museum of innovation and science

Sure, it's probably meant for kids, but my sister and I had a blast! We tried a lot of the hands on displays. Learned a lot about sound! Saw a great show in the planetarium. I'll admit, it wasn't what I expected, but it was fun just the same. The butterfly house was amazing. Thought I'd be cool if they landed on me, but I freaked out a little. Kids laughed. Learned a lot about sound and the way out other senses affect sounds we hear. Probably better than a science class.

I saw loads of kids at this place and I get the impression they all thoroughly enjoyed themselves. As a young adult with an intimate friend, we had a great time looking through the interesting artifacts heavily based on local innovations and technology. The planetarium show had horrible graphics but had amazingly comfortable seats and the short star show at the end was informative and very interesting. As far as 3 stars is concerned, there were more than a couple interactive exhibits that were not functioning which kept me from giving four or five stars.

Loads to see and do; nice flow from one area to the next - kept my 4-yr old grandson enthralled. No dislike.

We took our 4 year Granddaughter here to see what it was all about, we were camping at Frosty Acres, about a 20-25 minute drive. There were a lot of exhibits for her -- and us -- to explore. A lot of them were just fun, some made Payton think and talk about what she was seeing and doing, like trying to walk quietly over a bed of stones, like a fox would, or trying to pull small washers off a magnet. It was great to interact with her at the Museum. The three of us had fun, and she talked about it on the way back to camp!

More educational than the Children's Museum in Saratoga, which is more of a fun indoor playground with a minor educational focus. The Schenectady museum was petty fun, silly (human bodily noises exhibit such as burps, farts, explained in a silly but effective manner). There were interesting scientific technologies there, sponsored by GE. These exhibits were kid friendly. The small planetarium needs renovations as noted by old ripped chairs that probably violate health code standards due to the inability to properly disinfect ripped upholstery. The planetarium was still fun and my kids liked it. Nice little gift shop. No restaurant. But there is a beautiful outdoor courtyard with nice landscaping and a view. Perfect for a brown bag lunch or snack eating area (if it's nice outside).

My husband and I went just for the planetarium show. If you are a paying customer, you have to pay for the museum and the planetarium together, which for older adults, such as ourselves, would have been an exorbitant amount of money for a 45 minute show. Luckily, I had a free pass from our Albany region library system. This saved us $29 for a 45 minute show which was not very good. As others have noted, the room is small and the projectors are old. I thought the show was boring, and I can't imagine it being interesting to children. The women's bathroom was in need of an entire overhaul, and not just a good cleaning, although it could use that too. The children in the museum seemed to be enjoying themselves, so maybe this is just not a place for adults.

Good museum to take the kids (and grownups). Interesting exhibits and not too overwhelming. There are some hands on exhibits. Good source of research material if you are interested in GE

This was something I'd heard a lot about, and made sure to stop by the next time I was going to be in the NY capital district region (July 2013). I'd been to other planetariums and science museums, so I wasn't sure what I was going to get. The driveway seemed out-of-the-way, and the building small.The layout was very nicely done. The planetarium is in the center of the main portion, and the rest of the museum is around it. Since I'd signed up for two shows (an hour apart), there was plenty to keep me occupied during that time. Some of the exhibits were covered by a travelling dinosaur display, but the ones available were great examples of hand-on science learning. I watched a number of children and parents interact with the exhibits, which greatly enhanced the fun atmosphere of the place. There were giant interactive touch-screen computers, and a section on medical technology (like how a MRI works).Another high-mark for this is the local history aspect this has. From the prototype Mars rover done by RPI in the 1970s, the original broadcasts of the "Freddie Freihofer Show" (from the 1940s), to Thomas Edison's work here (and the creation of General Electric), that added value to the whole venue. One of the displays was the electric car developed by GE back in the 1970s, which was very interesting.The low-point was the actual planetarium. I can deal with the seats being frayed and worn, and the actual theatre being small (about 20-30 person maximum). The projection system was rather ancient, as it was a series of still-projectors positioned around the outer wall of the auditorium. If you're sitting in the center (as I was for my first show), the transitions between images are reasonably seamless. But if you're on the outer edges, the sounds of the clicks, whirs, and other noises of the projectors in operation is distracting (and sometimes overpowering) of the audio portion of the feature. A museum staff person does give a live planetarium show with the current constellations in the night sky, which added to both the entertainment and educational value.Overall, I enjoyed my visit here. While there's certainly some things which could be improved, there were a lot of things this place had right. The crowds flowed easily from one section to another, so it never felt too-packed or noisy. I recommend this should be seen by any locals, and is certainly worth being checked out by those visiting from out-of-town.

Basically the same when I was child--in 80's…Needs a major overhaul and modern upgrades.The constellation show still has Mr. Rogers from the 1970's….upgrade-upgrade-upgrade

My husband and I (our children are grown) came to kill some time one afternoon. The place is soooo much fun! We are both engineers, and totally appreciate the physics concepts that are being creatively introduced. I'm especially happy it was not crowded, and we joyfully scampered from display to display. We spent two hours just in the display area (we did not watch a planetarium show.) We had been to the San Francisco Exploratorium many years ago, and had a lot of fun then. These exhibits are from there, and are of extremely high quality. I think really young children will not appreciate the science, but probably ages six and up will have a blast!!

I visited this museum with my 8,11 & 15 year old children because a relative wanted to see the butterfly exhibit. The museum seems like it is mainly for younger children than my own but we still had a good time. There was enough to do to keep us busy for about 2 hours. The butterfly exhibit is small and didn't have a ton of butterflies during our visit but I'm sure that varies due to the season. The other exhibits were interesting - lots of hands on & also exhibits showcasing old record players, TVs, home appliances, etc. some of which my family had wen I was a child. We brought our lunch and that seemed to be OK as there is a table in the lobby and others were eating there. I don't know that we'll go again but it was a nice visit.

We went for a birthday party and saw the dinosaur exhibit. We returned a month or two later to see the train and toy exhibit. They keep things changing pretty well. The place is small and they rely on repeat visitors so they need to keep it fresh.The planetarium is good. I think I enjoyed that more than the kids did. That is a separate fee.A good amount of hands on stuff for the kids. The other exhibits were just okay.A family would spend about a hour and a half seeing the exhibits.If a good exhibit comes or the kids get excited about stars, we will go back.

My friends and stop by one day and it was like going back in time to see all of the things from the past. If you like history and like to look at old GE product's made from 1880 to modern day, you will love this place! It is run by all vollenteers.

This museum has been in Schenectady for a while but it seems with the new name and some little changes it has become a good place for kids and families to visit. The planetarium is excellent and very special- the museum is worth a visit if only for that. The museum has changing exhibits but there are always interactive and explorative activities for children. It is not a place to spend the whole day but for a few hours there is enough to entertain your little ones.

Took a 3 year old and a 2 year. There are a couple of good exhibits for kids, and the museum kept my kids entertained for a good hour and a half, but it's still not that impressive because the sandbox and a set of legos were pretty big hits. The museum is very small, and a large portion of the exhibits are high school science fair quality. It is very expensive for what you get - $28 for 2 adults and a 3 year old. If the museum is for adults, I would give this 1 star. Also, other reviews talk about dinosaurs and I saw some pictures of some large models of dinosaurs. I saw two small fossils. Maybe I missed something but there were no staff to speak trying to guide anyone.