This will depend on your preferred experience. Due to the size of the museum, if you plan no Tesla experience, no planetarium show, no stop at Java Man Cafe, and no viewings in Seventy Hall, you can walk through the exhibit halls quickly in 45 minutes, without absorbing information. 

More realistically, most visitors take, at the very least, two to three hours to tour. A family can spend the day during open hours and never leave, getting Java Man Cafe for lunch and continuing their visit. If you wish to experience everything, watch each of the informational videos, and read all the signage, you can easily fill more than a day.

You make take all the photos you would like for non-commercial use. On social media, please tag your photos @WondersCenterandScienceMuseum or with the #wonderscenter hashtag!

Our Planetarium is a nearly 8K digital 60-foot fulldome environment where we show incredible, life-like movies of our universe. It is the number one planetarium experience in the United States and is one of the TOP-TEN Planetariums in the world! A MUST SEE.

SEE FULL DETAILS

The planetarium ticket is $10 per person, and is an incredible experience! We rank top-ten in the world, making for an unforgettable visit. The planetarium is a large 80’ diameter sphere seen from the main highway. Inside is a 60’ full dome theater with 140 reclining seats that allow you to view the full rounded dome above you like a giant movie screen. Movies play on the sphere, allowing you to experience a closeup of the heavens as you travel through space. 25 speakers along with the curved dome make for an immersive surround experience very seldom achieved. 

From just over 2 years old up to senior adults, everyone has an awesome time!

The Wonders Center has something exciting for all ages, with scavenger hunts, hands on activities for children and young adults, planetarium and Tesla experiences, along with detailed information and intriguing exhibits for all ages.

Truly all ages will enjoy their visit. There are numerous displays and activities that will appeal to the full spectrum of ages from very young children to elderly adults.

You can easily bring your group, school, or bus tour. We have 10 bus parking spots that are reserved on a first come basis, and group discounts are available for groups of 15 paying guests or more. 

PLEASE USE THE GROUP FORM HERE

A little over 100,000 square feet on three levels (or nearly 2.5 acres under roof). This is the largest science museum in Tennessee.

Yes! The Wonders Center is a destination for the entire family, and many people from the farthest states plan their vacations around a trip to the Wonders Center. They might include the Opryland Hotel, Johnny Cash’s Hideaway Farm, the Grand Ole Opry, and Mammoth Cave as additional destinations. 

Destinations sorted by distance can be found near the top of our “Plan Your Visit” page.

Tesla Coils were invented by Nikola Tesla in 1891 and are electrical transformers that take ordinary electrical current to produce a high voltage display. We have two Tesla coils, each capable of generating 500,000 volts for a total of 1,000,000 volts. This produces 6 to 8 foot volts of lightning in the same room as the viewer, even lighting up signs in the room that are not plugged in. The frequency of the display is modulated to play music synched to lightning flashes. Many of our visitors rank this as one of the highlights of their museum visit.

The grand opening of the museum was on October 12, 2023, with members of the press, State Representatives, Mayors, and community leaders. 

The Wonders Center & Science Museum is run and operated by David Rives Ministries, a 501c3 non-profit organization.

The Wonders Center is a positive family experience. It was founded by a Christian nondenominational non-profit organization, David Rives Ministries. It is not associated with any church or denomination. The museum leadership, staff, and volunteers represent a wide variety of beliefs and denominations of the Christian faith. 

The building (originally known as the Renaissance Center) was constructed about 25 years ago, and was completely re-imagined in 2023 into its current form. 

The funding of the museum is the result of the gifts, both small and large, from a large base of supporters. The sustaining force of the museum is not admission fees, but instead the regular financial gifts of many people who step up to support the mission of the Wonders Center. The ministry receives no governmental funding.

David Rives is the Founder and Director of the museum and President of the non-profit ministry which runs the Wonders Center. This link is a podcast where David shares a bit about his history: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fmtGpJe3hU This link leads you to his ministry website: https://davidrivesministries.org

David has spent almost his entire life in Middle Tennessee since his youth.

David Rives began collecting rocks and fossils as a young child and continued to collect throughout the years. As a teen, David became interested in astronomy and other aspects of science. At the age of eighteen, David and his brother Murry began a non-profit ministry (David Rives Ministries) and over the next few years David became a television personality as well as speaking as a researcher in scientific fields. This video interview of David traces the history of the ministry and museum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fmtGpJe3hU

The primary purpose of the museum is to display a wide range of exhibits across a full spectrum of the sciences, leaving visitors in awe of their intricate design and ultimately their Designer.

Paleontology (dinosaurs and fossils); Geology including fluorescent rocks; Astronomy including planetarium grade telescopes and real meteorites; Literature including authentic Bible scrolls up to 1000 years old; Human Anatomy; Biology; Zoology including live reptiles; Animals of Alaska featuring large, full body taxidermy including Grizzly Bears and Polar Bears, Wolves, Caribou, Musk Oxen, Lynx, Bison, Arctic Foxes and more; Archeology including relics more than 2000 years old.

Children love our full size dinosaur exhibits including a large dinosaur bone fossil they can touch; a dinosaur dig pit where they can uncover a large replica stegosaur skeleton; the gear wall where they learn about engineering and the movement of interlocking gears; reroute water with Legos in a simulated Grand Canyon; a magic sand pit where they rearrange the sand and watch it change colors while saving fish from sharks; a plasma ball where you can safely draw electricity to your fingertips; watch as air pressure causes balls to lift and float in the air; create colorful designs on our large light table; touch a real twenty-five pound meteorite; view tiny objects with hands-on microscopes. And there is still more!

Sign up for our email newsletter HERE and follow us on Facebook HERE and Instagram HERE to be notified of our numerous special events.

Yes, we are continually working on new displays and we announce new features from time to time. In reality, the building of new displays will never be finished. There will always be something new to see.

We do have annual passes that are good for twelve full months from the date of purchase. These offer substantial savings over the cost of buying day passes over multiple visits. Annual passes are available for individuals or for families. SEE THIS LINK TO PURCHASE

The experience is completely different. While the Christian principles of Creation and Design are similar themes, we are a science museum. We cater to all ages by creating a fun place to experience science in a unique hands-on way while learning the origin of the universe, and the fingerprints of design that point to the Designer, the God of the Bible. 

Depending on how dogmatic you are about your beliefs, the answer is maybe. If you are unoffended with sporadic references to design, the idea of God, and Christian faith, then yes! While we are unashamed to mention design by God, your experience will allow you to learn about many scientific concepts, breaking discoveries, and technological marvels, experience electrical Tesla Coils, gaze at ancient archaeological remains, and get up close to history, dinosaur bones, and rocks from around the world. 

Absolutely! We have public school groups who come and have a blast! The museum is typically unguided and walk-through friendly, so if you wish to only focus on some exhibit halls, your teachers/staff can set their own agenda and experience. We also have planetarium movies specifically designed for groups of children that can be pre-arranged, and any group of less than 115 students will be able to enjoy the Million-Volt-Tesla Experience.  SEE THIS LINK FOR GROUP INQUIRIES

Please email us and explain your situation in detail. We normally require tickets to be purchased. However, as a ministry-based organization, exceptions have been made for extreme circumstances. We have also given hundreds of tickets away to terminally ill children, orphans, and those in desperate need. 

Yes, according to nearly every individual, couple, or family that has visited, we are WELL worth it! With hundreds of Google Reviews and tens of thousands of interactions, the response of OVERWHELMINGLY positive. We appreciate you choosing us as your next destination, vacation, or attraction, and if you are similar to the many thousands of families that regularly visit, then you will walk away at the end of the day with a great smile on your face, having been inspired, educated, encouraged, enlightened, and amazed as you experience the wonder of the Wonders Center & Science Museum!