This is a lovely museum in Hemet Ca, not far from Temecula. We took our 6 year grandson and 2 year old grand daughter there who were visiting from Washington State. This is a small museum compared to La Brea, however, there are a lot of displays that will exceed your expectation. The cost is nominal and parking is free. There is also a circular theater room that provides a movie on the prehistoric animals that existed here. It is focused on prehistoric mammals - though they also display some dinosaur era horned dinos. They have a few hands on displays. They used to have a hands-on paleontology type display for kids, and that seems to longer exist there when we visited. However, they have other hands-on displays and fun projects for kids. The discoveries have come from when they had originally excavated the Diamond Valley Lake water reservoir. This museum is a gem to be discovered and definitely worth the visit. My grandson who is really into prehistoric animals just loved it. Researchers from the Western Science Center recently discovered a new species of mastodon. It is the Pacific mastodon (Mammut pacificus) - a 10,000 year old fossil, named "Max." It is the largest mastodon species found in California, researchers said. A new species of mastodon in North America has not been named in over 50 years. So this museum is still a very active in paleontology research. The are also on facebook and you can see what special programs and displays are also being offered. I highly recommend a visit. read more

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Very cool place wish there was more kid activities and where the kid activities were it was a very hot and uncomfortable

What a wonderful gem! Very clean and well kept museum. Really enjoyed this trip! Recommend read more

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Thankfully nobody in our family was tackled by security! We enjoyed the center for the most part. There were plenty of interesting things to read and learn about. And multiple fun interactive activities for our seven year old to enjoy. read more

First half of the science center was blocked off because they are re-doing it. Then the section that was open had several things that were broken or "unavailable". I have a 7 year old daughter and this is not what I expected. The price was high for the 45 minutes we spent there and the only activity was making a clay fossil and looking at a part of one dinosaur. Now in another building, and for free is by the water department. Some stuff was not working but their were activities for my daughter and she learned something. read more

While the space is really small, everything in the museum has been carefully selected to be relevant and informative. It's a shining star in Hemet. Visits take about 1-2 hours. We created fossils, art rubbings of extinct animals, watched the mini-films, exhibits , and asked a lot of questions to the volunteers about the area, fossils, etc. We went 3 times over our visit to Hemet using our ASTC reciprocal membership! read more

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So much terrificness that I cannot yelp adequately to tell you how much I enjoy going there. Here are some obvious reasons to plan a visit: 1.The first LEED Platinum Museum in the World 2.I posted some cell ph pics and hope others will be adding more - this place is gorgeous 3.Simulated Dig Sites for paleontological and archaeological want-a-bes 4.The biggest mastodon found in the Western US and a Columbian mammoth 5.The Western Center Academy - they have a Charter School for math, science and technology. FYI, this place is kid-crazy on the weekends. Weekdays are very mellow, so I made a few detours to visit then, rather than experience the human ant farm behavior of kids turned loose by their parents. 6.Tomorrows is Earth day (really), but whenever you are reading this, behave as if tomorrow is Earth day. read more

Western Science Center - walkway / entrance at the Western Science Center - Museums Near Me - Hemet, California

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Our oldest son has been asking us continuously to visit this center after experiencing a presentation at his school from this place. Reading the Yelp reviews gave me the impression that this establishment was nothing special and not worth the time, gas or money to make special trip to. Since we went to the Hemet Farmer's market nearby, what better time not to stop by and gauge for ourselves what this place is all about. The admission price for 2 adults, 1 senior and 2 kids was $26.50 The building is beautiful both inside and outside! But it's deceiving because one you enter the exhibit area, it's really just 1 large room that appears to be where the permanent fossil display is and another smaller room for the touring exhibits, which we we visited was about the human body. The fossil display was interesting and educational because it shows you what type of prehistoric creatures lived in the Riverside County area. The human body exhibit was interesting and kept our sons entertained for quite awhile. There are 2 films that are shown on a continued basis. The docent on duty almost guilted us and the 3 other families into seeing it since we only saw the other film. In fact after cornering us, she told us she would start the movie once we entered the darkened theater. Incidentally, the theater stays dark before and after the movie presentation, so be careful entering and exiting and finding a seat on one of the large rocks that serve as seats. Depending on the ages of your children, and the exhibits presented, you can spend several hours here or experience it all in about 60-90 minutes. I know they will be presenting T-Rex fossil found by the gentleman that lived in the Hemet area, but I don't think that it will add much to the experience time. We went to the adjacent building that houses the Water Districts' exhibits of water conservation and how we obtain water and store water for our area. Interesting exhibits but many are off line or not being maintained /repaired. TG that the admission price is free since one would feel ripped off to pay and see a bunch of nonworking exhibits. The science center has such great potential and its sad to see that it has so little. read more

Awesome place! Love bringing my babies here! A plethora of information about the prehistoric age and archeology.

A pretty fun place to spend a Sunday. :) I came with my 7, 4 and 3 year olds. My 4 and 3 year olds were free (All children under 4 are free). They had a blast but it wasn't really that big. I was hoping that it would be a place we could spend a few hours, but we were done in about 45 minutes. We did streach it out to about an hour and a half by going around and seeing everything twice. It mainly consists of two rooms and a long hallway. The hallway has a few exhibits here and there but the main room had a lot to offer kids. I personally loved the mammoth exhibit. The kids had a chance to really see its size compared to them and were very interested in checking out the different displays. They also have a little tiny play area filled with books, blocks and puzzles that the little ones can enjoy while older kids walk around the room. If there isn't a lot of people (when we went on a Sunday there were maybe three other families there) you can clearly keep an eye on everyone in the room. There were also a few small activities around the displays. And a small dinosaur section, which mainly consisted of a skull and a few other small "look in" displays. The other room had a few things here and there as well as a little pit for the kids to "uncover" fossils. And there was a small theater that did play one short movie that kept young children interested. The other one was a documentary that was mainly for older kids and adults. Overall it was fun. I think we might try to go on a Saturday since they have some sort of kid program and we are sure to be back when they have new exhibts. :) Everyone should check this place out at least once. Gave Only 4 stars since it didn't have a lot and was more of a "drop in" place rather than a place you can spend hours exploring. read more

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I was staying with family in Winchester and was trying to find something nearby to keep my 4 year old occupied. He is very interested in extinct animals right now and I discovered the Western Science Center while searching online. I am glad that I found it because it was a hit. First impression was that there was a really large parking lot and there were A LOT of kids running/playing outside in this fenced in courtyard area. I thought that I was accidentally trespassing at a school. The first building I found had a sign that said that all exhibits were permanently closed so I thought maybe the museum closed down. I saw a mom will a stroller in the parking lot and I asked her if there's a museum here. She told me where to go. SO, when you are in the parking lot and are facing all the big buildings head to the building that is immediately right to the fenced in courtyard. Above you will see signs of different prehistoric eras hanging. Besides that, it is NOT obvious where the museum is. Anyway, once we got to the museum and exhibits it was great. It was only $9 (4 and under were free) and it took up about 2 hours of our time. When you walk in there are exhibits focusing on local archaeology. The other exhibit area is about paleontology. My son was not interested in the archaeology, but he LOVED the paleontology stuff. There is a video to watch, fossils to see, interactive things for kids (and adults I guess) to do that my son thought was super fun. I can see a typical person rushing through the whole museum in 30 mins, but if you enjoy these types of things and/our your child likes to do little interactive activities...you could easily be there for 2 hours (we probably could've started longer but I was hungry). Side note: the bathrooms were really big and really nice and clean. If I had gone to this museum alone, I probably would've given it a 4 (it was pretty small), BUT seeing how much fun my son had...well, that moves it up to a 5. read more

$18 for two adults to be harassed by employees to wear a mask even though there were only 5 other people in the whole museum and no one was near each other. Sorry this place isn't worth your money if you're going to be harassed about the mask "mandate" from two years ago. read more

Nice little place to explore if you don't feel like driving too far. I took my 3 & 6 year old boys. My 6 year old enjoyed it! (He has a laid back personality). My 3 year old focused way too much on the candy at the register...he wanted to rush our trip (he's very temperamental). Great place for kids that are school age. (Or can just listen to parents in general lol). Watch out for rattle snakes and be very careful in the restroom. The rug slipped when I walked over to get paper towels. I hurt my hip when I twisted. The girl I notified (no. Not to make an incident report. Just to let her know others might get hurt.) could care less. She didn't even say anything. Just looked at me like a deer staring into headlights. It's a 1 time deal for us. We won't return. read more

Came in on Oct21. First time here. It was great to learn about how they found these fossils. They are very well preserved. I chatted with a Volunteer, he was able to answer my questions about these fossils. read more

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Such a hidden spot! I dropped my mom off at SoBoBa casino and decided to bring my kids over here! Thank god for yelp! It was super empty I had to call-lol- to ask where the entrance was! I was super embarrassed to ask and to go in after calling! The person that answered the phone was super nice and helpful! I forgot her name. They are very informative and welcoming!! I wish there were more stuff in here since we breezed thru the place super fast. My boys had so much fun! Come check it out and take your time in here or you'll be out quick! read more

Pros: cool fossils...ample parking... interesting movie...digging pit for kids... Cons: a bit pricey. Kinda small. We were done in under an hour. Not hard to find, but you do have to walk a bit to find it. read more

www.westerncentermuseum.org I visited this museum with my son and two nephews, ages 6, 6, and 11. Entrance for the four of us was $24.50 (I have a student id). For that price I expected a museum that would take a couple of hours to browse through and lots of things to see. The museum is brand new and the exhibits are in perfect working order but it is extremely limited. They show two different short movies that are somwhat interesting and held in a room where you sit on large rocks that move with the vibration of the movie (ie when the mammoth walks) A little scary for one of the six year old but I found it very entertaining. Because the museum was so dead we practically had a docent following us around. Not in an intimidating way, just he looked kind of bored. There were brass rubbings and make your own clay fossil areas for the kids. Two interactive computers and we saw them feed their frogs. I would recommend anyone call ahead before coming. Field trips are frequent here and I would hate to be here when they are. If you have an hour or two free in the afternoon then that is probably the prime time to visit to avoid the crowds and get out of the Hemet heat. I will probably return with out of town family but I couldn't see myself going here but once or twice per year. Museum & Store Hours Tuesday - Sunday 10 AM - 5 PM Closed on Mondays Admission (Western Center accepts cash, checks, Visa, and MasterCard) Free to Members $8.00 - Adults (13 and over) $6.50 - Seniors (62+) $6.00 - Youth (5 to 12) $6.50 - Students (13-22 with current I.D.) FREE - Youth 4 and under FREE - Military (with current I.D.) Audio Tour - $2.00 FREE to Members read more

This is a must if you're ever in the area. Highlights all of the artifacts that they found when constructing the manmade lake that sits behind the building. Perfect place for a brief educational piece for children, and some adults that seem to have forgotten the way we have evolved through time. read more

It's a bit small, but some neat things to see. I really enjoyed seeing the mastodon bones. Kids had fun with a few hands on things. It's too bad they really shove the evolutionary theory down your throat. It's especially in your face with the Stepping out of the Past exhibit. It would be nice if they had even just a little section for the creation theory. More people believe in the creation theory than the science community will ever give credit for. We should have a voice, especially when it is just theory. read more

It isn't a large museum by any means, but it is definitely worth visiting. The fossils are beautifully displayed. Children can make a cast of a fossil and interact with items in the exhibit. The docents were very helpful and I really enjoyed watching the volunteers clean the fossils. The short film was a nice touch. If you live in the area you should check out the museum to learn about it's archaeological history. read more

Western Science Center - Beautifully displayed fossils encased beneath glass. - Museums Near Me - Hemet, California

Beautiful little museum! My kids are under 5 and they really enjoyed the new summer 2017 exhibit and they liked the dinosaurs of course. This is a fantastic museum with knowledgeable and helpful docents especially Bethany! Amy was great too! read more

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Very cool place to take your kids over the age of 3 tho. It's a museum for all the fossils found when they dug out the lake in Hemet and dam. And native America and human history in this area. It's mostly sloths, mammoths, and saber tooth tigers, arrow heads, and tools. They are so post to have a new exhibit now June 2014 with dinosaur fossils from the Montana area. We never had dinosaurs here this area was under water during that time. Next door is another exhibit about the water in the area and how the dam works, it's almost cooler visually than the archeology museum. And they have a dig site u can go see. The dam is defiantly worth visiting the view is amazing! read more

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What a horrible place. The two people at the guest counter where snacks are sold are horrible rude ungrateful people. Cost of admission is way to high for an incomplete exhibit. Do Not bother. read more

The Western Science Center seemed incredibly promising, but there really isn't a lot here for the cost. It's $8 per adult. Compare that to the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits, which is $12 per adult, and offers so much more. Maybe that's not entirely fair, but as the other reviewers have said, there is really only one main room here. It's a great room, but you feel like there should be another 2-3 rooms of the same kinds of things... The main room has a giant sloth, a mastodon and a mammoth. The real bones are enclosed in glass and casts are mounted and displayed so you can see them better. We watched two short films. One on how they obtained the fossils. That was actually very interesting. They sent goats and sheep into the valley to eat up all the plants before the bulldozers came in! And the other was CGI prehistoric animals walking around. I bet younger kids would have a lot of fun because of the rubbings they can make at every display. There is also a "Magic Treehouse" Reading Room for the kids. That is impressive. There are lots of little kid sized houses full of books. I can see a family getting a membership just to be able to take advantage of an air conditioned reading room. read more

Western Science Center - This is the fossil room. It's nice, but this really is it. - Museums Near Me - Hemet, California

I just went today with my 3 year old son. He loved it, so if you have little ones they'll probably enjoy the movie, fossil making, and projected images. 3-stars because many of the exhibits were not operational. Also, while I'm sure the nice lady in charge today was well-intentioned, it was really obvious she has little experience with kids...e.g. please don't give my kid a souvenir pencil and then tell him you're just showing it to him but he has to give it back and please let the child actually make his fossil rather than doing it for him...I think that's missing the point. read more

This was a great place to bring younger kids. We were a big group (4 moms and 8kids ranging 2-7). We visited the aqueduct center too (that was free) first. The volunteers there was super nice and gave a quick tour. The kids loved the rain make and terrain maker station. Then we had lunch outside. We packed sandwiches and sat on the picnic benches. The kids ran in the grassy area for a good 20min. We finally made our way in the science center. It was easy to navigate thru the center. The kids were able to touch and be super interactive. The staff was friendly and informative. Parking was easy and plentiful. We even made our way to the diamond valley (man-made) lake afterwards! read more

A great learning experience with each exhibit. Love the community special events with holidays and seasonal events. Our family loves to make fossil replicas here! We always make it out for the Old Fashioned Christmas and enjoy the performances from community organizations and dance studios like In Motion Training Center! Easy parking, reasonable admissions fees and deals for members!! read more

Friendly staff. Very knowledgeable. Place is small but my 2 year old enjoyed it. Dinosaurs are his current obsession.

Great museum and very informative volunteers. Will return again during the summer my kids really enjoyed it.

One hidden gem in Hemet! This museum is awesome! We discovered this thru yelp and we went the same day. It isn't a big museum but it has a good display of local archaeological findings of a mammoth, a mastodon and a harlan's sloth which is the most complete among the three. The museum is well design and is very enjoyable for the children. They have free molding area for where kids can choose what they could mold and take it home for free. The displays also have embossed pictures of the animals that they get to color over a paper. They have different activity areas for kids to enjoy and learn. On the corner is a theatre that has 2 shows, we recommend the mastodon one, it was almost a 3D experience. Unfortunately we were too early for their more in depth mastodon gallery which opens in august 5. In the front is a souvenir store. The store has reasonable pricing. I'll post the entrance fee prices. We are coming back! read more

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My grandkids love this interactive museum. It is a treasure trove of fossils and information gleaned from the Diamond Valley region of Hemet. Kids can make casts, trace fossils, talk to professionals at certain times, participate in "digs" and more. Be sure to watch the movie and examine Native American and European settler artifacts. read more

I really wanted to like this museum but it consisted of ONE ROOM. That constitutes a musum? I spent 15 minutes here, tops. Very disappointing. read more

Very small. But wow it's amazing. I learned so much and was really at a wow u can finish this place in 30 min if u read everything lol. But I liked knowing what was in our backyard. Fun lil activities to do like make ur own clay shaped tooths lol. The sloth fossils wow is all I gotta say. My 7 year old enjoyed himself a great deal there was hand stuff for him to do. read more

I have been here numerous times with my kids. The museum is very nice, interesting and full of fun things for the kids to interact. Kids had a good time exploring and learning new things. Its very educational and always an adventure to visit. read more

I love this place. I have an annual pass. I just hope people keep going so they can expand and really make this an awesome museum.

A great museum right next to the lake. Lots to see and learn about the area. The theater is fun and immersive and takes you to a whole new world. The scenery around the museum is also great to see. read more

Great place to see mammoth fossils! It was worth it. A lot of information about all sorts of fossil bones. I watched a seven minute animation of mammoth and it was shown on a jumbo screen. Overall I enjoyed it. read more

Had a great time at the Western Science Center. Took my grandkids and they loved it. Very informative. Beautiful facility as well.

I love to check out history and wanted to check out this place to see fossils. The prices for adults are $8 and seniors $6.50. First thing I noticed was that the entrance was not easy to see or find. Then when you go through the museum the exhibits are nice and informative, but there was not much to see. You can see the entire museum within 15 minutes if you don't read everything. Also, the movie theater section is ok. They show two movies but they are too short. Lastly, the gift store has neat rocks and fossils but hardly anything with the museum logo on it. I do not think I will return. read more

Great place for the family! $8 admission is pretty reasonable. It would be nice if they'd add more and expand the museum.