The Tour the Universe with Pink Floyd" Planetarium Show with James was absolutely spectacular. An…read moreamazing value with tickets under $10. I can't wait for the next one.

A very subdued environment that's an eclectic mix of area history, vegetation, animals, and…read moreobservatory. The staff was very friendly, but it appeared to be a "one-man-band" while we were there.

Went to see James Hood's "Astronomica" at the Dome - what an experience!…read more We had VIP tickets and sat in the reclining chairs, the whole dome ceiling covered in twinkling stars before the actual show itself. The music was performed by an orchestra, I believe it was the Hungary Philharmonic in the credits, and the narration was about how we are all part of the Universe, stardust over millennia becoming bodies. This is a visual performance without astronomy as a lesson; the graphics are fantastic and all around you as you lie back - just like gazing at the sky at night. I couldn't help smiling during the entire hour! The seats were great, I'm so glad we sat in the recliners and not upright for the display. Parking - we found out later - is at the Heritage building and they will validate your ticket; we parked in the other garage and it wasn't cheap due to the game nearby. It is wheelchair accessible, but in the Ladies restroom there was only one stall for disabled. In the atrium there's a gift shop as in all museums, and a cafeteria still open when we left the Dome. The ongoing Julia Child exhibit was right near the Astronomica show, so I went and took a walk around the exhibit: big fan of Julia so it was an extra bonus :) I enjoyed the experience very much, I hope you will too!

Jen & I wanted to take our granddaughter Op somewhere before she started school so we headed to the…read moreArizona Science Center, we had a great time seeing everything and being in side an air conditioned building. We got there early before it really started to get busy so was able to see everything without bumping elbows with other people. We had a good time and sure you would as well so plan a date and enjoy a trip to the Arizona Science Building.

Had a great time at a showing yesterday afternoon. The film was designed for kids but the message…read moreabout Earth's seasons was great. The person in charge of the planetarium was super knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and friendly. The chairs were comfy and the view from the back row was awesome. Deff will be back for a future showing!

So good! My friend and I loved this show. What a great escape from the great and a unique activity!…read more James the man in charge of the planetarium is wonderful! So personable and brilliant! If you get there early you might get lucky enough to do a few minutes of Q+A with him. So cool!! Check Mcclanetarium.com For upcoming events and even dome free shows! Let's keep this going!

"The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple…read morepies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff." ― Carl Sagan, American astronomer and astrophysicist Come view the stars. The Gilbert Rotary Centennial Observatory is open on Fridays and Saturdays, from sunset - 9:30PM, weather permitting. The cost is free but there is a suggested donation of $5/family or $3/adult. Donations are gratefully accepted for the maintenance of the equipment. See the moon, planets, double stars, open clusters, and other wonders of the night sky. Join them on the second Friday of each month for their Public Star Party. An astronomy talk is presented in the adjoining public library at 7:30PM and is hosted by the East Valley Astronomy Club (www.evaconline.org). Visit their website (www.grcoonline.org) for special events, solar viewing, and to book private group bookings.

Although they have public viewing sessions, we reserved a private session for $40 for our family of…read morefive. It was over an hour looking at the sky, learning about astronomy, and getting a crazy view of the moon and several stars. I never realized how awesome the stars were going to look thru a powerful telescope. Claude and Gordon led our session and their passion for astronomy really came through. Our kids 8-18 yrs were all engaged and thought it was really wonderful.

The Superstition Mountain Lost Dutchman Museum, is set on a 15-acre parcel in the shadow of the…read morebeautiful Superstition Mountains. The museum, itself, showcases the Apache origins of the land while the outbuildings include what remains of the Apacheland Movie Ranch (it largely suffered in a fire in 2004), a working 20-stamp gold mill, the chapel Elvis filmed "Charro!" in, the Apacheland barn, a historical model railroad, Western storefronts, a gift shop/bookstore, and a labeled nature trail. Things of note The Apacheland Barn houses a number of horse-drawn buggies and carts used in 17 television series, 29 full-length feature films, and hundreds of commercials filmed on the site. The buildings scattered around the land include a few Old West scenes and full-size dioramas, complete with plenty of mannequins depicting the scenes. The "crown jewel" is the "Elvis Chapel" - a mini-museum and wedding chapel dedicated to "the King" and his unique western movie, "Charro!" also filmed on site. It is a GREAT way to spend a couple of hours!

To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect, but my son and I are on spring break and I have to keep…read morethis 4 year old busy! I learned several things here... 1) it's a bit of a hike, which I wasn't prepared for 2) Always carry water in your purse (I didn't) 3) carry tweezers and bandaids (splinters happened) 4) these volunteers were the most knowledgeable and friendliest people I have ever met 5) Elvis Presley spent time in AJ. I think it is definitely worth the trip out and it was interesting enough, until my son strayed from the path and a cholla stung him. I took several photos. It was a gorgeous day in March.

This museum is hard to find but it's in an old elementary school building…read more I was very underwhelmed. The best part was the portable planetarium show.

This museum exceeded my expectations! First, it was larger than I expected. Next, the collections…read morewere more comprehensive and interesting. I LOVED getting to a "tour" of the Space Station! Great for adults as well as kids. My only suggestion is to have much better signage on the outside. People driving by don't realize you are there.

Great experience for the kids and family love all of the informant and atmosphere just remember…read morethere watching

Super nice and cool experienve the kids loved the moonwalk we will be coming back loved the hands…read moreon stuff

We visited the museum on a weekday morning. We enjoyed the displays of rocks from various parts of…read morethe earth, the Arizona-Mexican artifacts, and of course the dinosaurs, especially the aquatic dinosaurs. This museum has an active dinosaur fossil dig - you can watch and even talk to the paleontologist working on it! There's lots to see and enjoy here, including real elements from a jail that held prisoners from the 1830s to the 1970s!! The gift shop is reasonably priced and you can even purchase a "memory bag" filled with pencil, notebook eraser, etc, for only $2.50 each.

Paid $14 and only stayed about 40 minutes. There were multiple groups of school children that were…read morerunning around, screaming, jumping and bumping into everything. I expect that behavior to be tolerated at a children's museum, not a public museum where a basic level of respect and decorum is expected for EVERYONE inside. Wish I could say I enjoyed it but the hundreds of screaming children ruined any experience I could have had and left with a migraine. **Would appreciate museums to have specific days for "field trips" or hours for school days. Unfortunately many museum experiences are ruined due to the behavior of unruly children, and I'm still the one paying full price.

This was a great find on the Pinball Map (they have four pinball machines inside and on free play…read morewith admission). This is a unique car museum in the Phoenix area. Definitely worth the price of admission and they have complimentary cold water. The volunteers are awesome and very informative. Felix worked on the day I was there (Wednesday) and he pretty much gave me a private tour. Come check it out. I am sure people in Phoenix don't go here. I know my friends didn't know about it.

Loved going here. I took my 2 year old nephew, at first he was a bit scared to get in cars but once…read morehe did he wanted to get in all of them and "drive" he also loved the game room. We will be back and spend more time here his next visit! So much fun and staff was very inviting! Loved that water was included with our ticket

It was interesting but many of the petroglyphs were high in the rocks. It made seeing them…read moredifficult. I guess the best part for us was the building. There we could get some information about the peoples that drew them. In my opinion, a better place to see petroglyphs more closely would be at White Tank Regional Park.

Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve In the Phoenix, Sun City area…read more Open 8 to 2 Wednesday through Saturday. There is a small entry fee but I don't mind helping to support the University's work I think it's $5 for seniors. Of course covid has changed everything so you need to check in on the Is hours with the website. There It's very accessible although it's not really a paved ADA wheelchair accessibility A beach wheelchair might do fine if someone was helping to push. It's a gravel trail so seniors that are mobile should have no problem. Families with children should have no problem. It's a little more than a quarter mile down the trail. They seem to be relying on the audio tour inside and outside though I believe it's posted on spotify. It actually makes me a little sad that they're not relying on volunteers or students as much anymore. It seems to be a trend and it's probably related to covid possibly, to modern Digital Culture rather than human interaction culture that I and my generation come from. I'm also sure like everyone else in the service industry it's urban industry they're finding it hard to get volunteers and employees. It reminds me of the self service lines in grocery stores and retail now, It's all about speed and efficiency rather than service. There was an archeological student from the University of Arizona, who was doing some kind of trail sweep who I naturally engaged in a conversation with, she had a wealth of information about the site and she enjoyed talking about it as well as some of the frustrations of trespasser's and worrying about artifact theft and vandalism. There was no one else around so we talked for 45 minutes. When I asked her about her future in archeology she felt that it was probably going to be in museum work cause that was the only place that you could possibly get a salary if you weren't teaching. I always enjoy listening and learning from bright young people about their passions. The rock art was produced by Archaic (before 150 CE,) Hohokam (1 - 1450 CE,) and Patayan (ca. 900-800 CE) cultures. It focuses on the rock art found a short way from the building on an outcropping of basalt boulders found along a quarter mile trail facing southeast. Unfortunately I wasn't smart enough to ask the student about differentiating from the different the different time periods of rockheart and asking her to show me some examples. I really recommend a visit especially for families and seniors of a certain age or for initial cultural markings experience. It's will also help you get oriented to the indigenous culture of the Phoenix area. The museum and interpretive centre discusses the site and its petroglyphs as well as tools and pottery associated with the site and Hohokam culture. Archaeology of the site includes features aside from the rock art which are described in the museum, but are not accessible to visitors. These include the remains of a pit house with middens and cooking areas, and the foundations of two masonry rooms top the outcropping where the majority of petroglyphs were found. It's heartening to see that this site helped to preserve an acreage of desert from encroaching development, the fragility of such sites will only increase with with increased tourism, and they do there best to manage it. A small number of rock art pieces were actually moved to their current location when the nearby dam was built. (All moved pieces are so identified.) The preserve is the result of a partnership by a number of organizations, including the Army Corps of Engineers, Maricopa Flood Control District and Arizona State University. The site is protected and operated by Arizona State University.