Mid-America Museum

The $ 10 admission does not include tax.

There were a lot of museums in the city for us to pick from, but reading the reviews most of them seemed like a tourist trap. Relying on a recommendation from someone we knew, we tried the Mid America Museum. Our children are 9 & 11 and not easily impressed by museums because they have been to several in their day. The Mod America museum was a BLAST! For all of us! Very interactive and entertaining. Even for the moody pre-​teen! He loved it as much as the rest of us. While there, we also went to the dome theater to see the space video. I could go either way in this one. It was nice to sit for a while and rest, and there were some interesting facts in the presentation, but it is an extra $ 6 per person. Definitely check out the museum!

Visiting Mid America is among my fonder childhood memories and when I decided to share the same experience with my own progeny recently, the museum did not disappoint. It is still every bit the interactive playground I remember, augmented by its recent renovation and transformed into something that can entertain child and adult alike. The myriad exhibits strike a delicate balance between playing and learning that can be tough to achieve, and the staff are courteous and helpful even in situations that require the patience of a saint. My only complaint is that there isn’t more to do and see, which is the only possible nit I could pick regarding this establishment.

The museum was a lot of fun. It was only $ 10 for entrance. The Dome Space Show was $ 6 and completely a waste of money. The chairs didn’t recline making it a pain in the neck to even watch the screen. Not to mention the HORRIBLE acting in the video. I left that extremely unsatisied, but the rest of the museum was worth it.

This was such a great little science museum! Every exhibit was interactive and was fun and interesting, even though I’m apparently an adult. It’s $ 10 to get in and another $ 3 to see the Tesla Coil show, which I highly recommend. Even the gift shop is cool. The outdoor Skywalk is awesome. Really a gem of a museum!

The renovated Mid America Museum is a miracle. It’s a better experience than the Thinkery here in Austin. It’s better than the Louisiana Children’s Museum in New Orleans. I’d say it’s the best children’s/family hands-​on science/​history museum I’ve ever visited. The new exhibits are all top notch, the staff are friendly and helpful (everyone just seems to be really proud of the place), and the kids had an absolute blast.
My ONE gripe is that I sorely missed the Rube Goldberg contraptions that had been there since the original museum opened back in the day. From the age of 4 or 5 until just a couple of years ago, I’d stand and watch the billiard balls make their circuitous path around the contraption. Where did it go, can I buy it, and will it fit in my garage?

You know, I’ve been to Mid-​America Museum quite a few times as a kid, and twice as an adult, thanks to my four-​year old daughter, who loves it. This is the first time I’ve been since the remodel, and the last time we went was right beforehand.
A couple high points:
— In the Science Skywalk, there’s a huge finely-​woven net that you can run accross. Think «huge trampoline, only without springs.» It’s WAY more fun (and less dangerous) than you’re thinking right now, but that’s as close I can get you to understanding without spending WAY too much of my attention span trying to describe it.
— They have a beetle farm, complete with five formerly-​living rats in various states of decomposition (shouldn’t it still be called decomposition when it’s mostly due to consumption by other beings?). It’s really cool, and if you stand in just the right place, you can even (slightly) smell it. Again, this is a lot more awesome than I’m making it out. I tried not to let my daughter spend too much time there because I don’t really want her thinking too much about dust-​to-​dust stuff.
— The MAM website says that guests can «crawl through a realistic cave,» but I don’t think that’s accurate. It’s VERY dark inside, and my 14 mo. old son was a quite scared in a few places, because you’re basically preparing yourself to go down a slide in pitch darkness. There are black lights and tube slides like they have at McDonald’s in this cave, and I doubt things like that are found in real caves. Having said that, it’s probably a lot more fun than crawling through a real cave, but the museum itself is begging the comparison, so there you go.
They got rid of a few of my favorite exhibits that were there from the time I was small until the renovation, so there were a few downers to our trip:
— The mountains and valleys exhibit where you could pump water and raise land is gone.
— The whisper dish where you could project your whispered voice in an analog manor accross a wide area is gone.
— The cast-​shadow recorder was closed for repairs.
— The rube-​goldberg machine, the electric arch, etc. are all gone.
It seems like it used to entertain me for three or four hours, but now you can pretty much see everything there and leave in an hour.
All in all, we’ll probably return next year.

Stopped here while on our family vacation.
Kids really enjoyed the hands on activities, even our 14 year old had fun… and dad too! We only paid for the general admission, none of the extra stuff.
There could have been more activities to do considering the cost of admission. While the cost is valid all day, we would be going back to do the same things over again and they close at 5, seems kind of early for an destination attraction.
I asked about an educator discount for homeschoolers and I was told they needed to see a valid educator ID, but they have plenty of activities for homeschoolers if we lived in the area, which we don’t. This disappointed me, I shouldn’t have to provide any kind of ID to prove I educate my own children; I’m not required to present one to a national chain bookstore to receive an educator discount card, why should I have to for a local museum?
Still, it was fun and I would recommend stopping by!

A must see if you are in the area! We went here after learning from two different families who were also guests at the hotel where we were staying that it was a great place to spend the day. It was rainy out so we decided to go and see what it had to offer. It was a wonderful experience and our five year old son and two year old daughter loved it. My husband and I thought it was fantastic too. The exhibits were well thought out, hands-​on and interesting. We learned that the museum had just completed a renovation. The facility was beautiful and had so many things to do and see. We spent nearly five hours there exploring and learning. We highly recommend this science museum to all.

I was surprised at just how nice this place was for kids. Everything except for the moving statues was hands-​on and kids would get engrossed in the building blocks, pumping bubbles into viscous liquid columns, spinning a wheel to make tornadoes in large water containers, listening to sounds through a really long tube, rolling balls down tracks set into walls, lifting themselves by pulling ropes connected to their chairs, and lots more. We expected to spend about ¾ of an hour, but it had been 1.5 hours and we weren’t quite through when we had to leave to get lunch.
In case they don’t mention it at the front desk, you need to buy separate tickets to see the Tesla coil.

The mid America museum is a wonderful place for kids and parents young at heart. It is a hands on museum and they have all sorts of fun activities. I highly recommend the crawl through the mine shaft. A good bang for your buck and your kids will thank you for it.

What a wonderful place! So much cool and interesting stuff for little ones and grown ups alike. We took our three year old daughter and had a great time. I liked the cave exhibit you get to crawl around in. Our daughters middle name is Tesla, in homage to the great inventor/​scientist Nikola Tesla, so we of course bought tickets to the Tesla Coil show! It was amazing and delightful, my daughter said it was her favorite part! I recommend the show to everyone who goes to the museum!

Great hands-​on science for the kiddos. Adults likely to get bored quickly.
Why don’t they have hand sanitizer located all over the place? Kids touch every exhibit, seems like a great way to spread some nice germs.

Kids enjoyed all of the hands-​on activities. A few of the exhibits were not working though. It was a great place to waste a couple of hours & tire the kids out!

Each time my family has visited this museum, we’ve ended up spending much longer there than we’d planned.
Most of the museum is movement-​oriented or hands-​on, which makes it a great place for kids to learn about multiple scientific principles while watching them in action. The museum is set back in a forested area in a beautiful building with lots of glass, so it’s a pleasant place to spend the day.
The big draw is the Tesla coil, which they fire up about once an hour, along with an interactive lecture about Nikolai Tesla and his invention.
It’s been awhile since we’ve made the trip, and I noticed that one reviewer mentioned that it was under reconstruction in Dec. 2010, so it would be worth your while to call first to see if that’s been completed.

Please! Make sure to call or check the website before you make this drive. I just went last week and nearly everything was broken. In fact, it looked as though they were in the middle of reconstruction (a lot of painting going on) but there were no signs to tell anyone.
I believe this museum is a wonderful place, but they need to give fair warning before allowing people to pay to see broken or torn up science material.
I am not kidding when I say very few things in the museum worked.

I’ve grown up with Mid-​America Museum. I took field trips here when I was in grade school, I’ve taken my own children, and I’m a teacher that has taken my third grade students to Mid-​America museum. I never tire of the science at Mid-​America. This is a «hands-​on» museum where you actually get to experiment with the science. Thanks for the memories Mid-​America!

Based on some reviews and recommendations from friends, we headed out to the science museum for kids on Sunday. While the museum shows some signs of years of «love» from all of the visitors, the exhibits were a lot of fun. I think my favorite was the water section on the lower level. You got to play with boats, put different objects in the water to see their effect on flow and play with a big piece of ice!
We did the laser show and both simulator rides. The kids loved to be able to play on the exhibits and we spent hours there and will definitely go back next time we are there.
Cons: The snack area needs some work. Baseball game type food only. Nachos, hot dogs etc.

This was my favorite museum growing up. It is a hands on science museum for kids. My favorite exhibit is the one where you get to create a river thru the sand. It has things for kids of all ages.