Science World with Kids: Galleries by Age, the Science Park and a Day on False Creek

The galleries by age

• Babies to age 5: Wonder. A gallery only for children 5 and under and their grown-ups, designed with child-development experts. There's water play at Splash (a water table, water jets and a slate wall to paint with water), plus areas for light, crawling, climbing and building, a quiet room for nursing and a child-sized washroom.
• Ages 4 to 8: Eureka! Physics you can push, bounce and splash: a ceiling-high water chute, a plasma ball, pneumatic tubes and an airflow wall that shoots balls up through clear pipes. Expect to be dragged back more than once.
• Ages 5 to 10: Search. The natural history gallery: crawl through a beaver lodge, touch animal skulls, meet STAN the T. rex and look for the stick insect. In the geology corner, kids can play a tune on a stone lithophone, an instrument made of rock.
• Ages 7 and up: Tinkering Space. Build with thousands of wooden KEVA planks and join the daily tinkering activities. Space is limited, so go early if you have a keen builder.
• Ages 8 and up: Puzzles and Illusions, and Creative Technology. Brain teasers and optical illusions (try the famously hard "T Time" puzzle), and a digital gallery where kids make their own animation, currently themed on the cartoon Molly of Denali.
• BodyWorks suits all ages, but note that its "Where Do I Come From" section has frank images and talk about reproduction and childbirth.
• Feature exhibition: a big touring exhibition changes a few times a year. Check what's on, and whether it's included in your ticket, on the official site.

The outdoor science park

The Ken Spencer Science Park is an outdoor gallery beside the dome, included with admission and open seasonally (roughly spring to early November; check the dates). Kids can watch a gardening robot plant and water a garden bed, explore the wetlands and a mountain-stream area, and catch a live outdoor stage show about pressure, weather permitting.

It's a good break when little ones need fresh air, and a reason to visit on a dry day too. Check the official site for this year's dates and show times.

Tickets and busy times

• No need to book ahead. Timed tickets have ended; you can buy online or at the door. Online sales take credit cards only, and all sales are final. Tickets
• Children 2 and under are free, and so are Indigenous visitors. A family membership pays off after a few visits if you're staying longer.
• Busiest times: weekends, school holidays and rainy days, when half the city has the same idea. Arrive when the doors open and do the most popular galleries first.
• Opening hours change with the season, and members get early entry. Check the official site for the day you're going.
• The OMNIMAX theatre is closed. The big dome theatre has been out of action for years while the dome is repaired, though some older guides and ticket sites still mention it.

Good to know

• Food: there's food inside (check what's open on the day), and plenty more around False Creek and Olympic Village.
• Getting there: Main Street–Science World SkyTrain station is across the street, the seawall runs past the door, and the Aquabus and False Creek Ferries stop nearby. Parking is paid.
• Lockers can be rented for coats and bags.

Make a day of it on False Creek

Next to the dome, Creekside Park has one of the city's biggest playgrounds, with a climbing tower, a tube slide, swings, musical instruments and a 22-metre zipline. It's free, and the perfect reward after a morning of science.

From there, hop on one of the little ferries that loop around False Creek (the Aquabus and False Creek Ferries both run every day, rain or shine) and ride to Granville Island for lunch at the Public Market and the Kids Market; see our Granville Island with kids guide. On a dry day you can walk or bike the seawall instead. For a fully indoor day, our rainy day in Vancouver plan starts right here.

Make it a game

A Play Your Trip book turns your day on False Creek into an adventure: every stop a quest with a coin to collect, every place one tap from the map. Make your Vancouver book or play the demo.