Adventure Science Center

About

Adventure Science Center is an 80-year-old institution in Nashville's Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood, about three miles south of downtown, on the site of Fort Negley, a Civil War-era fort. The museum has roughly 44,000 square feet of exhibit space with more than 175 hands-on exhibits covering biology, physics, visual perception, energy, and earth science. Exhibits are built to be touched and operated, not just viewed from behind glass.

The building includes the 75-foot Adventure Tower, a multi-story climbing structure with an observation deck, and the Sudekum Planetarium, a 63-foot dome theater that runs planetarium and laser shows on top of the regular exhibit galleries. The Tinkering Garage Science Workshop and the Eureka Theatre host live science demonstrations included with general admission.

General admission in 2026 runs $22 for ages 13 and up and $18 for ages 2 to 12; children under 2 get in free, and members get in free too. Planetarium shows cost an extra $10 per person, laser shows are $13, and members get $2 off either. The museum is open Monday, Thursday, and Friday from 9am to 3pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 5pm. It is closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

The center runs STEM camps throughout the year and says it provides reduced or free admission to more than 40,000 guests a year; Tennessee educators and Metro Nashville Public Schools students get free entry on field trips. Downtown Nashville is a short drive north, and the surrounding Wedgewood-Houston area has become a district of galleries, breweries, and restaurants in recent years.

Accessibility

Adventure Science Center is wheelchair accessible, with elevators to every floor and a ramp entrance, though a few individual exhibits are off limits to wheelchair users.

Eight accessible parking spots sit in the upper lot, with a ramp leading straight to the entry doors, so there is no need to navigate steps to get inside.

Once inside, elevators connect every level of the building, and nearly all exhibits are wheelchair accessible. The exceptions are some sections of the Adventure Tower climbing structure and the Max Flight full-motion simulator, which cannot accommodate wheelchair users. Six wheelchair-accessible seating spaces are set aside in the Sudekum Planetarium, at the top and bottom of the theater.

Each floor has a single-stall restroom, and the first floor has a family restroom with an adult-sized changing table plus a separate nursing room.

Guest Services loans wheelchairs at no cost on a first-come, first-served basis, and also stocks sensory kits with fidget items and noise-minimizing headphones, plus weighted blankets for planetarium shows. If a visit gets overwhelming, staff can direct guests to the EY Sensory Room. Assistive listening devices are available free from a Planetarium Educator, and open captions run on nearly all shows except live performances and laser shows. Qualified service dogs are welcome under ADA rules; emotional support animals are not. A paid personal care assistant accompanying a visitor with an ADA-covered disability gets in free.

If you are bringing your own ASL interpreter, ask staff for the white gloves they loan out to make the interpreter easier to see across the room. The museum does not publish specific details on path surfaces, tactile paving, or door widths, so call or email ahead if those specifics matter for your visit. Sundays tend to draw smaller crowds if you want a quieter trip.

Checked by Accessible America, August 2026. Report a change

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