, many exhibits give the impression that someone somewhere is/was having a lot of fun building neat electronic toys. This being off-season, maybe things are different during the summer but the experience, as a whole, had the unattended fend-for-yourself feel of a typical forlorn roadside attraction. If it weren't for the fact that the exhibits were well-functioning and clean, this place might be a bit too creepy to recommend. If anyone knows more of the inside story on the Exploratory, I'd love to know. Otherwise, I'd definitely recommend it as a secondary attraction in the Dells. Not at the top of the to-do list but a worthwhile destination to spend a couple of hours in an air-conditioned fun environment read more

Awesome place to come on any day. Robot World also known as Tommy Bartlet Exploratory is based on STEAM. Science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Great place to be for all ages. You do exit the exploratory through a gift shop. They do have a couple things outside but almost everything is indoors with air conditioning. read more

This place is a hidden gem ! We've been coming to the Dells yearly for over 5 years and have overlooked it . Today was a perfect day to visit with the cold weather . The inside is full of quirky little science games and things that my 5 and 6 year old boys loved !! There were even fun puzzles I enjoyed myself . We spent hours in here when I thought it would be a quick walk thru . If you have science obsessed kids like me - then defintely worth a stop in ! read more

What a fun place! My whole family had fun doing many of the hands-on exhibits! For my husband & I (in our thirties) we enjoyed the vintage factor as well as just playing all the brain games. Our girls are young & not reading yet, but still we able to play with many of the attractions. We spent about 2 hours here one afternoon & then headed over to the 4:30 TB water show. Great original Dells fun had by all! read more

This place was fun! A little outdated! Lots of fun interactive things for the whole family!

My dad used to take us here when we were kids, so I love it for nostalgia's sake. The robots are hilariously corny and obviously somewhat intentionally outdated. The exploratory/game room thing has actually improved somewhat in recent years, and we (as grown ups with no kids) actually had a really good time playing all the games. It would be a fun/weird date spot if you're looking for an "out of the box" date idea... This is definitely a quirky, off the beaten track attraction. Go with no expectations and an openness to weird stuff and you'll enjoy it. read more

This place is amazing. It is basically a 1980's view of what 1990 would look like. When I was a kid, this was my favorite stop in the Wisconsin Dells and it is exactly the same as it was 16 years ago. If you are looking for the latest, cutting edge robotics technology- you should go to Japan. However, if you are looking for something super weird and campy, this is your stop. read more

This is a good place to spend a rainy afternoon in the Dells, especially if you have kids. I'd rate it 3 stars if you are an adult but 4 stars for kids. We were two adults and even we were able to enjoy ourselves. It's basically a lot of interactive games and displays that are educational but still entertaining. I enjoyed myself, and the kids that were there really seemed to be having a good time. You go through at your own pace and can play as little or as long as you like. I'd say it's worth checking out. Price was high in my opinion, I think laying half of what we did would have been a fairer price. read more

Kids 9 and 5 enjoyed all the activities. Everything g is interactive the exhibits are a bit dated. But it was fun.

New games. Spent 2 hours in there. Longest I've spent in there in years. Great time! GO THERE! Gotta love the old school robots and lights too :) read more

I took my son and 4 1/2 year old grandson and all of us really enjoyed it. It was similar to the hands-on exhibits that you would find at a science museum. We were going to the Water show and got there almost an hour before it started. I had called earlier and asked if we could go to the Exploratory, leave and go to the water show and then come back to the Exploratory afterward. I was told that they didn't normally allow that and I would have to ask for a manager to get special treatment. However, when we went to buy tickets outside, the employee was telling someone else that they could get their hand stamped at the Exploratory before leaving, and then go back in after the water show. I'm not sure why the person in the office wasn't aware of this, but of course this makes perfect sense. We were in the exploratory for about 30 minutes before the water show and then spent almost another 2 hours afterward and could've easily spent more time, if it hadn't been getting late. The only reason I hesitate to write a good review, is that I'd like to keep this place a secret! Part of why it was so good, was that it wasn't crowded and you could walk right up to each thing and try it out. I do think the regular price of $15/person is a bit high for what it is, even though we enjoyed it. We went during Wisconsin resident discount days (Memorial day to July 1st), so we paid only $6/person. However, if the price isn't a deterrent, it really is a lot of fun. read more

Our family loves Robot World! In fact my daughter asked to go there for her 8th birthday present because she had so much fun when we went when she was 7. My 14 year old son loves it just as much. My husband and I loved it when we were kids, and still to this day love it. read more

I remember coming here as a kid.. It's no longer called Robot World and some of the old robots from the 80s are gone. It is still a really cool place for kids, young ones and even teenagers. They can explore the different stations and get a hands on experience with robotics and illusions. I recommend it for a rainy day. read more

awesome! just as great as I remember when I was a kid! LOTS of fun stuff for kids of all ages. My 2 year old loved it, as did my 11 year old - adults too! It reasonably priced, educational, totally interactive, ramps for strollers or wheelchairs, bathroom break half way through, even a bit of retro flavor...no negatives here! read more