Heading up to the Arizona Science Center for the day? You've come to the right place!
Based in Downtown Phoenix, the Arizona Science Center is a huge 164,000 square-foot building that is walkable to and from the Phoenix Convention Center, the Phoenix Children's Museum, and Heritage Square.
CREATE® at Arizona Science Center is a separate 6,500 square-foot makerspace (which has a separate entrance, but is adjacent to the main science center). The makerspace provides fee-based workshops on topics like 3D printing, laser cutting, woodworking, and sewing.
CREATE is currently closed due to COVID-19.
The Arizona Science Center is located in Downtown Phoenix. The address is 600 E. Washington Street, Phoenix AZ 85004.
Depends on what part of Tucson you are departing from. A safe estimate is approximately 2 hours.
Hotels to consider include:
Arizona Science Center, formerly the Arizona Museum of Science & Technology, was conceived in 1980 as a pilot science center by The Junior League of Phoenix. It opened as a small 10,000-square-foot space in 1984 in the parking garage level of the downtown Phoenix Hyatt.
Thanks to support from the City of Phoenix and its residents, construction began on the current building in Heritage and Science Park in the winter of 1993, and opened on April 17, 1997. There has not been a major remodel since 1997.
In the first year of operation, more than 87,000 guests visited the Center. Today, the Center serves over a half million students, teachers, and families annually.
General Admission
Planetarium
Giant Screen
* Note: Sky Cycle is no longer in operation.
Educators
Looking for time to explore the Science Center without the chaperoning duties? Here's your chance! Arizona Science Center offers free membership to educators. Use these visits to familiarize yourself with our exhibits, prepare for an upcoming field trip, and see previews of upcoming Irene P. Flinn Theater films and Dorrance Planetarium presentations!
Senior Sundays
Indulge your youthful spirit on the first Sunday of every month. Seniors ages 62 and older receive FREE general admission to the Science Center! Please bring your driver's license, passport, or identification card with you on the day of your visit.
Active Duty Military
Arizona Science Center is proud to be a Blue Star Museum. As participants in this program, the museum features a very special benefit for all active-duty military personnel. Each year, beginning Armed Forces Day through Labor Day, general admission tickets to the Center are FREE for active duty personnel and up to five (5) family members.
Qualifying Active Duty Personnel:
This offer also extends to National Guardsmen (regardless of status), U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps, and up to five (5) family members.
Qualified members must show a Geneva Convention common access card (CAC), DD Form 1173 ID Card (dependent ID), or a DD Form 1173-1 ID card for entrance under this program. To reserve your tickets, please call 602-716-2028.
Museums For All
Arizona Science Center has joined the Museums for All program, which extends discounted general admission to EBT cardholders through SNAP or TANF who are 18 years of age or older. A current EBT card and a valid photo ID must be presented during check-in. Cardholders receive general admission for $3 per person for themselves and up to three others upon presentation of their EBT card at the Admission Zone.
This benefit is only valid during regular daytime hours and cannot be used for separate ticketed special events or combined with any other offer/discount or applied to advance or pre-purchased tickets. Admission is not transferable, redeemable for cash, or exchangeable for any other products or services. To reserve your tickets, please call 602.716.2028 or email [email protected].
The Arizona Science Center offers a free educator membership for K-12 teachers and homeschooling parents in Arizona.
Visitors are asked to park in the Heritage and Science Park Garage on 5th Street and Monroe Street. Arizona Science Center offers parking validation, which discounts the cost of parking. Parking validation is available at the Information Zone, General Admission, and the Membership Zone.
*Arizona Science Center offers parking validation for guests. The first hour is free, and each additional hour costs $1. Without validation, parking in the Heritage and Science Park Garage costs $12.
The Arizona Science Center is (mostly) indoors with heating in the winter and air-conditioning in the summer.
Water bottles. Possibly a picnic lunch. See below for details about dining options.
There are four restrooms total in Arizona Science Center. Three are on the first floor: one between the membership check-in desk and the gift shop, one behind the Daniel Cracchiolo Demonstration Stage, and one in the easternmost area of the All About Me gallery. The last restroom is on the third floor inside the Forces of Nature gallery.
CREATE at Arizona Science Center has one main restroom location in the lobby, approximately 20 feet from the CREATE information desk.
The Science Center is the least crowded after 2:00pm on weekdays. School groups and summer camps come in the mornings. The Center is the most crowded on the weekend.
There are currently four shows playing in the Dorrance Planetarium at the Arizona Science Center. The schedule typically changes every few months and there are generally between four and five shows playing at a time.
Arizona Science Center's 280–seat Irene P. Flinn Theater runs two to three films daily on their five–story screen.
Feel free to pack a lunch! Visitors to the Science Center can eat in the lunchroom off the lobby, on the 4th floor APS Solar Terrace, or outside of the building in Heritage Square (there is a big green "hill" as well as a few benches around Heritage Square).
Yes! Bean Sprouts, located in the Science Center, provides "hip and healthy food options for families, with a fresh and creative approach to fun, tasty, and guilt–free meals." The menu includes organic coffees, teas, and smoothies, gourmet sandwiches ($8-$10), pizzas ($7-$8), and imaginative kids' snacks ($3-$7). Arizona Science Center members receive a 10% discount at Bean Sprouts with their membership cards.
You’re in luck! There are gads of terrific restaurants in the Downtown Phoenix area that are walkable from the Arizona Science Center. Try:
All ages! You'll see new babies in carriers, as well as older adults.
As is the case with most museums and science centers, children who are able to read will get the most benefit out of the exhibits.
* Ages 3+ will probably enjoy the planetarium shows the most. Babies and toddlers are certainly welcome, but they may be frightened by the darkness. That said, you can always exit during the show if your baby is crying or restless. Note that once you exit, the doors lock behind you and you will not be able to re-enter.
Sure. The center is large enough to warrant the use of a stroller if you have a little one. Elevators are available for easy navigation with a stroller between the four floors.
Yes.
Yes. There is a Family Restroom located on the first floor near the Membership Desk. It is labeled as a “Quiet Room” and has seating inside. For entry, ask someone at the Membership Desk for the key.
While pets are not allowed, certified service animals are always welcome in Arizona Science Center and CREATE.
Yes. A variety of spaces can be tailored for cocktail parties, wedding ceremonies, receptions, and anniversaries. Please call to inquire about dates and fees.
Yes! "Arizona Science Center invites children of all ages to celebrate their birthdays while learning a thing or two about science! Enjoy a private decorated room, pizza, a personal demo including liquid nitrogen, bottle rockets, or oobleck and so much more!"
There are three packages available - Scientist Party Package, Explorer Party Package, and CREATE Party Package.
Yes! You can follow the Arizona Science Center on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram.
