McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center - Concord, New Hampshire

Kristen R.

My maiden name is McAuliffe (no relation) and my son is going through a huge space and rocket phase, so when I heard about this museum a few weeks ago I figured we had to check it out! We spent about 3 hours there, I thought it was great for a preschooler. Nice and quiet, tons of hands-on activities. A few things weren’t working but were very clearly labeled as such so that didn’t really bother me. Definitely a little dated but it’s obvious they care and are working on improving what they can. It was extremely clean, bathrooms included. It was too hot to spend much time on the playground but it’s brand new and looks wonderful! My space loving little guy had tons of fun. We will definitely be back.

Lisa N.

We were here for a school trip, and my kid had tons of fun. He wants to go back again when it's just us and he can take his time with his favorite exhibits!

Carlos B.

We went for a birthday party and it was great. Cute show in the planetarium and the center has lots of fun hands on experiences for kids. Easy to manage place for a family with kids. Elevator and easy access for strollers and wheelchairs. Definitely recommend it.

Sergio Y.

I absolutely recommend it, It is small but excellent, don't forget to get the planetarium, It is a lot of information and very friendly employees

Thierry C.

Great place for school ages kids. As an adult and not knowing what it was I expected more of a museum type attraction.

If you are visiting the area with school aged kids and weather prevents outside activities… this would be a good stop to keep them busy for an hour or two.

Rebecca F.

Although we are New Hampshire residents, we had not visited before. The staff at the front desk was informative, fun and kind. While there, we observed staff cleaning throughout the day.
There is an observation deck, and we were able to look at the sun through a telescope. The volunteer gentleman was incredibly knowledgeable! He was very kind & told us many interesting things.
Our very favorite portion of the day was the show in the planetarium! Unfortunately there was a large group watching the show at the same time as us, and they were incredibly loud, and had to be shushed multiple times. They came in late & the staff had to correct them on seating & shush them. The show was mesmerizing & so informative. We loved it!
The price to get in does not include the show, you pay separately. I thought the price was decent, for 2 tickets to the museum & 2 for the planetarium show we spent 33 dollars.
There is a small gift shop, there wasn't a good variety. It's small, but they do have astronaut ice cream.
There is a small area where food is prepared & sold. We did not look at the prices, or try any food. We did observe others eating there.
Overall great trip, some items are a little dated but we would definitely go back!

Sydney B.

We held our annual Barrister's Ball for UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law at the Discovery Center, and had an amazing time "Among the Stars" (the event theme). Kellee was incredibly accommodating and helpful throughout the planning and execution for our event, and it turned out beautifully. We would recommend the Discovery Center without hesitation for any kind of event!

Danielle M.

Not worth the money. I went with 3kids ages 5,4,2 they was done less then a hour. My kids was ready to go about 20min into it. Nothin for kids to do. I would have spent the extra 20 dollars to go to the Boston museum. A lot of things was out of order. I wouldn’t even give them a 1star