Best local museum for kids? The Sci-Tech Discovery Center, Frisco. Here's why.

Sci-Tech Discovery Center in Frisco offers parents of young children the exact opposite of a typical museum experience: hands-on play (with a scientific twist) in a relaxed stress-free environment.

If you've ever tried to take young kids to a "normal" museum you'll know what I mean - you spend the entire experience trying to justify the entry price by "reading" exhibits and looking at artifacts in glass boxes while simultaneously, and frantically, batting curious hands away from things they cannot touch. Not fun for anyone involved. Fortunately, at Sci-Tech Discovery Center not only can they touch everything, it's actually what they're meant to do. Literally the entire museum, not just one tiny corner, is designed for interactive play which is a lot of fun for kids but for adults too.

Before I dive into any more details, let's just be clear: this is not the Perot Museum. It's fun, but it's not polished. The exhibits have a distinct homegrown feel, off-center from perfect. Maybe some will not like that ... but as the mother of a 3 and 5 year old, I loved it. There is something welcoming, relaxing even, about the almost rustic presentation -- there's no need to worry about your child breaking something. For example, there's one musical exhibit which is made out of white plastic pipes which the kids hit with a pair of flip flops to make different sounds. Not exactly high-tech, but it's functional and a lot of fun.

Exhibits and Hands-On Play at Sci-Tech Discovery Center, Frisco

So what exactly is there to do? In essence, a lot of hands-on play. Here's a few of our favorite exhibits as examples.

Bubble Station

We all loved this one: a giant table filled with bubble fluid with bubble frames you can use to create different shaped giant bubbles

Rocket Launch!

Right as you walk in, you'll find the "Air Pressure Zone" which includes a station where you can build your own rocket out of paper and launch it into the air and another where you can assemble a car which you then use air pressure to launch along a track.

Building

There's many stations that involve building of different kinds. So, if you're little ones live to build you could spend literally hours here, on our last visit we stayed almost 3 hours. A few things we built were: a plastic airplane, the universe using wooden blocks, a wooden ball ramp, Lego cars which we then raced down a track and even a castle out of giant foam blocks.

"Get Some Air"

In this exhibit air streams and bursts of air are used to demonstrate Bernoulli's principal. In other words, there's some large drums which you use to "shoot" air across the room and move some flags ... but can also be used to shoot each other, which is pretty comical. There's also a basketball-style game in which you use a beach ball and a air cannon to try and "score".

If you're looking for something local to do with your littles, we wholeheartedly recommend a visit to Sci-Tech Discovery Center in Frisco. They'll enjoy it and you will do - just try to resist "blowing" giant bubbles or shooting a rocket.

In terms of suitable age, our 5 year old definitely got more out of it than our 3 year old, although there was still plenty for her to do. Of course, every child is different, the ideal age for this adventure is 5 to 10 years but there is still lots of fun to be had for younger kids and even teenagers.

Sci-Tech Discovery Center is also open for birthday parties.

The Sci-Tech Discovery Center is housed within the Frisco Discover Center which is also home to the National Video Game Museum, the biggest museum dedicated to video games in the US. Inside the National Video Game Museum, guests can enrich themselves in the history of the gaming industry and play from a vast collection of classic arcade and console games. Click here for a look inside the National Video Game Museum.

Also in the same building is Traintopia, perhaps the most impressive miniature train exhibit you'll ever see. The exhibit was once the pride and joy of Steve Sanders who built it over many many years in his home. Following his death, the family donated his collection for us to enjoy. You can spend hours pouring over all the many intricate details that expands Arizona to Texas and includes Downtown Dallas, a Palo Alto drive-in theatre complete with movie playing, West Texas refineries and working saw mills in Colorado! Click here for ticket pricing and opening times.

The Essentials - Sci-Tech Discover Center, Frisco

ADMISSION
Children (ages 3+) and Adults - $10
Children under 3 - Free
Members - Free
Membership options start at $100 for a family of 4, click here for additional details.

ENTRANCE
To help manage social distancing, The museum is currently asking that you book your tickets and an entrance time in advance, although tickets are still available in person.
Click here to book tickets now.

LOCATION
8004 North Dallas Parkway, Suite 100
Frisco, Texas 75034

MORE INFO
(972) 546-3050
mindstretchingfun.org