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The Discovery Museum and Planetarium
4450 Park Ave, Bridgeport, CT 06604, United States
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Ar
Review №1

The review of this place is considering it as a museum that it is not. This is a advanced STEM oriented play area for middle school kids. Kids should enjoy this place. Sufficient parking available in front of the building. There is a canteen with two vending machine, but you have to carry your own lunch. The planetarium is medium size and attended to shows that are very ordinary. I traveled for an hour. This place is not worth driving that long. If you are in the neighborhood enjoy the place with your kid.

Pu
Review №2

Tons of fun lots to see anyone who loves to learn about our Solar System well love this place

Aa
Review №3

This place is simply just overpriced with poor management. Id say about 1/3 of the learning modules were broken, although some of them were very neat for not being too big of a museum. The main problem I had going here was the fact that I tried talking to the lady at the front desk but was just incredibly rude and was on her phone for 90% of our conversation. Disappointing overall but not the worst thing you could do.

Dm
Review №4

Kids enjoyed their visit to the museum. Nice perk - free entrance for veterans and their families!

Ch
Review №5

Our first few minutes were terrible, to be honest. We had found a parking spot (in the parking lot) and a large bus forced us out so he could take up all of the room. We are from out of state so we did not approach the bus driver. We just kindly moved our car DOWN THE STREET and walked to the museum. But when we got IN the museum, I was greeted by a nice lady and I had asked if there was dedicated parking for buses and if it was the normal procedure to be forced to park down the street for a bus. I explained as I had above. The woman was so nice. She got right on the phone and had someone go out there and told the bud driver to move HIS bus and get it out of their parking lot. It was never my intention to get anyone in trouble, it was just a question I had if that was normal or not. But the woman was so kind and apologetic. She allowed us all in with free admission. We spent a good part of the day here and then before leaving we spent a good chunk of money in their gift shop. It was the least we could do as we were very grateful for their hospitality. Our daughter who was 5 at the time (she just turned 6) had an AMAZING time and there was so much for her to do. Even her father and I had a great time and learned a lot from here. We definitely recommend this place for tourists or even the locals in the area.

Ce
Review №6

This is a fantastic place for children to learn. However, children may not be able to grasp some of the planetarium shows and may be uncomfortable in the dark. Adults - you may love the planetarium shows, stick around for the Q and A sessions with excellent astronomers!

Wa
Review №7

Young kids will enjoy it. I was probably expecting a little bit more if compared to similar places. We like to buy souvenirs from the places that we visit, but the store if really poor.

Te
Review №8

Not a bad place to kill some time. Lots of nifty things for kids to interact with. There were however several things that were damaged or not working. Also I think the price is way to steep for what they have, but luckily we got in for free due to the Veteran discount.

Mi
Review №9

I ADORE this Museum. I come here with my kids and we are from Westchester County, NY. It was a pleasure to speak with Mr. Finch and telling him how much I enjoy coming here with my kids!! Looking forward to going to more events here, so keep the emails coming!Thank your for the front desk staff for charging our phones!!!

Ma
Review №10

We absolutely LOVE the Discovery Museum! Recently took my five year old for the MLK Day celebrations and she ate up every second of it. So much so, that shes requested to have her birthday party there this fall. Both she and my seven year old will be attending camp there this summer as well. This place is a hidden gem!

Ya
Review №11

Excellent place kids had lots of fun, plan to be here no more than 2 hours, the staff is really polite.:.::

Ro
Review №12

Nice place to go. My kids enjoyed their day here. I was bored out my mind but my kids was having a blast even my wife.

An
Review №13

Super fun for any age! Im in college and I had so much fun with my roommate looking all all the museum had to offer!

Ka
Review №14

We tried to plan our sons first birthday there, I started the process 4-5 months in advance. Long story short, we decided not to stick with the place 2 months before the event because the person who was coordinating our event was terrible at following up and prioritizing. We were given options that could not be fulfilled by the museum due to their poor communication between departments when it came down to it. A message was sent to the Director of Business Operations, not because we were seeking anything but just so she was aware of how a potential paying customer was being handled and we did not even get a response of acknowledgement.If you plan an event here, my advice is be prepared to take initiative to follow up, if you wait for them to follow up you might not get a response in a reasonable time or you might not get exactly what you wanted or was offered in the beginning because of their poor communication and prioritizing.

Da
Review №15

So i had my daughters birthday here, and although the museum is really nice etc, the overall party was disappointing; below are a couple points on why i drew this conclusion:1. the room where we were located is towards the back of the museum, where you oversee the nature center in the back; though very nice location - it was very cold (October period) . Meaning that people had to have jackets on, and it made it difficult for picture taking.2. Lady in charge of the activities had absolutely no energy, so it was difficult to be interested; secondly the activity was really plain - basically the kids made molds of dinosaur toys; i think if color was included in the activity, it would make it a lot more interesting. (age range 4-6 years old); also activity lasted less than 15 minutes .3. The food, is really good on the flip side, we ordered the 6 foot Italian sub which was very good, as well as the pizza - no complaints there.4. lastly, there was no real time to check out the museum, since the party was from 2-4 PM on a Sunday, and closed at 5; so by time clean up was done it was almost time to go . Better way to do this, is to tell the people you invite to show up at 1 pm, so they can check out the museum before the party starts at 2 PM.overall, quite disappointing - mainly with the low energy of the activity person; honestly - she should not be running any type of parties .

Al
Review №16

I would rate the inside 3 stars. I brought my 3 year old and it takes an hour to go through the whole place which he did twice in 2 hours. The 1 hour show is good, keeps them occupied. This place is great for 6 and under. After that they may be uninterested. Can not wait to do adventure park

Sh
Review №17

I took my little sister(9) and my nieces (twins,7) and I must say that all the exhibits are appropriate for all ages even if they say its more for babies. They had a great time. Would definitely recommend this place. We were there for 3 hours. Lots to see and Interact with.

Ma
Review №18

Pretty nice place and friendly staff. I disagree that it is made for middle school. I would say this is elementary thru middle school. It is a lot of fun for kids 6-8 years old and older kids could definitely find stuff to do.

Ce
Review №19

This place is awesome! It’s a great place for kids and is one of my personal favorites.

Ch
Review №20

This is a magnificent educational resource, with changing displays and a couple floors of hands on exhibits. They have a Challenger Learning Center which was newly renovated. They have many ongoing programs for the kids, camps, and adult nights. They offer school programs, field trips, venue rental, and special events. Outdoors, they have an entire adventure park with zip lining, walking trails, and picnic areas.

Ro
Review №21

I would NOT consider this a museum. I’m not taking my kids back to this place. It’s way to pricey for what they offer. We made it through all their little learning modules in less than an hour. The learning modules were not that good and some didn’t even work right. We finally just left. Again not worth the money or the trip to this place.

Fi
Review №22

I brought my nephew and nieces there (ages 16, 10 and 6). Everyone loved it. Lots of hands on activities, interesting exhibits and the planetarium was awesome. Kudos to the gentleman who hosts the planetarium shows, he allows for Q&A after and he handled all the questions, from adults to toddlers, with equal interest and detail.

Ac
Review №23

More than half the exhibits where out of order who knows for how long you can’t go in five minutes late into planetarium when they announce it you could barely understand what the announcements about just like the train station literally it was a waste of money if you have low expectations and don’t care if half the museum is down then that’s the place for you n your kids

Br
Review №24

Great place to take kids fo a fun and stimulating experience.

Aa
Review №25

Nice museum with a lot of interactive childrens activities. There is also a great rotating exhibit. We didnt get to do the adventure center or trails but look forward to getting to them when we return.

Da
Review №26

Our 3 year old twins really loved this place - lots of great hands on exhibits

Br
Review №27

Overall, fairly disappointing. Third floor had some neat activities, atleast with the ones that were working. Almost non existent staff. My son really wanted to use the moon rover on the lowest level but both computers were frozen. Paint was peeling on the walls down there as well, right where kids would be playing. Left with the feeling that we wont ever be back.

Ma
Review №28

The planetarium is dated. Blurry picture, barely can hear anything. Wont be going back

to
Review №29

Went this past weekend and where extremely dissatisfied.Son is four and blew through this place in 45 min.We frequently visit museums and the like (at least 2 a month) and although it was clean and well put together the activities where mediocre at best.We saw only one staff member (at the front desk) and she seemed uniterested and not at all welcoming.Save your money and go somewhere else (because we drove an hour and where not familiar with the area a quick Google search resulted in us finding the Beardsley zoo down the road, which saved the day because my son LOVED it.)New, more streamlined and interesting exhibits and a friendlier staff would do this place wonders.

Ka
Review №30

My children enjoy this museum. There are 3 floors of things to experiment. The best thing of all is how close it is to home.

Je
Review №31

Very great place for kids to learn about space, gravity and physics.People who work there are friendly and its a safe environment.

Ka
Review №32

Great variety of hands on, even without learning actively, kids are entertainment. Great space for running, screaming, touching.

Ch
Review №33

I went there on a school feild trip and I had so much fun! Definitely worth your time

So
Review №34

They have finally started to upgrade after so many years! There doing a great job of it. Only down full it helps the older kids learn more not the younger ones.

Je
Review №35

Great for the kids.Good way to spend a few hours on a rainy day.

su
Review №36

Good experience for an older kid, but there should be more activities for younger children. Newer things would be nice as well.

Ch
Review №37

They have rotating exhibits. They have a grant to expand the museum and they have great exhibits, such as an outdoor tree climbing exhibit. I will be back!

Ka
Review №38

Very disappointed with the museum. Used to bring my charges there when I was a nanny. It was really fun and there were lots of hands-on exhibits to keep the kids busy for hours. Took my kids today and aside from the Planetarium which was interesting and fun, the place was dirty, with many broken exhibits and nothing much for the kids to play with. The few interactive areas were either missing pieces or completely broken and unusable. The Guitar exhibit was interesting for the adults, but the kids could care less about it as there was nothing for them to touch, everything was behind plastic cases. I bought a membership planning on taking my kids there often but it this is all there is, it was money wasted.

Kr
Review №39

Im not sure who had a better time, me or my son. Got a year membership cant wait to go back.

Br
Review №40

Went for a specific planetarium show, however the schedule was changed and not updated on their website. Wound up disappointed, and the staff at the front desk did not care when we tried to let them know their website was entirely incorrect.

Da
Review №41

Super fun and family friendly.

Kr
Review №42

Great team of employees and volunteers.

Ja
Review №43

I loved the large course with various difficulty levels, and lights for the night time.

Ha
Review №44

Kr
Review №45

I love the star gazing in the Planetarium

El
Review №46

Very nice!

Ki
Review №47

Had a blast.

Je
Review №48

Very organized

Om
Review №49

Great for younger kids

br
Review №50

Absolute rip off. dont waste your time and money.

Information
100 Photos
50 Comments
4.2 Rating
  • Address:4450 Park Ave, Bridgeport, CT 06604, United States
  • Site:http://www.discoverymuseum.org/
  • Phone:+1 203-372-3521
Categories
  • Children's museum
  • Science museum
  • Educational institution
  • Event venue
  • Museum
  • Planetarium
  • Tourist attraction
Working hours
  • Monday:10am–5pm
  • Tuesday:10am–5pm
  • Wednesday:10am–5pm
  • Thursday:10am–5pm
  • Friday:Closed
  • Saturday:10am–5pm
  • Sunday:10am–5pm
Highlights
  • Active military discounts:Yes
  • Live performances:Yes
Accessibility
  • Wheelchair-accessible entrance:Yes
  • Wheelchair-accessible toilet:Yes
Amenities
  • Good for kids:Yes
  • Toilets:Yes
  • Restaurant:No
Crowd
  • Family friendly:Yes
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