A GREAT place to see. The exhibits are very nice. There is volunteer work so you can learn about and actually get to clean up real bones!

This place is amazing. There is so much to do and explore. Staff was extremely knowledgeable about all the exhibits. I didnt get to explore everything because theres just so much to do. Its a great place to learn about the history of our area and very educational for families of all ages. Awesome day

Fun small location to take the family. Good history and exhibits. Small crafts for kids to do. Woman at the front desk wasnt the most friendly so make sure you ask any questions because its like they assume you have been there before and dont actually greet you.

I go to school here and it is really good! I like going to school here everyday and hanging out with my friends and learning a lots of cool new stuff from English, to science, they have it all! Take your kid here too! The museum is very nice and cool! The little ones would love it here! Also on weekends they have special events sometimes. So I recommend to take your Kid here for school, or Just have a great time at out museum!

A wonderful experience supported with a friendly and professional staff. We will be sure to return!

Went to the old fashioned Christmas at the museum. Got to see old hen at city engine number 2 that I rode on when I was Explorer scout museum was awesome will definitely go back again

The museum is kind of small, but being local to the area, I love taking my children here. It gives them an educational and engaging outing, and they are always happy with the changing exhibits. What I especially love is the fact that the annual membership is so cheap for the family, and it gives us free access to other museums that are part of the ASTC. We have taken advantage of our access to a couple museums in Arizona, the Fleet Science Center, the Natural History Museums in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and San Diego. To top it off, I get a teacher discount and also added the Smithsonian membership, which gives us a subscription to the magazine as well as access to the Smithsonian affiliates. With my 10% teacher discount, I was able to get all of this for only $69 for the entire year for a family of 6. I would not only recommend a visit to the Western Science Center, but definitely a membership too!

So much fun! Learned so much about the diamond valley lake and the creatures that used to roam where we live.

Pretty fun and not super crowded. Perfect for young curious minds and special senses exhibit that is hands on for younger kids. We even got to make our own fossils

Full skeleton Mammoth and Giant Sloths towering over your head, plus Saber tooth Tiger fossils all locally found while excavating Diamond Valley Lake Reservoir.Beautiful presentation.

This was very informative. I took my kids and my 2 nieces ages ranges from 17, 13, 7, and 4. They all had a good time and we all learned something new. It was interesting and the theater was really cool. I would definitely go back and the staff was so helpful and friendly.

Great exhibits but very small, the archaeological dig exhibit for kids was fun. You get to make your own fossils out of clay as well.

This is a lovely museum in Hemet Ca, not far from Temecula. We took our 6 year grandson and 2 year old grand daughter there who were visiting from Washington State.This is a small museum compared to La Brea, however, there are a lot of displays that will exceed your expectation.The cost is nominal and parking is free. There is also a circular theater room that provides a movie on the prehistoric animals that existed here. It is focused on prehistoric mammals - though they also display some dinosaur era horned dinos.They have a few hands-on displays. They used to have a hands-on paleontology type display for kids, and that seems to longer exist there when we visited. However, they have other hands-on displays and fun projects for kids.The discoveries have come from when they had originally excavated the Diamond Valley Lake water reservoir. This museum is a gem to be discovered and definitely worth the visit. My grandson who is really into prehistoric animals just loved it.Researchers from the Western Science Center recently discovered a new species of mastodon. It is the Pacific mastodon (Mammut pacificus) - a 10,000 year old fossil, named Max.” It is the largest mastodon species found in California, researchers said. This was publicly announced in 2019.A new species of mastodon in North America has not been named in over 50 years. So this museum is still a very active in paleontology research.The are also on facebook and you can see what special programs and displays are also being offered.I recommend a visit.

The museum was very interesting. The exhibits are great for kids, but seem more appropriate for kids 4 and older. You can make a clay fossil to take home, and the staff are very friendly. I would definitely recommend visiting more than once.

Was great seeing the displays, interactive exhibits and a great gift of education in the area. First time at a museum for my 6 year old grand daughter.

My family loves the Western Science Center. A great place to spend some time learning about the pre historic animals that roamed our valley millions of years ago.

Great fossils here.

This museum is small. The staff was very nice and helpful. I just think the price was too expensive for the amount of museum you see. Make sure you also check out the free Diamond Valley Lake Visitors Center next door to make the trip out to Hemet worth it killing two birds with one stone.

Great museum and employees but smaller than I thought.

Very educational, a must trip small museum but very friendly. excellent for kids. Love the water museum right across friendly service. Clean restrooms . Staff always happy to help.

Very kid friendly, great fossils, lots of information. Great learning experience!

Great information very easy crowd Please call ahead if you want to see the lake.

Small but very very nice, must see when you visit the area.

This place was quite a disappointment. You’d be lucky to spend a full hour here, and that’s only if you read every label, and watch both short films. Unfortunately several of the exhibits were out of order when we went. There are a few hands on activities like digging for fossils, and making a fossil casting. I don’t think it’s worth the money. My kids said “that’s it?!” when we were done.

The fossil displays are excellent. I also like that artifacts from post mammoth era are now being displayed. Would like to see more of diarama-like natural displays throughout the museum instead of kid toys, but they may have changed their focus.

Staff really loves what they are doing, knowledgable and are energetic about it! It becomes infectious! Outstanding!

They Change Up Exhibits every so often, so each visit is a surprise or you can check out website for details. My kid loves making a fossil you can take home made out of clay.

Went here with my sons class for a field trip. Who knew it was so close to us in Murrieta. Its a small but wonderful museum where the kids can get excited about archeaology and the animals of the Ice Age that lived right here in our area so long ago. They have science Saturdays once a month too which are free and there is a different theme every month.

Took the kids to see the dinosaur bones, they had a awesome Tim .

An amazing museum with a lot of local history. A must visit.

It was very interesting about the artifacts that they found while doing the construction of the two dams

The museum was fascinating and not too big for an afternoon. The bones were real too.

Loved the displays along with explanations and interactive sections. Signs to the museum itself were not apparent so was difficult to find. Overall, I enjoyed.

Good place for school trips and maybe something local to do with family on weekend.

Did not like the fact that my little ones were excluded from a portion of the tour due to their age...other then that it was a nice place to visit!

Very cool! You will need a full day here to actually see everything.. Amazing..

Great experience. Educated, fun staff. Bring the information to life! Loved it! First time Ive ever seen dinosaur bones. The sloth skelaton and T Rex head were my favorites.

A fun hands on room for young kids. My grandson had a great time. Lots of interesting facts.

One of the overlooked gems of Southern California! This is an outstanding natural history museum, well worth the trip.

Had so much fun eye hustling the nelsons

A nice place to take the kids to learn something new

We loved how they had interactive exibits. Great for keeping kids engaged.

Fun place to take the kids and get out of the house

Not very big but very interesting.

Nice but small. Interesting local artifacts discovered when excavating for Diamond Lake.

Amazing I was the school chaperone too fun

Absolutely gorgeous museum full of amazing things. We all learned so much about all the time periods and what lived here throughout history. Highly recommended for any age!

The museum was good however, it needs to expand and the staff should become more informative about the fossils and other artifacts and directions for parking should be clearer

Very cute and spacious just expected a bit more to explore.

Theres a lot to learn here, very exciting information. The visitor center across the way is really great too.

My kids had a great time her, and so did we. My kids are 3yrs and 4 yrs old

The Western Science Center has all sorts of fascinating exhibits and fun activities. A person from any age group would have a good time visiting this place.

It was amazing the structure of the school academically was great

Great place awesome Dinosaurs!

Very informative and well kept.

Great place for a great classic and historic education.

Wish it was bigger but lots of knowledge

Awesome place to go visit, even if you arent a local. The history of Diamond Valley Lake and the neighboring areas goes back to the Mammoths. They have different fossils that were found while digging the dam. There is a movie they show every 30 min about the archaeologists that had to develop a way to excavate the site in a manner of weeks, its quite interesting. My daughter is 18 months and the fossils and dinosaur replications were her favorite part. I would definitely recommend this for kids and families of all ages.

The WSC is an incredible mid-size museum. Children love it. The collections centers around the ice age mammals that lived in the San Jacinto Valley. The museum also houses artifacts from the many Native Americans who for centuries lived in the Valley. Many of our Native American families living in the Valley today can trace their heritage back to our earliest inhabitants.

Great day, easy access, only takes a few hours to see and do.

A cool experience very informative very well put together except the theater had half of the screen not working which was no big deal I learned a great deal about the valley

My son had a blast. We will definitely be going back to see the whale when this rain stops.

Great place to take the younger kids. Always changing and interactive. Inexpensive too. Then take a walk across the patio for the water station too, its free. Learn about water conservation, climate, water cycle. My daughter loved a quick trip when she was little.

Really small, it was not worth the price of $8 but the place was pretty inspirational for younger kids at elementary ages.

Great little science center! Our daughter made a fossil and watched the video in the adorable theater. She even got to uncover some mammoth bones on her own! Small museum, but interactive and well worth the trip.

Never been inside this Center but have heard from many of its highlights. My Grandson goes to school there and hands down is more advanced than public school!

Many of our Native American families living in the Valley today can trace their heritage back to our earliest inhabitants.

Excellent Learning location near Hemet, CA

Not a lot to see but what they do have is really cool. Dont miss the film in the center area. The staff and volunteers are very friendly and helpful. Several activities for kids and you should be able to get through everything in about 2 hours leisurely.

Wish it was bigger, great for the children, lots of activities for kids.

Fun and interactive for the little ones, ages 4 through 9.

It was very educational, informative the people are very pleasant. It is nice and clean, it was well air condition and we enjoy our time there. Well go back and visit again. Get for the price.

Very clean very educational great play center for kids

Really nice and very informational

Nice museum. Very interesting film on the excavation of the dam and their work.

Fun place for the family.

Fun and Interesting place. Highly recommended!

Take your kids, not expensive and interesting. Its small but worth it and its in the way to diamond lake so swing by on your way to the lake

Small but great place. In and out in 45 min Interesting place to learn about the local discoveries.

I will not be returning to this contradicting museum. Dont waste your $8/person on the non-dinosaur, dinosaur museum. The mammoth was cool, but Ive seen more put together ones. Oh, and, meanwhile outside of the Water Conservation building... the WHOLE front entrance was flooded by constantly running sprinklers that were watering desert plants and artificial turf. Talk about not practicing what you preach.

Good place to visit in this area

You can see T-rex hear, mammoth also. Amazing place

Great little history lesson for our great valley. A must see

Theres not much to this museum, but you can expect to learn a lot about mastedons and the paleontology involved with them. They have an excellent simulated dig site, to display how a dig happens. The gift shop is also very reasonably priced and they have a great selection of precious stone jewelry.

Very nice and cool perfect for a bored kids on summer

Great place to learn about science.

Great, awesome, you can learn a lot from the museum,

Been there twice and its been a ghost town both times which is great for us to run around and check stuffs out. Highly recommend the science center.

I have 3 elementary to high school kids been a member for years. Wouldnt think of not renewing. Best science in 100 miles and its all local history making it 10x better!

We love this place they always have events for the kids

Found this little gem by accident with my wife. Its perfect for family trips that are fun and educational. The volunteers are knowledgeable and helpful. This place isnt very big but it has a lot to offer.

Amazing place to go as a family. Very friendly and accomodating staff. Lots to see inside and interactive things for the children. Ours range in age from 5 to 8 and we spent about two hours there. The kids loved it. The wife and I highly recommend it. It is very easy to find as well.

Science center is amazing. Its small but so interesting and you can litterally visit the lake museum next door for free great place for kiddos

Needs more exhibits but fun for kids.

Learn about dinosaurs and the ice age and water conservation.

There new taco, taste like sloppy joes in a tortilla...

Alot of fun for little ones. We really enjoyed making a fossil and playing in the dig pit. The videos were also really cool to watch.

Went here a couple months ago and had a great time. Very kid-friendly and still great for adults. The gift shop is a great stop if you want to find a unique piece of jewelry or a fun science kit. Staff was friendly and I particularly liked the audio tour, totally worth the extra couple dollars for the headset.

It is a hidden treasures. Tucked in the middle of nowhere. But my god I had so much fun. If you do or do not have kids YOU must go. I would compare to any other.

The exhibits where wonderful! Everything was very interactive and very children/child at heart friendly. While I came to the museum to see the hominin exhibits, I fell in love with the two videos showed in the theater. I love being able to hear and see an extinct animal move in the recreation video. The video really brings the animals to life!