Challenger Space Center

This was extremely boring not worth the drive here. Would have expected a little more being about space and nasa.
Boring boring

Not at all what I expected. There wasn’t much to look at at all. My 5 year old had fun playing with the blocks but other than that, she was asking if we were done yet. I think the most interesting part was when you walk in from outside and it shows you real life distance from the sun. I’m happy I had a groupon and didn’t pay full price

A memorial to the Challenger crew — facility is tired, needs dressing up. Basically a collection of photographs on the walls and flight badges. Empty class rooms and many locked doors. The bottom floor filled with giant building blocks was the best part for the kids. A full day in a mock training situation would probably be interesting.

Very disappointed in the space center. Most exhibits you were not allowed to enter or not working. The people working were elderly and I’m sure volunteers but they were not helpful to provide any information. We went, we saw and will not go again. Do t waste your money. You can find better information on Google.

Pretty weak museum.
We went to the public library to get culture passes which allow 2 free entrances.
The museum really doesn’t have anything to offer. There are a few interesting pictures on the wall and a few models of the challenger but really nothing else to see or do.
They have a few computers with Microsoft flight simulator so you can do some loops and rolls on the computer before you leave.
I wouldn’t waste my time or money coming back here and I certainly wouldn’t recommend this as a fun Phoenix activity.

About 7 years ago we went here on a school field trip. Generally the exhibits were ok and represented the mid-​1990s space program well. Coming again in 2016 one thinks this is a time capsule of old 1990s TV’s, three control panel exhibits that were out of order, the central rotunda that was comprised of filthy blue foam building blocks, and thoroughly mediocre classroom areas.
Others points that are unacceptable for a contemporary museum/​science education center:
* Don’t say astronauts take the space shuttle to the moon.
* A wall of patches is useless without context, guides need to provide some story and context. Get kids excited.
* The space simulator is decrepit — the launch video is barely audible, and looks like an old VCR recording. Likewise the ‘overhead pothole windows’ that used to show and Stars are showing a PowerPoint error message.
* Pictures are matted to foam core and on the wall with pins. Overall just sad and evident of long term under investment.
* In the drawing room, the instructor read from a solar system chart with very old information. Our first graders had a better understanding of planets and their moons than the instructor.
* The ‘light room’ is a wonderland of cords, chairs, miscellaneous light bulbs and a plasma static electricity orb. The instructor was abysmal at explaining any of it, and resorted to rambling on about colors on light after passing out the prism glasses. Again an activity with no context. So weird.
I love space travel /​exploration, but Challenger Space Center does little to excite and inspire. Arizona can do better took honor the crew of the Challenger and drive interest and education in human space travel.

I was so amped to come here because I’m an astronomy nerd. I was extremely let down. I would not recommend this to anyone or will ever return. If you like to look at patches and pictures that is what you will see. Very disappointed.

My 10 year old and I will not be going back even though we have a membership and given 2 free space missions. Most of the exhibits were out of order and the others were not well marked and at eye level for kids and not made interesting. Way to make science unfriendly Challenger! Staff not knowledgeable, sound system horrible not able to hear or understand the star talk in the rotunda. The outside vendors that had telescopes for the star gazing were the only good part. Very disappointed.

FILTHY! UNORGANIZED!!!
This place went downhill compared with when we visited last year. We went for the Homeschool Day on October 9, 2015, and it was disappointing overall. While last year they offered 1 to 2 hour classes for the kids at an extra cost, there were none available this year, so it didn’t seem as informative. The schedule seemed put together at the last minute.
I had some questions, so I emailed and left a message for S. Schuck before Homeschool Day, but she/​he never returned my messages. When I phoned back one final time, the guy who answered had no clue about Homeschool Day.
For Homeschool Day, they were supposed to hold a free class on information about comets and how to make them, and then let the kids make a comet themselves. When no teacher showed up after 15 minutes, I called the front desk and they had no clue that no employee was there teaching the class. A few minutes later a female employee walked into the room and said that she was just told that she was teaching the class, but she had to look for materials. After about 5 more minutes, she «taught» the class like this: She put dry ice in a big garbage bag and hit it with a hammer, then she added window cleaner, pounded some more, and ureka… the comet is made. That was it! What a waste of time!!!
In the STEM room, it looked like not much thought was put into the experiments; several of them did not work.
Also, the place was FILTHY, especially the café, such as it was. All of the tables chairs, counters, and floor were filthy.

This is such an interesting place that I had never seen advertised — we actually stumbled on it reading an article on what you can do with your kids in the area and my daughter loves it. I was impressed at the meteor exhibit and how much history is in this place. I highly recommend it, especially if your kids are into space, stars, planets, etc… it’s the type of place that’s equally good and interesting for adults… either could enjoy it very much. Highly recommend going after hours when they have family star gazing — that was amazing with the high powered telescopes set up to see all the planets as well as a view of the sun you just never get to see.

If I didn’t have to I wouldn’t even give this a one star rating. We went on a Saturday and were incredibly disappointed! The place appeared rundown, the exhibits were very poor, no explanations, some were made by middle school kids, interactive exhibits were not working and many were closed. We attended the Liquid Nitrogen show where the demonstrator and his assistant (spouse) were baby sitting their unruly 3 or 4 year old kid who was running around and shouting out during the show. The demonstrator was clearly not a scientist and did not know what he was doing. He did not explain why things were happening, and did not relate it to space. He was acting more like a show off than a demonstrator. He did not even get the facts correct, for example he stated more than once that the air was 70% nitrogen and in fact it is 78%!!!
The café appeared closed, and the bathrooms were filthy and it appeared that it hadn’t been cleaned in some time!
I paid an $ 8 entrance fee, traveled over 20 miles one way to get there, and spent less than an hour at the place. I felt very ripped off. I would not recommend this for anyone of any age group.

If I could give it no stars I would. We got a Groupon and thought it would be a good family thing. Umm nope!!! Kids were bored. Extremely disappointed!

Admittedly, I’m stunned at the one and two star reviews.
We took our 7-​yr old twins on a Saturday and it was a wonderful experience! There four things that really made it a good day: the two demonstrations (how comets are formed and the similarities between electromagnetic fields and electricity), the building blocks area and a Lego room where kids were building and racing cars (although I’m not sure what that has to do with space exploration.)
The little exhibits of meteor examples, Lego murals, space shuttle parts, pictures and stories of astronauts, and the overall layout were cool as well.
I can’t figure out why they have a 3^rd floor observatory — which is just the elevator to the roof, but oh well.
We’ll definitely go back. The kids loved it. Even I asked a few questions during the demonstrations…

What a waste of 10 bucks! No joke this place is outright awful! I seriously considered asking for a refund. I was expecting so much more. Everything is locked, really only two levels and very small, we where in and out in 20 mins. maybe if you have children that are easily amuzed they might find it fun. Not a place for adults. Staff however was welcoming. Will not be going back. Seriously save your money you’ve been warned.

Inexpensive but the place is small. Not a lot to see and do. Café is also under construction.

This place is not very good. The staff is not very knowledgable & didn’t really know what was going on. I was expecting much more out of this place. Website says «3 stories» really only 2 levels. There is not really any interactive things to do, it’s just a lot of reading. I would not recommend this place to anyone.

My seven year old and his friend enjoyed it immensely, but he is easily pleased. The giant blocks and the chance to run around unimpeded are all he needs.
Pros: The rest of us enjoyed the large display of cool patches from all the missions. The huge mural and other art was cool. We all liked the Lego murals. We had the Culture Passes from the library so only had to pay for one person.
Cons: The displays were old and neglected, there was no technology from THIS century evident anywhere. There was no staff in sight except at the gift shop and for the camp. If you don’t sign up for a tour or camp I guess you don’t rate. There were many many locked doors. One briefing room door was open but when we peeked in a bunch of guys just looked at us unfriendly-​like so we left.

I really really really wanted to like this place. Thank god I got a free pass from Phoenix Public Library. Otherwise I believe it would have been a complete waste of time.
Driving up the place looks really cool. Nice building. Then you get inside. Nice gift shop and very nice old couple working there. That is where this place ends. No joke. Few pictures on the wall. Old Windows XP computers hooked up to an outdated computer program about space. A makeshift cockpit about the size of a cars dashboard. A dark room with a cheap projector showing planets. Same kind of gimmick they do at local malls where kids can kick or move the projected images. Some cheap models of airplanes on the way to the bathroom. No joke the kind you find at Hobby Lobby. Offices for workers. And the bottom floor is random building blocks. Thats it. I am not joking. You are done in 10 mins. If the little guy we took wasn’t entertained by the building foam blocks we would have been out of that place in 10 mins. I can’t believe they actually charge for this place. I have seen more interesting bathrooms at high end hotels. Sad.
You have been warned.

Really fun stop to take the kids. They have a summer camp and many nights they have special events where star you can gaze at the star during special events such as a night where Saturn is in view.

I found this place via my entertainment coupon book and remembered the Challenger accident when I was small. The museum is a great monument to the amazing astronauts that died in the crash. It really makes a difference if you get the tour, it adds so much more to the experience.
I really enjoyed myself here and would go back again.