103 Best Sights in USA

The more than 200 exhibits here share a single goal: to make science fun—especially for kids. Giant animatronic dinosaurs snap their jaws, hundreds of colorful wings flutter through the Tropical Butterfly House, and the universe glitters inside the planetarium. Nearly everything invites interaction, whether that means petting starfish in a tide pool or hoisting a 250-pound weight using pure leverage. Live demos and laser shows keep the energy high throughout the day, and two IMAX theaters—one screening science documentaries, the other feature films—offer even more ways to be wowed (though they require separate admission).

With more than 300 hands-on exhibits, this is the venue for science-related exploration. You can pilot a simulated airplane flight, travel through the human body, navigate your way through the solar system in the Dorrance Planetarium, and watch a movie in a giant, five-story IMAX theater.

Exhibits at the small but worthwhile AMOS include a large collection of North Carolina gems and minerals, interactive astronomy and climate displays, and a Teratophoneus dinosaur skeleton.

Tucked away in the western edges of Zilker Park, this nature preserve boasts an 80-acre trail full of public art (including a human sundial installation), pollinator gardens, and boardwalks through pond systems. Indoor exhibits teach about the ecology of the Austin area and feature a range of interactive displays focusing on subjects such as bees, birds of prey, and other native wildlife. Parking is available under the Mopac Bridge.

In the town of Oracle, about 30 minutes northwest of Tucson, this unique, self-contained cluster of ecosystems opened in 1991 as a facility to test nature technology and human interaction with it. Now managed by the University of Arizona, the biomes include tropical rain forest, savanna, desert, thorn scrub, marsh, and ocean areas. The newest biome, the Landscape Evolutionary Observatory, tracks rainfall in simulated desert environments to study the effects of climate change on water sources and plant life in this region.

A 1-mile walking tour (given through an App with audio) takes you inside the biomes and gives an overview of Biosphere projects, from the original "human missions"—where scientists literally ate, slept, and breathed their work in a closed system—to current research. A gift shop sells souvenirs and light snacks.

At this natural and cultural history museum, an aquarium focuses on manatee rehabilitation, and a first-floor gallery features fossils that tell the story of prehistoric Florida. Explore rotating exhibits on various topics; glass cases and roll-out drawers on the second floor showcase items normally out of public view. Topics covered in programs at the Bishop Planetarium (with a domed theater screen) range from black holes to the origin of life itself.

Los Alamos National Laboratory's public showcase, the Bradbury provides a balanced and provocative examination of such topics as atomic weapons and nuclear power. You can experiment with lasers; witness research in solar, geothermal, fission, and fusion energy; learn about DNA fingerprinting; and view fascinating exhibits about World War II's Project Y (the Manhattan Project, whose participants developed the atomic bomb).

This is the place to come to get the lay of the land in other eras. Not to be missed are Ice Age–era creatures such as a fully articulated mastodon, giant ground sloth, and saber-tooth cat, all of which lived in the area. The Windover Archaeological Exhibit features 7,000-year-old artifacts indigenous to the region. In 1984, a shallow pond revealed the burial ground of more than 200 native people who lived in the area about 7,000 years ago. Preserved in the muck were bones and, to the archaeologists' surprise, the brains of these ancient people.

Hands-on activities draw in children, who love the Imagination Center, where they can act out history or reenact a rocket flight. Newer displays include The Hubble Space Telescope: Eye on the Universe, provided by the Kennedy Space Center. Nature lovers appreciate the museum's butterfly garden and the nature center, with 22 acres of trails encompassing three distinct ecosystems—sand pine hills, lake lands, and marshlands.

Imagine a zoo frozen in time: this 14,000-square-foot private museum contains more than 1,600 butterflies and 1,100 taxidermy animals in tableaux mimicking actual terrain and animal behavior. The animals and birds come from all parts of the world. An African room has baboons, bush pigs, Cape buffalo, and a lion. There's also a collection of about 40 living fallow deer that kids delight in feeding and ATV and bike rentals for touring scenic Highway 12 and the Paunsaugunt Plateau.

This museum, across from LaVell Edwards Stadium, features dinosaur bones, fossils, and tours for adults and children. Kids love the hands-on activities, which include several small tables of touchable artifacts.

Opened in 2018 and named after Dr. James Robert Cade, the lead inventor of Gatorade, this museum is designed to inspire future inventors and creators with hands-on activities and learning opportunities for children. Permanent exhibits explore the solar system, space and time, and inventors. The Sweat Solution tells the story of how Cade used science and creativity to make Gatorade. At First Flush highlights the history of soap, toilets, and other bathroom essentials.

You're bound to see excited kids running up to the dozens of interactive exhibits here that illustrate the prevalence of science in everyday life. Clustered in different "worlds," the center keeps young guests busy for hours. They can design their own buildings and learn how to make them earthquake-proof; watch GLOBAL ZONE, where you can see Earth's global cycles of air, water, land, and life exhibited on a giant interactive globe. One of the exhibits in the Air and Space section shows how astronauts Pete Conrad and Dick Gordon made it to outer space in the Gemini 11 capsule in 1966. The IMAX theater screens science-related large-format films that change throughout the year.

Visitors of all ages can't help but get excited about math and science at this "edutainment" center, featuring a space-mission simulator and an IMAX 3-D theater that shows popular movies as well as documentaries. Also on-site is the Downtown Digital Dome Theatre & Planetarium, where the high-definition, 50-foot-high theater's booming surround sound and state-of-the-art projectors make educational films and musical odysseys thrilling.

This hands-on center in Sugar Sand Park has interactive displays designed to enhance 5- to 12-year-olds' understanding of everyday physical sciences. Outside is a reconstructed Science Playground and a classic carousel and tot lot. Day camps are run during school breaks and are open to visitors.

A great rainy-day educational spot for families, this small natural history museum near the mouth of Grays Harbor and Oyhut Bay Seaside Village highlights the seaside environment, local history, and Native American traditions. Displays include tsunami debris, artifacts from the founding of the city, and Native American basketry. Whale bones and a vast shell collection let you examine, and in many cases touch, the shoreline wildlife up close.

Both fresh- and saltwater aquariums greet the curious at this interactive, family-friendly science museum. Permanent exhibits of Moon and Mars rocks and meteorites, a giant sphere with global animation projection for Earth sciences, and an Everglades conservation exhibit teach while entertaining. A planetarium with daily theme shows and a conservation 9-hole minigolf course designed by Jim Fazio and Gary Nicklaus are popular with all ages; they are included with admission charges.

Jackson County's natural history and collections of the Roxy Ann Gem and Mineral Society are on display at this impressive 12,000-square-foot museum in Central Point. Fossils, petrified wood, scrimshaw, fluorescent rocks, thunder eggs, and precious minerals from throughout Oregon and elsewhere in the West are included, plus works of glass by renowned artist Dale Chihuly.

Roaring robotic stegosaurs and meat-shredding animatronic allosaurs prowl Dinosaur Journey, a fun, informative attraction just off I–70 a few minutes from the western entrance to Colorado National Monument. Unlike many museums, this one encourages kids to touch everything—friendly paleontologists may even allow kids to hold a chunk of fossilized dino dung. In addition to the amazing lifelike replicas, there are more than 20 interactive displays. Children can stand in an earthquake simulator; dig up "fossils" in a mock quarry (the pit is made of crushed walnut shells); or make dino prints in dirt, along with reptile and bird tracks for comparison. The museum also sponsors daily digs nearby, where many of the fossils were found. Local volunteers are at work cleaning and preparing fossils for study.

Visitors young and old learn about science and technology through hands-on STEAM learning experiences and demonstrations that explore electricity, computers, sound, light, magnetism, and energy. Particular draws include the Hall of Space, where you can touch a real meteorite and Skylab artifacts, and Teddy Bear Triage, where little ones can apply first-aid treatments to their own stuffed animals. Don't miss the planetarium shows—some geared to young children and others to all age groups.

Bring a picnic to enjoy in adjacent Adventure Park.

Allow at least two hours for the aquariums, the three-story rain forest, "Nose-to-Nose" live animal shows, and the IMAX Dome Theater. Lie on a bed of nails, conduct experiments in the interactive labs, or get in touch with your inner innovator as you create shoes from garbage. Check the schedule for special exhibits.

You could easily spend an entire day exploring this museum's aquariums and innovative exhibits that show how engineers apply science to real-life situations. The Reiman Family Aquariums follow the voyage of the S/V Denis Sullivan, a three-masted schooner that summers next to Discovery World. Don't miss the Great Lakes Future exhibit, an exact-scale model of the watershed that holds 20 percent of the world's freshwater. The technology building features interactive exhibits such as a bed of nails, a 3-D facial scanner, and the "Rockwell Automation Dream Machine," which shows how Milwaukee landmarks use automation.

After a day on the lake, kids and adults can explore what goes on in the lake at the interactive science and nature museum directly on its shores, which details the forces (natural and man-made) that have shaped the Lake Champlain basin through the museum's more than 100 interactive exhibits. Visitors can experiment with lasers through fog mist, step through a steam devil (a small, overwater whirlwind), or even play with a hands-on 3D water projection sandbox, as well as get an up-close look at 70 species of indigenous animals—including a sort of nursery for baby eastern spiny softshell turtles, an endangered species—or immerse digitally in the natural world at the 3D theater, which presents science and nature films every day.

Formerly the Willamette Science and Technology Center (WISTEC), and still known to locals by its former name, Eugene's imaginative, hands-on museum assembles rotating exhibits designed for curious young minds. The adjacent planetarium, one of the largest in the Pacific Northwest, presents star shows and entertainment events.

This imaginatively executed science museum—its driving concept is "Ideas You Can Touch"—is right across from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. ¡Explora! bills itself as an all-ages attraction (and enthralled adults abound), but there's no question that many of the innovative hands-on exhibits such as a high-wire bicycle and a kinetic sculpture display are geared to children. They offer big fun in addition to big science (and a good dose of art as well). While its colorful Bucky dome is immediately noticeable from the street, ¡Explora! also features a playground, theater, and a freestanding staircase that appears to "float" between floors.

Attractions at the university's science museum include a 16-inch public telescope for evening stargazing; hands-on science exhibits about the solar system, fossils, bugs and marine biology; and planetarium shows.

Interactive exhibits here are artfully educational and for all ages: older kids can get hands-on with inventive projects in Studio X, while the five-and-under set can be easily entertained with interactive play stations like the Ball Wall and Fire Truck in the center's Kid City. The IMAX Giant Dome Theater, which screens exhilarating nature and science films, was the world's first, as was the Fleet's "NanoSeam" (seamless) dome ceiling that doubles as a planetarium.

On the campus of the University of Florida, the state's official museum of natural history (and the largest of its type in the Southeast) has more than 40 million specimens of amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, mollusks, reptiles, vertebrate and invertebrate fossils, recent and fossilized plants, and archaeological and anthropological artifacts. It also holds one of the world's largest collections of butterflies and moths. Permanent exhibits include those on Florida's geological and fossil history, its early Indigenous peoples, and the biodiversity of its flora and fauna. Enjoy live butterflies at one of many feeding stations, experience a life-size limestone cave, and see fossil skeletons of a mammoth and mastodon from the Ice Age. The museum also features changing temporary exhibits.

The museum entertains and informs visitors of all ages with interactive science, history, music, and natural history exhibits. The OtterBox Digital Dome Theater screens a mix of planetarium space shows and captivating educational films on its 35-foot dome screen. Also, meet the two resident black-footed ferrets. This is the only museum in the world to host these endangered animals.

This is a wonderful place to discover Vermont's outdoor wonders. The center's 255 acres of diverse habitats are a sanctuary for all things wild, and the 5 miles of trails provide an opportunity to explore the workings of differing natural communities. Events include bird-monitoring walks, wildflower rambles, nature workshops, and educational activities for children and adults.

At this expansive park designed to fascinate children at every turn, you can roam through a room filled with dinosaurs, see tigers and red pandas in the 24-acre zoo, meet a penguin or shark in the aquarium, and soar through the treetops on the SKYWILD high ropes course. The grounds include a petting zoo, a reptile and amphibian house, a carousel, and a 3-D theater.