Knowledge is power and giving knowledge to the young ones is invaluable. Sparking their curiosity…read moreis rewarding and the Fleet Science Center delivers in a unique way for families. As soon as you enter, there are several exciting science based exhibits that immediately capture the minds and attention of the young ones. The Fleet Science Center provides many interesting designed science exhibits for all ages. You walk through the exhibits and have a great interactive experience. So many amazing activities to do and see!!! What a wonderful place to visit!!! Paid Parking is available now. Definitely a return visit call with the family!!!

Impressive tech, but proceed with caution for 3-hour feature films!…read more We were super excited to see The Odyssey here for our very first IMAX experience after waiting two weeks for our date! Having already seen the movie twice in a standard theater, we were curious to see how it translated to the Heikoff Giant Dome. Here is the full breakdown of how it works and what to expect: Essential Tips & Logistics for 6:30 PM Box Office Movies: Tickets & Arrival: You MUST buy tickets online in advance. The Science Center itself closes to the public at 5:00 PM, but line up outside around 5:00 PM--the queue fills up fast between 5:00-5:30 PM! Door Opening & Entry: Doors open at 6:00 PM sharp. Once tickets are scanned, you'll enter a second line inside. Members and ADA guests get priority boarding around 6:25 PM, followed by General Admission. Pro-Tip for Groups: Seating is first-come, first-served. It was literally a stampede when doors opened! Have one person hold your spot in the inside queue while another uses the restroom or hits concessions. Concessions: Everything is prepackaged (bags of popcorn, candy, canned sodas/water). No fresh movie-theater popcorn or fountain drinks, but fine for a quick snack. Seats & Seating Placement: Aim as high up and toward the center as possible! We sat in the lower half of the upper section. The seats are clean, comfortable, and feel brand new, but they do not recline. Staring up at the dome for nearly 3 hours caused some serious neck strain. Also, watch out for the glass balcony railings in the upper section, which can partially cut into your sightline. The Film Experience: The sound system is fantastic and the theater itself is spotless, but for a fast-paced action movie like The Odyssey, the dome format just didn't work for us. Being that close made it feel like watching a screen two feet from your face--fight scenes became a blur, and the dome curved the edges of the picture (buildings and straight objects looked noticeably warped/distorted). It felt a bit like looking through a fishbowl. Overall Verdict: No knock at all on the staff, Fleet Science Center, or the incredible tech--for documentary shorts or environmental films, this dome is probably mind-blowing. But for long feature films with heavy action, it didn't add to the movie and was a bit overwhelming. Glad we experienced it, but we'll stick to traditional theaters for feature films in the future! P.S. / Note for Fleet Science Center Management & Staff: I know queuing outside can be tricky to manage, but I wanted to share an observation in case it helps improve the queue process. We arrived around 5:10 PM and were about 10th in line outside. However, the group of 2 people right in front of us gradually grew to 12 as more of their party arrived over the next hour, and another pair grew to 8. By the time the doors opened at 6:00 PM, our spot in line effectively jumped from 10th to around 25th. While holding places for late arrivals is understandable to a degree, seeing groups multiply like that can feel a bit unfair to those who stood outside early. Some retail stores and venues (like those in Hawaii) handle this by handing out numbered queue cards or tokens per person as they join the line, preventing late-arriving party members from jumping ahead of early arrivers. Just a thought for future popular feature film screenings!

We had a fun family outing here!…read more The young lady at the counter was very friendly and if you're walking around town like we were, they even have free lockers to store your bags while you experience the museum. Nathan was awesome with taking our pictures and telling us about the different illusions! Also, side note for the ladies - i thought it was really nice they offer free sanitary items in the restrooms.

100% recommend for a fun activity with kids! Bonus: Kids 4 and younger are free plus military and…read moreseniors get a discount. My daughter and I enjoyed this museum. It took us about 1.5 hours to walk around, experience the different illusions and take lots of videos and pics. I thought it was cool they have games as well. We spent about 20 minutes doing puzzles. The check-in was easy and the girl working offered to take our photo. It turned out great:) There were many people there but it never felt crowded and I appreciated that everyone was respectful of personal space and photo opportunities. We did street parking but the website also gives good tips on parking garages or lots available nearby. It's downtown with lots of people on the street and cars all around. Watch your littlest because it's very busy and can easily distract kids. I recommend for a family or group of friends for sure!

On February 28, 2026 we visited the Air and Space museum in Balboa Park…read more We definitely enjoyed the museum and all of the exhibits. One of the volunteers showed us how to start the messerschmitt jet engine. This was fascinating. While there, we also had the pleasure of visiting the flight path grill. The hamburgers were fantastic! We wanted to thank the person that grilled them but they are behind closed doors. We couldn't believe the hamburgers cost only $8. The hamburgers were far better than the $22 hamburgers we got at our hotel! We really appreciated having such an enjoyable experience and hope you will give the person that grilled those hamburgers something special.

Whenever we visit a new city, we always try to check three things off our list: visit a museum, do…read moresomething on the water (if applicable) & catch a sports game. The San Diego Air & Space Museum was our museum pick for this trip & it was a fun, educational morning! My husband is a retired Army veteran & enjoys planes, aviation history & anything military-related, so this museum was right up his alley. We could have spent hours exploring all of the exhibits, aircraft, artifacts & historical displays. One of the highlights of our visit was meeting a super outgoing docent shortly after we walked in. Somehow, he kept magically popping up throughout the museum during our visit, sharing fascinating tidbits & fun facts about whatever exhibit we happened to be looking at. You could tell he genuinely loved being there & his enthusiasm made the entire experience even more engaging & personal. (My apologies for not remembering his name. He was an Air Force B-52 pilot & bonded with hubby over their shared military service.) Another really cool aspect of the museum is its location directly in the flight path of the airport. Planes were flying overhead every couple of minutes, which honestly added so much atmosphere to the visit. Hearing & seeing aircraft constantly overhead while walking through the exhibits made the whole experience feel extra immersive. The vintage Pacific Southwest Airlines stewardess uniforms on display were awesome! The museum does a great job balancing serious aviation history with quirky, interesting pieces of airline culture & design history. This was definitely a worthwhile visit - whether you are an aviation buff or just looking for an interesting & interactive museum experience. We both had a great time!

We stumbled upon the San Diego Natural History Museum after noticing their rooftop dining, and it…read moreturned out to be a fantastic spur-of-the-moment decision. Across four full stories, the museum is packed with impressive exhibits featuring prehistoric bones, wildlife displays, and regional art. We caught an informative film on San Diego's natural environment in the theater and thoroughly enjoyed the hands-on interactive stations--matching bugs and identifying animal scat was surprisingly fun! The true highlight, however, was the rooftop Sunday brunch. The food was excellent, the views were wonderful, and the cashier serving us was exceptionally warm and welcoming. I highly recommend a visit, and definitely make sure to take advantage of the rooftop brunch!

We visited during The Nat at Night when the tickets were half price, then there is access to the…read morerooftop; and the 5 floors of the museum. This experience is during the summer, and starts at 5pm on Fridays/ We arrived just before 5pm, entered and then headed to the rooftop. There were food and beverages offered and the views were amazing. Getting there right at 5 and going to the rooftop first was the best decision becuase the area is limited occupacy and once it's full there is a line waiting for some people to leave before you can then access the rooftop. There were so many people in attendance, it was great to see. It was a warm evening and the rooftop got pretty warm, then once we went into the museum it took a while to cool down. Not sure how that could be remedied, but the AC seemed to be a little inefficient for the number of people. Even if you aren't interested in going to the rooftop, the discounted price for 5pm to 11pm was a great option to explore the museum. I do recommend it! Lots to see and I was most interested in the Washed Ashore exhibit; art created with trash that has washed up on the beaches.

Beautiful park in San Diego, CA! This is a huge park, lots of walking but well worth all the views…read more There is a botanical garden they do charge and it is a bit costly. The park itself is so big so I did not pay for the Japanese garden although it did look beautiful. There are several restrooms, clean. There are also several shops for souvenirs and food.

Balboa Park is easily one of my favorite outdoor spots in San Diego and, in my opinion, one of the…read morebest urban parks in the country. There is SO much to do here, and the park is absolutely stunning and very well maintained. When living downtown, I was here pretty much every weekend. I love walking through the park, running the trails, and bringing my dog. The dog park is huge and gives them plenty of room to run around, which is a major plus. You could easily spend hours just walking and exploring everything Balboa Park has to offer. Between the trails, architecture, museums, gardens, recreational areas, and incredible history, there is always something to see or do. Even after coming here so often, I still enjoy simply walking around and taking it all in. The history and architecture are really what make Balboa Park special. It's beautiful, full of character, and such an incredible part of San Diego. Whether you want to exercise, walk your dog, explore, have a picnic, visit a museum, or just enjoy being outside, this park has something for everyone. An easy 5/5 for me. One of the places that makes me love San Diego!

Fun to look for all the little Easter eggs!…read more Quite a large space in the basement full of model railroad of different gauges. We enjoyed talking to the volunteers about the pieces and landscape. Kids loved it.

I have never seen so many model trains in my life! The tracks were in all corners of the museum and…read morewere running various sizes of trains that worked and ran like the full scale trains and scenary that was duplicated perfectly from throughout the United States. My grandsons were drawn to the museum and could not take their eyes off the small trains. This would be a great exhibit for all ages!

It's a nostalgic place, run by volunteers, a hidden gem, street parking near Little Italy, for KIDS…read moreof ALL ages. However, it is a museum so the trucks the upstairs have restricted access and hours are limited to Th, F,S,S. Surprise in the back, there is an extensive collection of fire engine toys with books, puzzles, and child size firefighting turnout gear-for hands on fun. Best, is the admission price and priced right cool SDFD T-shirts. Also can be a venue for private events.

The man working this morning was extremely kind and informative!! My friends and I loved taking a…read morewalk around :)

Before getting into the actual review of the visit, the first State immense gratitude and things to…read moreall who served aboard this ship and to all the volunteers and donors who have worked to preserve it. Sometimes the so-called "must - the "attractions don't really come through, but this one certainly does as I was certainly expecting to see a lot of interesting parts of the ship and it's history, but the work of the staff and volunteers in setting up the various exhibits and instructional talks and activities shows a level of dedication to a museum that I don't think I have ever seen. And what is great about this is it's not just about wealthy people paying money to put the museum in operation as helpful as that is in many museums, but just all the regular people particularly the veterans, making it work. If you're really interested in getting into the history in the details, I think you would be best to get a membership because realistically there's no way even if you were to spend the full day here that you're gonna see and learn everything that is here. Also, there is a lot of walking up and downstairs and into close spaces and you may not even want try doing the whole ship at once. Go for a couple hours just to get the "lay the land" and learn how the ship and the exhibits are set up. For me seeing where the sailors worked and lived and how sophisticated the ship's equipment was for its time was very educational and again inspired gratitude for the work done aboard by all who served.

Navy/Top Gun fan or not, this is a must see when in San Diego…read more Its an easy walk from Gaslamp and along the harbor. Tickets are reasonably priced. Its a self guided tour with a mechanism you get when you walk in that allows you more information at each spot. There's a 15 minute movie option. I do suggest you start with that then head up to the flight deck before it gets too hot. Tons of picture options, including an iconic Maverick & Goose shot. From there they'll lead you to a part of the tour you can only see with a guide, the rest is on your own. There will be several spots where you'll be like hmmm this was in Top Gun. Definitely don't skip this tour.