Best Science Museums in the USA
19 science museums • Updated August 2026
The best science museums in the USA for a family day out. We have rounded up 19 science museums, from SUMMIT One Vanderbilt to family favorites across California, ranked by what actually matters with kids: age suitability, ticket value and how easy they are to get to. Compare the top five below, then browse every science museum by state. Need a different angle? Try our other things to do in the USA.
Editorial oversight by James Morgan. AI-assisted, human-edited. Our editorial standards
Science Museums in the USA: what to expect
the USA has 19 science museums we would happily take our own kids to. Adler Planetarium is the one most families start with. Lean back under a giant dome as immersive sky shows carry your family to distant planets above Lake Michigan. California Academy of Sciences is the other name that comes up again and again. Journey from deep sea to deep space under one living roof, with an aquarium, planetarium, and four-story rainforest. California Science Center rounds out the pick of the bunch. Explore free hands-on science galleries, from GAME ON!. Also worth your time: Exploratorium, Discovery Cube Orange County, Discovery Cube Los Angeles and Chabot Space & Science Center.
Published prices run from $22 at New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) up to $77 at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. 4 of the 19 listed here quote a starting price. The others vary by season or by what you add on, so check before you travel. Age guidance is worth reading first at SPYSCAPE (ages 8 and up).
The science museums on this page are spread across California (7), New York (5), Florida (3) and Illinois (2), so it is easy to pair two into one trip.
All science museums
19 science museums across the USA
Science Museums
Exploratorium
San Francisco, California
Touch, tinker, and experiment at San Francisco's hands-on laboratory of science, art, and human perception.
Science Museums
Discovery Cube Orange County
Santa Ana, California
Orange County's hands-on science center, packed with interactive STEM exhibits for a day of family discovery.
Science Museums
California Science Center
Los Angeles, California
Explore free hands-on science galleries, from GAME ON! to a living LA ecosystems garden, plus a giant-screen IMAX.
Science Museums
Discovery Cube Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
A hands-on science center in Los Angeles where kids explore interactive STEM exhibits across a full day of discovery.
Science Museums
Chabot Space & Science Center
Oakland, California
Peer through historic telescopes and journey across a 70-foot dome planetarium in the Oakland hills.
Science Museums
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
Manhattan, New York
Board a real WWII aircraft carrier, then stand beneath the world's first space shuttle, all docked on the Hudson in Manhattan.
Science Museums
SUMMIT One Vanderbilt
Manhattan, New York
An art-filled Midtown observation deck with transparent sky boxes hovering over Madison Avenue.
Science Museums
California Academy of Sciences
San Francisco, California
Journey from deep sea to deep space under one living roof, with an aquarium, planetarium, and four-story rainforest.
Science Museums
Griffith Observatory
Los Angeles, California
Peer through free public telescopes and catch a planetarium show high above Los Angeles.
Science Museums
Perot Museum of Nature and Science
Dallas, Texas
Five themed halls of nature and science, from dinosaurs to sports, in downtown Dallas.
Science Museums
Adler Planetarium
Chicago, Illinois
Lean back under a giant dome as immersive sky shows carry your family to distant planets above Lake Michigan.
Science Museums
SPYSCAPE
Manhattan, New York
Test your spy skills through interactive challenges and discover your secret-agent profile.
Science Museums
Orlando Science Center
Orlando, Florida
A learn-by-doing science center where you solve problems instead of just reading labels.
Science Museums
National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath)
Manhattan, New York
The only museum in North America devoted entirely to making math hands-on and joyful.
Science Museums
New York Hall of Science (NYSCI)
Queens, New York
More than 450 hands-on exhibits built on a simple idea: design, make, play.
Science Museums
Museum of Discovery and Science
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Hands-on science plus South Florida's largest IMAX screen under one Fort Lauderdale roof.
Science Museums
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
Merritt Island, Florida
Stand beside the real Space Shuttle Atlantis and time your visit for a live rocket launch.
Science Museums
Space Center Houston
Houston, Texas
Tour real NASA Mission Control and touch space history at Houston's Johnson Space Center.
Science Museums
Museum of Science and Industry Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Tour a real WWII submarine, the U-505, then catch a film on a five-story domed screen.