Insights Science Museum - El Paso, Texas - Hands-on Science Museum

The Insights El Paso Science Museum is located at 505 North Sante Fe in El Paso, Texas. In 1980, the Museum started out in the basement of the El Paso Electric Company. It then relocated to its current location, which is near City Hall and the El Paso Museum of Art.

The Museum was established to provide the opportunity for students to learn and develop in their studies of science, using a hands-on approach.

The philosophy of the Museum is to expose visitors to science in a fun and entertaining way. The Museum's exhibit floor is comprised of the permanent collection of the Museum, traveling exhibits on loan from the Smithsonian Institution and other acknowledged and reputable scientific institutions.

The Museum has a diverse number of exhibits on electricity, bending light, optical illusions, and magnetism.

There are permanent collections in the Museum, amongst which are the Tesla Coil and the Centrifugal Force Spinner. In addition, there is currently the "To the Ends of the Earth, UTEP at the Poles'' exhibit. This exhibit presents the work of the UTEP students that traveled to the Arctic and Antarctica. It explores the difference and similarities between the two poles, as well as understanding about the effects of climate change. This exhibit offers children of different ages the opportunity to learn a number of concepts related to the poles and climate change through fun and entertaining games and activities.

Traveling exhibits in the Museum attract a large crowd. The first traveling exhibit at the Museum was Dinosaur Land and it attracted around 120,000 visitors within four months. There have been a number of traveling exhibits at the Museum, amongst which were about King Tut, Earth and Sky, Sharks, Wolves, Reptiles, Cats, Columbus Code, Amusement Park Science, Nature of Holography, Nano World, and Dinosaurs.

Currently, there is the Giant Worlds: A Voyage to the Outer Solar System traveling exhibit at the Museum. This exhibit is 3,500 sq. ft and introduces visitors to the Solar System and its planets through interactive displays and games. Though visitors of all ages enjoy this national traveling exhibit, its main target audience of this display is children between the ages of 9 and 13.

Field trips are available Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9am to 5pm. Field trip charges are $4 per student and free for certified teachers. To schedule a field trip to the Museum, bookings are to be made in advance.

Insights Museum also has the Dinosaur Project, which is a land filled with geological material and has numerous authenticated dinosaur tracks. Field trips to the Dinosaur Project land are currently being offered once a month and advance reservations are necessary due to limited space.

The Insight Science Museum also caters to birthday parties and offers a number of different memberships.

The Museum is open throughout the week excepting Mondays. The Museum is open from 10am to 5pm from Tuesday through Saturday. On Sunday, it is open from 12pm to 5pm. The Insights Science Museum Gift shop hours are from 10am to 4pm from Tuesday through Saturday.

The price of admission to the Museum for adults is $6. For students, military, and seniors, the admission fee is $5. For Children between the ages of 4 and 11, the admission is $4. There is no admission charge to children 3 and under. The Museum can be reached by calling (915) 534-0000.