Imaginarium Hands-On Museum

A few days ago we went there to go see the new fish tank created by the guys from Tanked. 12 $ per adult isn’t to bad to get in. We were there with family and a few kids so we were able to enjoy some of the kids activities. The tank was very cool and HUGE it’s quite the view and recommend to anyone in the area.

Combonation of a really terrible petting zoo and a terrible indoor playground. Some attractions didn’t work. They had 2 Xbox’s with Mine craft that my kids spent a good amount of time playing, but they have that at home. The live animal show had 3 animals. He did teach about the animals but it was a 15 minute show. We tried to squeeze our $ 40 out of the place but it was difficult. Gp to an actual aquarium or a real science center. Won’t be going back.

Soooooo not worth the money. If you are expecting a ’”science center”…look else where. Most of the center’s didn’t work. They did an animal show… with 2 whole animals. There was no one around to show or teach about anything… kids under 5 or 6 can’t read about Newtons laws of physics and can’t even learn about them when the experiments don’t work. It’s is basically an indoor play area… which my 8 year old is too old for and my 5 year old was barely interested in… and not with the $ 40 for a family of 4

Definitely would not come back. DO come here if you want the equivalent of a giant playplace for children — do NOT come here if you want a fantastic, thorough educational experience. Kids won’t notice the lack of science, however, if you just want a simple way to entertain your kids for a few hours.
Pros:
–Decent amounts of chair seating and whatnot for the adults to sit down while the kids play.
–Outdoor and indoor areas. The indoor areas seem to be nicely air conditioned.
–Basically a giant playplace for children. If you have a scientific background, you can probably explain some of these activities to your kids to get a good science lesson out of them. If you don’t have a background in that, the lack of information will mean you’ll have a hard time explaining some of the science behind things.
Cons:
–This place isn’t well-​loved. That’s the biggest problem with the entire place. All jokes aside, even with the current amount of funding that they do or do-​not receive, some decent TLC could turn this place from «meh» to «yay!» as far as a science center goes. A lot of the displays are missing any sort of educational information. I don’t expect most parents to know a ton about the science that the particular activity shows, and a small informational panel would go a long way towards helping parents help explain the toys and playthings as «science» instead of just «hey, roll this ball down a chute».
–Bathroom was out of paper towels and one of the sinks didn’t work.
–The entire gravity-​learning area seems to be based around using pool game balls. These balls seem to be difficult to find. Some of the gravity learning activities seem to be broken as well, so it means that it’s pretty difficult to actually figure out what the activity is supposed to show. Some of the displays aren’t entirely clear about what they’re trying to show, either.
–Most of the tanks in the fish room didn’t have the names of the fish or any information about the fish.
–The «Experience a Thunderstorm» activity was this really weird canopy with strobe lights, some lighting sounds through a speaker, bad-​smelling fog, and some rain walls. It was… different and honestly more of a joke than a good addition. Anyone who’s ever been outside will laugh at it.
–The «Be a Weatherman!» experience requires that you agree to terms that allow the center and the application developers to use your footage however they want for any marketing purposes. Ew.
–ALL of the electronic exhibits were broken in some way or another. The microscope displays in the Nano-​room had «Application Has Stopped Functioning» warnings all over it. The Aquarium areas screens both showed that the anti-​virus software needed to be updated — which covered up any of the educational aspect that it was supposed to show. The XBox Drawing game tablet wouldn’t work at all.
–There were no instructions on how to use some of the displays or the video games they had on display.
–The «be an excavator» exhibit was basically out of sand. There was no «excavating» to be done.
–Alligator tank seems way too small for the alligator that it holds. It’s not even as wide as the alligator is.
–The «Feed the Stingray» experience was fun and… maybe? worth the $ 3. It *could* have been really great, but the employee that was in charge of it said literally 4 sentences — wash the hands beforehand, how much food you get for the ticket you bought, and how to hold the food to give it to the sting rays. There wasn’t any particular information about how sting rays or how they exist in the wild, or, well, anything.
Like I said, most of the cons would have been easily fixed with a staff that really cared or some knowledgeable staff that could write up explanations. It’s not a *huge* matter of funding.

If it rains or you need a break from the sun, the Imaginarium is a solid option. Obviously, it is no match for a big city museum/​science center with the benefit of extensive private, corporate, and government funding and local academic institutions, but we wouldn’t expect it to be! We thought they did a very nice job with their limited resources! (We have not visited the Children’s Museum in Naples for comparison.)
Yes, it shows signs of wear as many others have pointed out. If your children only plays with things that are shiny and new, they will be disappointed. My daughter (6yrs/​1^st grade) had 3.5 hours of fun and didn’t even notice!
Tip 1: Bring your own snacks. There’s not much to the café, and the food is not healthy.
Tip 2: Bring your home Children’s Museum and/​or Science Center Membership card for reciprocity. We got in for $ 1 each!
Tip 3: Maybe not a good choice for toddlers. That area was dirty. I would have been hesitant to use it with mouth-​explorers.

Totally a place for kids! I came here on a rainy day with my new husband while on our honeymoon, not knowing this fact. We actually had a pretty good time though, & I bright home a couple of Venus fly traps lol

Awesome place. Our 20 month son had a blast. So did we. Glad we found this place on a rainy day.

Had a rainy day while on vacation so family decided to stop by the Imaginarium. It was a lot of fun. Hands on exhibits, animals and reptiles to look at and touch. A koi pond that allowed for feeding. The kids and adults in our party all enjoyed themselves. Ended up spending about two hours here and at about $ 10/​person I would consider it a good value.

Don’t waste your money. This is such a run down place and its dirty. My kids were bored after 30 minutes. I took my kids to the children’s museum in Naples and it was well worth the money. The food was not too pricey but definitely did not look appetizing. We went on a rainy day and we tried to make it fun but the kids were just not having it. Also the area of Fort Myers where it’s located is kind of shady so we are never going back. We went to the 3D movie and it was OK but still didn’t make up for the fact the place hasn’t been really updated since the 90s. Don’t come here.

So awesome, had hours of fun with my younger brother and sister. Got to feed the stingrays, the idea area was good for both adults and kids. Didn’t get to see the 3D movie because we had missed the 1:30 one and the next one started at 3:00. Any way super cool!

We visited while on vacation from CT. Admission was free and easy with reciprocity for our local membership to our Discovery Science Museum. The exhibits were fun and all functional. Great for a couple of hours with the kids.

Rainy day during spring break with two kids. Decided to go to Imaginarium because we had free admission with our home science museum membership. Like others have commented, lots of the displays were out of order. The touch-​tank had a couple starfish and empty seashells. The rays were in a separate tank, surrounded by a plastic fence.
Our kids enjoyed the displays that were open, and would have stayed longer than the 90 minutes we were there if they weren’t hungry…

Great place for the kids my son is 5 and my daughter is one and a half there was a lot of things to do they touch the Stingrays, there was a theater walking around outside, feeding the fish definitely a place to go back again

Like it says good for kids 5 and under but other than that it really isn’t worth the money. Quant little place that needs a little help. Few things were closed down for repairs others needed some work. All in all it killed some time and a little of my wallet. Train museum is better and cheaper.

The computers were down so we were let in for «free.» Too bad we already paid for a combo pass at the Southwest Florida History Museum (5 stars — much better choice for a hot or rainy day!) Seems like everything at the Imaginarium needs an update/​revamp.
The touch tank and another tank inside the animal room were closed. I felt bad for the one prairie dog alone in a glass case and the small shark swimming in a cloudy tank. The Hurricane Experience is only every hour so factor that into your tour, although it sounds like we didn’t miss much based on the other reviews.
The Penguin movie was the best part of our visit even though it wasn’t in 3-​D (no glasses) as all of the signs stated.
Might be worth a one-​time visit to let your kids run around and touch things if you have nothing else to do — and a coupon — but it’s not a must see.

My two year old loved this place! It was not full when we came so we had a lot of room to move around. The exhibits are fun for adults too, but the best for us was the large play room for our two year old. Lots of activities from dress up and pretend to mechanical machines.

Great spot for kids under 5 that need to get out of the house for the afternoon. Staff is very nice and food is good.

The Imagination is a good place for rainy afternoons or other times when you don’t want to be outside. The animal show is fun and a chance for braver kids to hold snakes, and other creatures. The touch tank and turtle features outside are nice. The exhibit hall could use some updating, as could the area upstairs. Although my kids enjoy acting as a newscaster and sending it to our email. I think the family pass is a good value because it allows us to pop over and spend an hour or so. I probably wouldn’t be happy with the value if I paid on a per visit basis. My kids, who are 5 & 8 are entertained enough for us to come every 6+8 weeks.
Not as up-​to-​date as other children’s museums but still a fun place.

I’m sorry, but just not worth the money. $ 8 just for our 3 year old plus $ 24 for hubby & I. Our son loved getting to touch everything, but about 40% of the exhibits weren’t really kid appropriate (too advanced or not interactive), and most of the rest just didn’t hold his attention. The biggest draw for him was probably the Touch Tank. And if you wanna feed the rays and crabs, you have to pay $ 3 for 3 tiny pieces of cut up fish.
We’re local & I firmly believe that if this place gets ANY of our tax dollars, it is another example of how the government wastes money. This will be our one and only visit.

This must be where fun comes to die and where children come to realize their childhood is over. However, the Imaginarium is aptly named because you’d have to use your imagination to find anything remotely interesting in this place.
My wife kept begging me to go with her to this place, «Please! We can pet stingwrays and it’ll be fun!» I expected a children’s museum but what we experienced was more of a graveyard for children’s museums. On our first visit we were told about all the fun and amazing things we would find inside by the woman at the front desk. Unfortunately the museum was about to close. So we returned on another Saturday for the touch tank, the hurricane room, the thunderstorm simulator, and various wild creatures on display. I had doubts but Imaginarium was so much worse than I could have… imagined.
The Hurricane Room — I am not exaggerating when I say this is only a box you stand in with a fan blowing. By Imaginarium standards my bedroom is a hurricane simulator.
The Thunderstorm Simulator — Is a pad you stand on while a recording of thunder plays, water runs down a Plexiglas wall, and a smoke machine emits foul smelling steam.
There was a fake news room where one could pretend to be a reporter… it was out of order.
The Touch Tank — We pet a stingwray. It’s even less exciting than it sounds.
Animals in the wildlife room — It’s a pet store where noting is for sale. There were some tiny alligators and a nurse shark but other than that it was all the excitement of visiting PetSmart. Oh, and the signs that read, «Do not tap on glass» should say, «I bet you won’t, wimp!» Kinds POUND on the glass which is luckily ten inches thick. Everything about Imaginarium is simply depressing.
You can experience everything above for the low price of $ 14 per person. I can’t ‘imaginarium’ they get repeat customers. I can’t ‘imaginarium’ they can stay in business.