Discovery Place is Charlotte's science museum. Past visitors say this kid-friendly playtopia is a great place to spend a day with the family. Here you'll find interactive, hands-on exhibits that cover a variety of scientific concepts like physics and earth science. You can design and conduct lab experiments, build mock structures and study different ecosystems with the museum's rainforest exhibit and aquarium. Discovery Place also boasts the largest IMAX screen in the Carolinas, featuring an ever-changing program of educational films. Careful not to forget the needs of its youngest visitors, the museum also offers exhibits for wee ones, like the KidScience section. This early childhood area features soft building blocks, a water table and a sound wall, plus a section designed just for toddlers. It's this exhibit variety that has recent travelers offering so much praise for the museum and learning center. "Discovery Place is one of those places you and kids will absorb piece by piece, with each visit resulting in more 'ah-has,'" said one TripAdvisor reviewer. You'll find Discovery Place in the heart of Uptown on North Tryon Street. You can reach the museum by car, foot or light rail. Discovery Place is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays; and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Travelers recommend visiting in the morning to avoid the afternoon crowds. Tickets for adults costs $15; admission for children is $12. Check the museum's website for more information about upcoming exhibits and weekly events.

Science, nature, and technology come to life at this hands-on museum in the heart of uptown Charlotte. From learning labs and an onsite aquarium to virtual reality tours of the human body and a simulated rain forest, the museum offers hours of interactive fun for school children of all ages. Discovery Place also offers a series of rotating live shows with up-close animal encounters and chemistry experiments, as well as films at the largest IMAX theater in the Carolinas.

At Discovery Place Science, explore nature and society through scientific experiments, interactive exhibits, 3-D movies, and games. You'll have the opportunity to walk through a garden filled with free-flying butterflies and watch scientific shows about fire and ice. Look for aliens and mechanical dinosaurs or cross a swinging bridge overlooking a rainforest filled with tropical creatures. View 15 tanks filled with marine animals and take a guided tour to learn about them. You'll be immersed in the shows at the largest IMAX Dome Theatre in the Carolinas. Seek out the interactive programs that stimulate the imagination and the senses--they are organized daily. To visit Discovery Place Science and other attractions in Charlotte, use our Charlotte trip planner.

Discovery Place is a science and technology museum for visitors of all ages located in the Uptown area of Charlotte, North Carolina. Discovery Place brings science to life through hands-on interactive exhibits, thrilling activities and experiments, a larger-than-life IMAX Dome Theatre, and boundless other educational opportunities and programs. The Museum, which first opened in 1981, recently underwent an 18-month, $31.6 million renovation that transformed it into a reimagined state-of-the-art science and technology museum. The most recent exhibition additions to Discovery Place include World Alive, Fantastic-Frogs and three Explore More hands-on labs. Discovery Place also operates an IMAX Dome Theatre, sometimes referred to as an OMNIMAX theatre. Discovery Place's IMAX Dome Theatre offers an immersive, up-close movie experience in the largest IMAX Dome Theatre in the Carolinas. Renovation and expansion Discovery completed a renovation in June 2010 that began in January 2009. This $31.6 million renovation was a complete overhaul which brought all new innovative and interactive science and technology exhibits to the Museum. Charlotte Nature Museum Discovery Place operates the Charlotte Nature Museum, located at 1658 Sterling Road, adjacent to Freedom Park. The Museum features interactive nature exhibits and live animal displays, including a butterfly pavilion, live species, insects, and a variety of native North Carolinia animals. Discovery Place KIDS In Fall 2010, Discovery Place opened its first Discovery Place KIDS Museum in Huntersville, North Carolina. Part of a larger vision to develop other Discovery Place KIDS locations across the region, Discovery Place KIDS-Huntersville appeals to families with young children and offers those living in outlying suburban communities the opportunity to visit a Discovery Place Museum closer to home. An $18.7 million public-private venture between Discovery Place, Inc. and the City of Huntersville, Discovery Place KIDS-Huntersville offers unique, learning-through-play experiences for young children.

As one of the leading hands-on science centers in the country, Discovery Place offers visitors the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the basics of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in a fun, interactive and informal setting. Located in one of the nation’s fastest growing metropolitan areas, Charlotte, North Carolina, Discovery Place offers a family-friendly experience surrounded by the excitement of a bustling urban community. Visitors also can get close to nature by visiting Charlotte Nature Museum, adjacent to Freedom Park and located in one of the community’s finest residential areas. Charlotte Nature Museum visitors may walk among free-flying butterflies, observe live animals, buzz around with insects or hang out in the natural world. Daily programming including puppet shows and hands-on activities provide the opportunity for structured learning and informal play for the young and old alike.

Discovery Place combines science and technology with hands-on learning. This interactive museum was created for kids of all ages. Adults will love it too! The museum was established in 1981 but its origins date to 1946 when teacher Laura Owens helped to develop the Children's Nature Center. It was so well received by the community that a planetarium was added in 1965. By the 1970s, it was one of the busiest tourist spots in Charlotte. The current location on Tryon Street was built to accommodate the growing number of visitors as well as additions to the museum itself. Discovery Place is located in the Historic Fourth Ward, which makes it an easy stop on walking tours. Visitors will find science, nature and kids museums as well as an IMAX theatre. Interactive exhibits include an indoor rainforest, a hands-on human health and anatomy lab, an area focused on building everything from castles to pillow forts and many others.