Seattle's Child

Your guide to a kid-friendly city

science center is open

The butterflies are back! So are the dinosaurs, the planetarium and the live science shows. (Photo courtesy of Pacific Science Center)

Pacific Science Center is back open in Seattle; here’s what to know

What you can do, and how to get a discount on admission!

Pacific Science Center is open!

After a two-year-plus pandemic closure, the popular attraction and Seattle landmark reopened Thursday, July 6 (2022). It will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last admission at 4 p.m.) Pro tip: Buy tickets in advance online and get a 20% discount!

Visitors will find old favorites and new features at the science center, located within Seattle Center.

  • The Tropical Butterfly House lets people wander through a habitat featuring more than 1,000 butterflies plus tropical plants.
  • Explore space with immersive Planetarium shows three times a day.
  • Build and invent to your heart’s content in the expanded Tinker Tank Makerspace.
  • Everybody loves to journey through time in the walk-through dinosaur exhibit.
  • Laser Dome shows are now included with admission (timed tickets required, though).
  • TheĀ Live Science Stage is back, as are new and updated “augmented reality” exhibits.
  • In a new feature, Water’s Extreme Journey, visitors go on a maze-style adventure in the quest for clean water.

 

Science center is open: details

Here’s how to buy tickets in advance. A 24-hour advance purchase gets you a discount, so a youth (ages 3-17) ticket will be $17.95 instead of $19.95 and an adult (18-65) ticket will be $22.95 (instead of $27.97)

IMAX shows are extra. The reopening will feature “Dinosaurs of Antarctica 3D” and “Into America’s Wild 3D.” “Thor: Love and Thunder” is coming soon.

Important to know: The Denny Way entrance is closed. Access to the science center is via the North Entrance, inside Seattle Center near the Armory and the Mural Amphitheater. Here’s a map.

 

Pacific Science Center is a longtime independent, not-for-profit institution. When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down many in-person facilities and activities, the science center offered extensive digital and virtual programs. It also temporarily, partially reopened last winter with a special exhibit on hockey.

More things to do in Seattle’s Child:

Seattle Children’s Museum reopens with new features

Route 66: your guide to summer fun, 2022

About the Author

Julie Hanson

Julie Hanson is a longtime journalist, South King County resident and mom to a 16-year-old girl.