It took me a while to understand what the museum’s name meant. It’s both a museum on the history of Rochester and a science museum. The nature exhibits are quite impressive with everything from taxidermy penguins to a full skeleton of a mammoth woolly mammoth.
The hands-on science exhibits are aimed at children, but adults can still learn so much from them. Among many excellent exhibits, there is an earthquake simulator with video screen showing what happens during an earthquake, a vortex machine that makes a six-foot tall tornado inside a tube of water, a cloud maker that blows vapour out of tiny holes, and a wind fan that lets visitors feel what strong storms are like.
The history exhibits were a little all over the place. The section on Native American history covered regions from the Pacific Northwest to the Atlantic coast. It would have been more engaging if they had focused just on the culture and history of peoples in the specific area in upstate New York, where they have deeper expertise.
I think one of the most popular exhibits must be the dinosaur one. There are several remote-controlled dinosaurs that move on command. There’s also a little sandbox for pretend excavation. But for kids, I still recommend prioritizing the Strong National Museum of Play over this.
