Explore OceanXperience at the AZ Science Center!

 

One of the things we love about our local science center is that the third floor has a featured exhibit that changes every eight months or so & it is always fun to explore together as a family. The current featured exhibit is called OceanXperience where you can experience a replica of the most advanced research and filmmaking vessel in the world. Sometimes the featured exhibits require an extra ticket along with a ticket into the science center, however this exhibit is included with the cost of a normal admission to the science center. Today I will be sharing some of our experience with you along with some sneak peek photos of what you'll be able to see in this exhibit. 

When you arrive to the exhibit you will be given an interactive wrist band & asked to register it to one of three missions. We chose to do the Hammerhead shark mission! You will be given a map to follow along with that will take you to the various stations that match up with your mission. Along the way you will scan your bracelet at different stations and complete tasks while learning about the ocean animal you selected for your mission. 

We were lucky & there weren't a ton of people inside of the exhibit when we entered so we were able to walk up to each station and complete our tasks without waiting in line. They had some pretty cool interactive stations that showed how they track sharks, what type of research they do on them and more. All of the stations are great for any age! 

If you take your time reading through the information at each station and completing them as you go, then you will spend anywhere from thirty to forty-five minutes in this exhibit. After we completed our mission, we also walked over to check out a few of the other stations just to see what they were about. It was a lot of fun being able to explore this with my kids, we have a great time completing our mission. 

Summer is quickly approaching & the weather is already starting to warm up so this will be a great spot to stop and beat the heat with your kids. When we stop by the science center, we always like starting on the third floor at the featured exhibit and working our way down to the first floor visiting all of our favorite stops along the way. There is also a theater, a planetarium inside of the science center, that you can visit! 

🚢 Does this sound like an exhibit that you & your family would enjoy? What sea creatures would you love to learn about?

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. (Click on the name or locate it on the right-hand side of my page).

Disclaimer- The skills studio mentioned above was provided by The Arizona Science Center for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

CREATE at Arizona Science Center Review!

 

If you've ever been to the Arizona Science Center, you might have noticed the building right next door that says CREATE at Arizona Science Center and wondered what it was. This is their space that is specifically designed to be a makers space with everything you need to complete hands on projects along with taking beginners classes for skills such as 3D printing or using a laser to etch wood, etc. They offer a variety of projects and classes for different ages, even adults can join in on a class if you are looking to learn about a new skill or hobby. My children and I were recently able to participate in their 3D printing skills studio. The 3D skills studio is for ages 8+ and cost $35 per person, children ages 8-13 will need a parent to accompany them. Each skills studio runs for about sixty minutes, at the end of the class you will have completed a small print that you are able to take home. You will need to pre-register for a class in order to participate. 

The lab area they have you take the course in will have everything you need from laptops to printers and filament, so you will not need to bring anything to the class with you. We were lucky & there were only two other people in the class with us which allowed more one on one time to ask questions or troubleshoot anything that happened to pop up. Our skills shop host was friendly & very knowledgeable of not just the specific programs and machines they use in the CREATE space, but he was also able to tell us about some other helpful websites and programs. My son received a 3D printer for Christmas, so this is a class we wanted to take so we could learn a bit more about the creating process. 

During our class we talked about a few of the different slicing programs you need to take a print file & convert it to the correct size and file for the printer to create your project. We were shown how to upload a project onto the Prusaslicer, how to resize the project along with how to change the infill, temperature of the print, and how to add in stops or pauses to be able to switch out the filament color. Once everything was completed & loaded up onto a memory card we were able to then plug that into the 3D printers to start our projects. 

We were all assigned our own printer to use & were shown how to remove the old remaining filament from the previous use and add the color we wanted for our project. While our projects were printing, we were able to watch them to ensure everything was running smoothly and went over how to remove the project after the printing was complete. It also gave us a little extra time to ask any additional questions and take a look at some of the finished printing projects they had on display. 

We all enjoyed the class & the information has been helpful in getting everything set up with our printer at home. I feel like everything was set up in a way that was easy to understand and follow along with the class, this is perfect for anyone who is a hands on learner vs just watching a how to video on youtube. If you do not already own a 3D printer it also gives you a chance to take a look at some different models in person to help you figure out which printer you'd like to purchase. If you prefer not to purchase your own printer, they offer what is called a LaterLab, where you can come in & use the equipment they have to freely create your own projects and ask for help if needed. 

As previously mentioned aside from the skill studios, they offer mini maker sessions where you can create a wooden project. Projects & prices for the projects vary depending on what you are wanting to build. The mini makers projects you do not need to pre-register for, they have drop in hours from 11am until 2:45pm so you can swing in either before or after you visit the Science Center. This is a great spot to visit to beat the heat during the summer while allowing your child to complete a fun project. Stop by their website to learn more about one of the fun projects or classes you can complete! 

🔬 If you were to register for a skills studio would you prefer to do woodworking 101, Laser cutting, 3D printing or Sewing? 

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. (Click on the name or locate it on the right-hand side of my page).

Disclaimer- The skills studio mentioned above was provided by The Arizona Science Center / CREATE for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Can you beat a Guinness World Record @ The AZ Science Center?

 

If you live near Phoenix, AZ & Have kids, but haven't stopped by to see the current featured exhibit at the Arizona Science Center, then you are missing out. The current exhibit which will stay put until January 1st, 2024 is the science of Guinness World Records. It is a blast for the whole family from small children to teens & it would even make a fun date idea for couples to do together. This attraction requires a separate ticket from center admission so make sure you have both in order to get in! It is located on the third floor of the science center, so you can choose to head straight there then work your way down the science center or save it for last. Tickets for this exhibit are $8.95 per person.

You will not only get to see a little bit of information on current world records that have received Guinness certificates, but you'll also get a chance to see how good you are at some of the records. The exhibit is filled with a number of interactive stations where you can test out your speed & dexterity. Some of the challenges are for a singular person to do while others allow you to compete against each other at the same time.  

Each station has a clear set of instructions to follow & it will also tell you what the current record holders time is. Some of them are absolutely insane with how quickly they manage to complete the task. We visited on a Sunday morning & were happy to find the exhibit wasn't packed, so we didn't have to wait in a lot of lines to try out the different stations which made the experience even more enjoyable. We had a blast trying to top each other at each station, there was at least one thing that each of us were able to beat the others in. If you haven't worked your arms out in a while, you will get an arm work out during the challenges, from trying to get as many drumbeats as you can in a minute to fastest fist bumps and even seeing how long you can hang from a bar, you might be a little tired at the end. But you'll hardly notice while it is happening, because you'll be having too much of a good time. The exhibit as a whole felt almost like a game section at a carnival, you'll want to stop and do it all. You might not get a prize to take home like at the carnival, but if you beat the others in your group at various stations you will have the bragging rights to take home! 

In the back section of the exhibit they have a small seating area where you can sit or stand & watch some clips showing some of the world record holders & see them performing their feats. There is also a bathroom + water fountains near this section so you won't need to leave and come back. If you do happen to have any questions or need help with one of the stations, there were a number of employees walking around that are happy to help & someone is stationed at the front entrance as well. We had a lot of fun & have been talking about it since we visited, we highly recommend that you check it out for yourself. You'll even find some fun video game stations where you can try to beat the top record holder! The two video games they have are a giant pac-man game & a DDR machine. 

Tickets to the AZ Science center are $21.95 per adult & $15.95 for children 17& Under. Sometimes "extras" such as visiting museums, going to the movies, etc can be hard for low income families so the science center participates in a program called Museums for All that allow EBT card holders to purchase tickets for a highly discounted rate. I recently wrote a post about this program & some of the great museums you can visit with the program, you can check that post out by clicking here. 

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. 

Disclaimer- Tickets to the center + exhibit mentioned above were provided by The Arizona Science Center for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium in Tucson!

 

We recently took a mini vacation down to Tucson to check out some of the local attractions they have to offer, one of the places we decided to stop was the Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium. We always have a great time when we visit the Arizona Science Center so we were looking forward to visiting a new science center together to see what they had in store for us. It is located at 1601 E University Blvd Tucson, AZ 85721. This science center is part of the University of Arizona so it is on the same grounds as the school buildings & does not have any designated parking so you will have to get lucky and score on of the free street parking spots or parking in a close parking garage. They have maps on their website that shows where parking is available near the center. The building for the science center is smaller than our local science center but you can hardly tell as there are so many fun things packed into the two floors of the center that you'll be entertained the entire time you were there. Along with the science center they have a Planetarium that runs shows through out the day, we had a few other places we wanted to visit during our trip so we skipped the planetarium show until next time we visit.

The first floor of the science center features a large exhibit on sharks with life sized recreations of how big their tail fins are, interactive quizzes, digital boards where you can build your own shark, real taxidermy shark eggs, bones and more. There is also a large area featuring the Wild World of Bugs where they have more interactive spots, plenty of educational information, some dead bugs on display along with some live bugs you are able to hold upon request. My son & husband were able to hold one of the beetles they have available to touch, it was so cute and seemed pretty used to being held. Last but not least the first floor also has a section dedicated to the solar system with some pretty neat information & a wall that has a bunch of cans with various weights in them to show you how much they would weigh on the different planets. 

After you've looked at everything on the first floor you can head downstairs to visit another level of hands on activities and exhibits. The bottom floor has tons of fossils & minerals plus tons of fun puzzles you are able to sit down and complete, some you are able to work on by yourself & some were meant for two people so you can have fun together. Some of the puzzles were a challenge so you might find it best to work together as a team to complete them & if you need any help a staff member is always in the area to lend a hand or ask questions. 

We enjoyed taking our time looking at everything this science center has to offer, in total we spent a little over an hour and a half at the center doing puzzles, reading the educational materials, and looking at cool things. On your way out you can pop by the gift shop if you want to pick up a souvenir. The Flandrau Science Center is $12 per adult & $8 per child ages 3-15, the Planetarium is a separate cost however they have a discount if you buy the two combined & if you are an EBT/SNAP card holder you can show your card along with your ID to receive your tickets for just $3 each. If you are looking for more adventures in Tucson type in "Things to do in Tucson" or "Things to do in Arizona" (You can also click the link) in the search bar of my blog, I have several more fantastic animal attractions and more in Tucson to share with you & when all done within a few days it makes for a action packed vacation. 

**This is not a sponsored post, my family & I decided to visit the zoo while we were in the area and paid to visit the zoo. I enjoy sharing some of the fun places we've been & things we've seen with my readers so they can enjoy it too if they get a chance.**