California Science Center

Visited with my family on January 4, 2026. I used to live in Los Angeles between 2015 and 2019, and I visited California Science Center several times back then. It was always an amazing science hub and one of my favorite places in the city. During this recent visit, however, a lot of renovations were happening. The Space Shuttle Endeavour exhibit was closed and under construction, and overall the place didn’t quite have the same vibe I remembered. I’m hoping once the renovations are complete it will return to the vibrant experience it used to be. One nice thing is that there is still no entrance fee, though they charge $20 for parking.

Its a very big museum mostly focused on ecosystems and life. Very cool though. Cool aquarium too. The 3D Imax shows they have are for sure the highlight though. They are really good, however you will need to buy some tickets.

Such a great (free!) place to visit with children. The exhibits were informative and interesting with some live animals to observe, and is pretty well-maintained. A big highlight is the Game On! interactive exhibit (in a separate building) where you can practice in a batting cage, shoot some free throws in a basketball area, time your shuttle runs, make some soccer goals, measure your volleyball block height, time your rock climb dead hang, and more! The first exhibit out front in the parking lot near the entrance where you can left up a Toyota Tundra with a lever, is really cool, too. It took our family of 6 a good amount of effort. Overall, this is a highly recommended place to visit on a rainy day!

Love this place! They take donations, other than parking, the place is free to visit. There are extra activities that charge such as the IMAX theater, space simulator, rock wall and hurricane tunnel simulator. They have space exhibits, tons of interactive areas, an aquarium and sports building. It wasn’t very crowded. The kids and I really enjoyed it. We touched some starfish, a wall of ice, played with some interactive exhibits. There’s a food court on the first floor, a rose garden and several other museums right outside of the science center. We were there for several hours and did not get a chance to see everything.

We enjoyed our visit to the California Science Center, but it definitely had some highs and lows. The biggest downside was that many parts of the exhibits were closed or under renovation, which made the experience feel a bit unfinished. On the plus side, the aquarium section was nice, and the exhibits that were open kept the kids entertained and curious. There’s a new construction area in progress that looks like it’s going to be amazing once complete—but in the meantime, the center really needs to focus on updating and maintaining the existing spaces. The facility started off quiet in the morning, which was great, but it became very busy as the day went on. We grabbed a snack at the café, which was surprisingly good, though the eating area itself could use more attention—it had cobwebs and dirty walls that took away from the experience. Overall, it’s a good place to visit, especially with kids, but right now it feels more like a work in progress.