Arizona Science Center

The kids will also enjoy this popular science museum (602/716-2000, www.azscience.org, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. daily, $9, kids under 12 $7), which has more than 300 hands-on exhibits, a planetarium (undergoing remodeling, which started in late 2007), and an IMAX theater.

There are displays on water and how we use it, and on all the disparate parts and technologies that go into the typical single-family home. There are also really good exhibits on the human body and the brain; and handson displays about gravity and other natural forces, geology, and other earth sciences. There’s a unique and eye-opening exhibit on various kinds of networks, and an interactive display about music and how it works.

There are a few exhibits that are somewhat Arizonaspecific, but most of the museum is general and geared toward kids.  On a weekday during school hours you’re liable to run into a rowdy school tour group.

The science center hosts several traveling shows each year, which are typically the most interesting and worthwhile exhibits to see. Check the website before traveling to see what’s in town; recent popular traveling exhibitions featured artifacts from the Titanic and the bones of dinosaurs that once roamed the desert, back when it wasn’t a desert at all.