Located right in the city at 657 East Ave, Rochester, New York, the Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) is a classic stop for museum going-families. We’ve been a few times, and always have fun–it’s another great option for when the weather is not cooperating with outdoor time! With 3 whole floors of exhibits and a Planetarium, you won’t run out of stuff to see.
Overview and Quick Tips
-Tickets start at $23, but various discounts are available. Planetarium tickets are extra. More about pricing can be found on their website
-Outside food is allowed but you have to keep it packed away unless you’re in a designated eating area, like the cafe on the bottom floor
-They offer Sensory Sunday options for kiddos needing a lower stimulus experience. You can get details on that here
-You’ll likely see references to the RMSC affiliated Cummings Nature Center, but please note that’s about an hour further south (major bummer, I know)
-You can leave your coats on the coat racks in the lobby. They aren’t secured so take valuables with you, but our coats were fine
–Bring your noise canceling headphones if your kiddo is sound sensitive–it can get loud
–Free parking!
Three Floors of Fun
This place is pretty darn big. We most recently spent about 3 hours here and the kids still weren’t quite done when we had to leave. Definitely make a note that there’s a lovely garden area outside to play in and explore, weather permitting. Inside, everything is centered around the three main floors, plus the cafe on the basement level. You will find various quiet nooks and reading spaces throughout the museum if anyone needs to re-set. They’re pretty evenly distributed and accessible from wherever you are. Let’s go floor by floor through the interior exhibits to highlight my family’s favorites and give you an idea of what to expect.
Water, Weather, and Fossils
The main floor was the favorite of our little guy (3.5 years old). There’s some interesting exhibits on water, ships, and the nature–past and present–within the surrounding area.
Kiddo approved favorites include:
- A climbing area that gets bonus points for fun lighting
- A large water table with waterproof smocks available (thank goodness)
- Fossils and dinosaurs, including a full mastodon skeleton
- Interactive nature exhibits complete with taxidermy specimens (little guy loves looking at taxidermy)
- Lots of room to play–puppet theater, costumes, a large play ship, toy construction site (with some real life physics snuck in there), and more
Sound, Weather, and History
Floor 2 was the preferred place for the big kids (10 and 13). There’s a lot more reading up here, as well as more advanced science opportunities. Still plenty to do for small kids too, but the girls enjoyed playing with sound physics, using a flight simulator, and learning about the regional history. There are whole exhibit wings dedicated to indigenous culture and history, with artifacts, statues, and sound clips that make it engaging.
Highlights here include:
- A play-based sound exhibit exploring tone, volume, and vibration. This section can definitely get noisy if your kiddo is sensitive to that
- Flight simulator!
- A really fun optics oriented exhibit that the girls enjoyed, but there were enough hands-on options to keep little guy entertained
- The historical exhibits mentioned above
- You’ll find a smaller room with a large ball hanging from the ceiling. There are opportunities to project information about the Earth on to it for a large 3-D perspective, such as weather, geology, oceans, and atmosphere
Physics and Local History
At the very top is one more floor to explore, but it seemed a bit less visited than the lower two. It does feel a bit spread out, but there were areas the kids enjoyed that are worth visiting.
Our Highlight Reel:
- Physics based toys little guy loved
- An ‘invention center’ that offers some quiet and a crafting break
- Displays on Rochester-specific local history
- The rotating exhibit is also up here–it was astronauts when we came but check ahead to find out if that has changed
- There is an ‘electricity theater’ that appears to involve Tesla coils and music. Sounds neat, but it was closed for repairs at the time of our visit
Final Thoughts
RMSC is a stop worth making if you’re in the area. I think the Strong Museum edges it out in our family’s personal ranking of Rochester area museums, but there’s solid points to be had for RMSC. If your kiddo(s) are more science oriented or older, RMSC could easily be preferred. Strong Museum will also easily take up an entire day if you’re not careful, but RMSC can be kept on a tighter schedule if you’re passing through on a road trip. Honestly, they’re two very different experiences and are both worth visiting if you’re able!
Does your family have a favorite science museum? Let me know so we can add it to our bucket list!
Happy science trails 🥾💚