OMSI

If you and your family might visit more than 2 or 3 times during the year or might visit other museum and activities just get the membership. So much more affordable. The 4 of us spent like 4 hours doing the activities downstairs and still could have spent lots more time in the ever-changing exhibition upstairs. So much rainy day fun. Very busy but well managed. Friendly and helpful staff.

My son really enjoys coming here. The light exhibit is a lot of fun and we learn new things each time. I highly recommend getting in mine for the science lab. They are very easy experiments to do and were really interesting to my son. The special exhibit on bugs and other unique animals was presented really nicely in an artistic way.

I’m giving this a 4 star only because the visiting limited time exhibit was AMAZING. We went for the “exquisite creatures” exhibit which was so incredible & deserves a 5 star but the rest of the science center was mainly children focused which i understand i guess. But it’s doesn’t feel like a science center where a young adult couple can enjoy it as much unless you PAY extra for the other theater things & submarines tour. But I guess that’s why they have the visiting exhibits?? Idk I’d probably give it a 3 star if it didn’t have that cool limited exhibit. (The photos I added are from the exquisite creatures exhibit)

Perfect for kids to play and learn. It was my first time here. We went on a Saturday. Their website shows they have a deal for $5 every 1st Sunday of the month. Giving 4 stars because of the parking system, you either need to download the parking kitty app, or use the 1 (I only saw 1) parking little machine thing near the entrance. We chose the app because we did not see the parking machine when we enter the parking lot.

We saw Christopher Marley’s Newest Exhibit. And it is so worth it. If you have AAA you get $2 off of each adult tickets and if you have EBT card you only pay $5 per adult. But absolutely worth going to it. PICTURES DO NOT DO JUSTICE.

Very loud and chaotic. Difficult tracking 4 children in the dark of the Exquisite Creatures exhibition. We arrived 5m after showtime and doors already locked so be early for those!

So fun, for adults and kids. I do not recommend the planetarium for adults unless it’s the zodiac/stars one. Otherwise it’s more educational than I preferred for my vacay. The current animal art exhibit was INSANE. It was so cool. Honestly even if you just visit for 15 minutes it’s fun. An important thing to know is this a popular place for elementary school kids to visit for field trips so if you want more private, I would wait until the 3 to 5 PM range. Tickets are decent prices and they have student and military discounts. There is pay to park all around it. We showed up when it was pouring and we still were able to get inside decently fast. The gift shop is heavily focused on kids interests and even for me who loves gift shops I didn’t get anything.

Exquisite Creatures Revealed is a fascinating temporary exhibit. Get to OMSI today to enjoy this wonderful experience. Great for children and adults alike. The regular ole OMSI is a staple here in Portland. Very family and child-focused, which is needed for any community. The planetarium always has excellent shows, the chemistry laboratory has fun experiments, and the gift shop never disappoints. A great non-profit organization to visit, be a member of, and take out-of-town guests.

This is quite an 'interesting' venue and unfortunately, not the good type of 'interesting.' The inside of this particular OMSI building feels like stepping back in time to the 1970s. The lecture hall consists of a few dozen rows of very steep tiered seating. I overheard 3 different people mention how walking up/down the very steep steps made them feel dizzy like vertigo. And, the lecture hall has a musty smell :( Another issue was that during the lecture my asthma started acting up, so I wanted to step out into the lobby, so my cough wouldn't disrupt the lecture and to privately use my asthma inhaler. When I got to the exit door that goes to the lobby, I realized that the doors auto-lock, so I would be locked out of the lecture hall (there weren't any staff inside the lecture hall or anywhere nearby in the lobby). Lastly, EVERYONE had issues trying to use the metered parking station for the after-hours parking! Five people in line ahead of me were unable to figure it out and neither could I (possibly the machine was malfunctioning, because I use Portland parking meters frequently without issues). Several people including me decided to use Parking Kitty, but none of the signage had the Zone Number on it. Very frustrating. The only good thing was parking is only $2.50 total for up to 5 hours in the evening, OMSI staff are very friendly and knowledgeable, and the bathrooms were very clean.

Came here for the Studio Ghibli film festival so I didn't get to experience all of what OMSI has to offer, but was very impressed with the theater and the ease of purchasing the tickets. There's plenty of parking which is done through the Park Kitty app and is only a few dollars. They also have EV charging available. The tickets were very affordable ($8) and the screen you see it on is MASSIVE. I feel like it is bigger than the imax theaters, but it may look that way due to the seats being so close to the screen. It almost hurts your eyes. They also offer some theater snacks and don't rip you off either, with a bag of popcorn for only $3. Overall this was a nice experience and I would like to return to see other parts of the planetarium.

We spent over $100 on a sham ripoff show called Beautifica which was just like going to a 1970's badly produced light show. Don't waste your money! Shame on you, OMSI for hosting such a SHAM,

Out of all the years I've been idly sitting by letting my children enjoy the Omsi Experience I will say we finally went to an Omsi afterdark and chose a cidar fest and had a great time... we showed up about 15 minutes early which I would advise showing up even earlier because we were probably 100 people deep in a line at that time and the line only grew larger I was very surprised I just how big this event was and how big the turnout was. They had lots of exhibits open mini sampling of food and beverage as well as thanks for sale in addition they definitely made it fun to wear if you were just to buy the experience insurance you would get well worth your money and in our case enjoy a little bit extra. With our omsi level pass we get two free Omsi Afterdark, so this is a no brainer. The adult laser shows, and davinchi exhibit really put it over the top. A must experience for OMSI lovers

The event we went to was called "Game On." The description specified "board games" as well as other types of games. Neither my son nor I drink, but we are both huge gamers. And we LOVE board games. Some of the other stuff sounded OK, but we wanted to play games. It is in the name of the event. So my son got off work early. And we drove downtown to OMSI. And we parked far away (OMSI oversold the event) and had to figure out "parking kitty." We waited in line (OMSI oversold the event) in the rain. When we got in, we walked around looking for board games. But that wasn't really what this event was about. It was about drinking. And we don't drink. Everything had lines (again, OMSI oversold the event). Maybe if we drank waiting in line would be fine. We didn't play one game. We tried to say something to the guys at the front desk, but they were not really the people who could do anything. We tried to give them our drink tickets, but they said they couldn't take them (good for them) - we gave them to the first person we saw. Then we left. And we drove home. We spent $50 plus parking plus gas. It was a very disappointing evening. The advertisement should have been more clear.

I've been to 2 events so far, Ciderfest and Pickle It, and feel like this event isn't so much informative as it is an opportunity for vendors to sell and people to consume. I suppose that's all well and good for Ciderfest but the pickle event I thought there'd be more demos and how to's. The line to use the drink tickets also was understaffed and moved super slow for Pickle It, so it took away from time to enjoy the rest. It's always good to see the exhibits and play

I really like this event. The event is held at OMSI. You must have ID to prove that you are 21 and older. You get free samples of alcoholic beverages with entry. Parking is free. They have the cafeteria open so you can purchase food and drinks. They have a couple of exhibits open so you can look around the museum. Multiple guest speakers are presenting throughout the night. They have a large showroom that has multiple vendors giving free samples of food and drinks along with vendors selling food and drinks. This room is filled with puzzles and exhibits. I will return. Great date night event.

The four stars is for the event, but if I had to rate OMSI on its own, the rating would be much lower. There were vendors who served alcohol, ice cream, kombucha, coffee, etc, which was probably the most fun part of the experience. We got to sample beers from different breweries. My favorite was trying the nondairy based ice cream from Little Bean. Little Bean was doing a promotion, since they are opening this year in October in the Pearl District. The exhibits here felt underwhelming (especially after having been to the Exploratorium in San Francisco). It felt like I was at a middle or high school science fair. However, one of the volunteers there was super engaging and showed us some cool science tricks; I was thoroughly amused. The theme of the night was music related and titled "Good Vibrations." I didn't really find a lot of the booths very interesting. Some of the things that stood out to me was the DJ booth, the theremin at a booth advertising a recording studio, and another booth with fruits that you can tap to make sounds. My friends and I watched the Lady Gaga laser show, which was mildly entertaining.

We had a really fun time at the renaissance/medieval night! There were a whole slew of activities to explore, including the DaVinci exhibit, from blacksmithing to medical care. It was fun talking with the vendors about what they do, as well. We picked up some great mead and hotsauces, and learned about how cannons and swordfighting work. Highly recommend! It was a bit crowded, so get their early and prepare for a lot of people.

If it weren't for Yelp Elite event, I wouldn't have come here. I am glad I came though, as the whole thing was so much fun. The restaurant had good food and good beer even though the lines were a bit long to get a beer. The gift shop was big and open. The art show that was taking place at the time of the elite event was also interesting. The best part the whole experience is that one got to be a kid again and play with all kinds of toys that normally adults don't get to enjoy because there would be kids all over them. I am sure I will be back sometime in the near future.

The Exquisite Creatures Exhibit by Christopher Marley was wonderful and it was so cool to see/touch live snakes and turtles at some of the vendors! When going to OMSI after dark events, don't go on an empty stomach since the vendors give up samples and there are more alcohol options than food. it's so nice to be able to walk around OMSI without kids around! I know it's more largely geared towards children, but I still want to go explore, look and learn, especially with a drink in hand!

I'm gonna echo what I see below. Way oversold; I attended last night's Astronomy event. It took 20 minutes to get a wristband. There's no signage about what to do if you already have tickets. Your ticket does say "skip the line" if you read the fine print. The wristband security took their job v seriously but that means the line moved v v v slowly. There were 5-6 separate lines near the entrance but no signage about what to do if you already have tickets. Inside, there were long lines for everything. I got here around 745. I was in line for the Planetarium at 810. I had to ask if the 8 show had already started and how many seats the planetarium holds (160) because the line was so long. Because of the crowd, it was v hot. I ditched that line, went and waited in a line for a beer sample (it wasn't moving because people kept cutting in from the front sides, v v v disorganized) and finally settled into the wine line. $9 and 10 minutes later, I was back in line at 825 for the 830 show. The line was much longer than 160 but I figured I'd get into the 9 show bear the front of the line. So I spent from 825 til 9 in line, hot, with wine. The planetarium show Extreme Planets was oriented to one side of the room so half the room had a crappy, crane-your-neck view. But that was awesome, and unique and made me feel less scammed. After we came out at 930, pretty much everything was shut down. If this were my event, a $15 ticket should include 1 drink. The window should be bigger, from 5p to 10p and I still think, even doing that, they should incorporate the outside space and sell less tickets. I think I saw online while buying, the cap was 500. Omsi can't really accommodate that many people inside. Something Austin City Limits (I only mention because of the size of the crowds there) does is integrate a wristband for paying. I think getting a wristband ahead of time that can be activated for payment is an option when Omsi is doing these events monthly. That would solve the wristband line and cut down the drink lines. Final caveat, I think the first time I went to Omsi was an After Dark with the Yelp Elites that allowed access to the (retro gaming?) exhibit, themed around Fire and Ice. There were tons of food options (a million samples), less people, the outside space was used (with the Unipiper in attendance!) and drinks were not $9. I realize this probably spoiled me but wow, Omsi has got some work to do on these After Darks. -Astronomically Disappointed

I've been to Omsi after dark a few times now. Mostly I give it a high rating because there's no kids there. Of course, there can be lots of drinking, which can be annoying at times. When it comes to drinking too many people become line cutters and I don't play that game, ever. You WILL get behind me when I'm in line for anything, anywhere. That's my one gripe about doing this. Other than the occasional rude drinkers it's pretty chill. You can just walk around and check everything out. It's nice to do every once in a while.

I really enjoyed the entire evening. The beverages were great the s'mores were amazing along with the exhibits and opportunity to play as adults. I don't think we get enough of this in our lives and this was the perfect opportunity to recharge and have grownup fun playing as a kid with the puzzles and skills tests. What a phenomenal job they did of setting it up

I love the OMSI after dark events. I've been to several of these and they are really fun. Most recently I went to the Beer event and it's a really fun favorite.

Super fun! I've been to one before but "Pig & Swig" was funner. I went alone.. But it was cool bc there are plenty of folks to interact with. Food offerings were lovely as was booze. Unfortunately it was super crowded. Being from NYC, I was able to navigate but I can see getting annoyed about it, too. Pixar exhibit was super fun! Will Def be back.

**WC** Honestly I think I was better off since I am in a wheelchair...otherwise get here wicked early because WOW...we were there around 615pm and there right upfront was listed ADA overflow parking because the lot was full. So, in a way, we parked closer because the lot was full I guess since we are ADA. Rolling around itself was pretty easy - I had not experienced OMSI at any time of day in a wheelchair so without kids around was nice - I get concerned because kids so not always pay attention and I cannot see if my wheels are about to run someone over - ask my husband! We went to the Medieval Science exhibit which was super fun for use even though I used to fence with the SCA...actually it made it even more fun since I was not expecting to run into people I know and I ran into several running different exhibits and one who gave a great lecture. I will admit a lot of the stuff was actually more fun for us seeing "normal people" playing with swords and learning things they had no clue about so bravo Joe Public! We ate before going and neither are the plastic cup of booze type but that's there if you need to drink and science. They also have some snacks!

OAD Really cool but dang the crowds were massive! The play room was packed with lines for booze and food that made playing with the exhibits impossible. I did make it through the play area before it became a madhouse. The exhibits are obviously for kids but if you give adults booze, most become child like. So it works out. My Wife and I are older but young at heart. My Wife was a little under the weather on the night of OAD so it wasn't as fun for her. Me. I loved it. I really liked the Water Rockets. Water and Air Pressure makes for some cool rockets. If i ever win the lottery.... (I don't gamble, so my odds of winning are slightly less.) ..... I am definitely getting a Water Rocket Setup in my yard. And it will most definitely be more dangerous than the one at OMSI. I really, really wanted to play with the Robot Arms but this couple that was playing the game it has. Were locked into some fierce competition. I just wanted to play with the Robot Arms. First Come, First Served. All the lines for Food and Drinks were crazy long. I estimated it would take 30-40 minutes from the time we got in line to getting food. 15 less for drinks alone. So my Wife and I decided to enjoy more O A D and get food on the way home. The food all looked amazing. The Nachos. I wanted it so much but I soon heard the Words, "86 Nachos". The OMSI Crew did come up with another version of what they started out with and people continued to order them. The demonstrations were all very cool. I did not like the Shark Dissection. My culture believes you come back as a shark. So it was difficult to see a shark like that. I did like the huge rock with a dinosaur dolphin skull in it. Ya. I know right. How did they know it was in the rock? They x-rayed it. Not sure why they x-rayed a rock but they did and found bones. Ah. Science. You mysterious fiend All in all O A D was fun. Tips. OAD starts at 7. We showed up at about 7:30 and the line was past OMSI but we got in within 10 minutes. Eat before you go. Unless you really don't mind waiting. Prepare for crowds. People are rude wherever you go. Most are cool but some... Not so much. Be prepared to wait for certain exhibits. Either by waiting for your turn or because of the crowds. Still, each OAD has a different theme. I don't remember what the next one is but you can look it up. I can't wait for the next OAD.

Too crowded. Didn't actually attend because line was so very long. We enjoy Omsi but we are not crowd lovers.

Tips for visiting OMSI After Dark We went to Corklandia in November. We read the reviews on Trip Adviser and Yelp and some of the suggestions were helpful Tip #1 Eat before you arrive. The food at the event are super tiny portions and you only get a couple of food tickets. Several of the options weren't even appealing. Tip #2 Parking. OMSI has two large parking lots. OMSI closes at 5:30 and families are leaving so the spaces open up. There is also on street parking nearby and Max has a OMSI stop. There was also no issues leaving, no crowds or lines. Tip #3 Crowds and Long lines? This was not our experience. The event was sold out so we expected crowds. We arrived early and were let in before 6pm. That gave us a whole hour to explore with no lines. It gave us time to visit with the venders while everyone else was waiting in lines, being carded and checked in. Tip #4 Take advantage of the planetarium, the free lectures and the fun OMSI exhibits.

Wow! What a great crowd on a Wednesday. The venue was amazing. The way the organizers put the breweries spread out around the museum was very crafty. No pun intended... Definitely a great night. My only qualm would be the submarine. I Love Subs! Maybe next year there can be a contest to have your booth on the sub or near it?

I was a big fan of OMSI A/D. I was there when it started. I bought a membership for it. Then, things turned for the crap. As I said, I had an A/D membership with one of the cool features being not waiting in time. Sounds great, right? No. One event with "extra" benefits to not wait in line, and all that good stuff. However, it started to go awry when we went for a "beerfest" where we didn't wait in line but the beerfest was SOLD OUT. Maybe save some for the members. The tipping an ending point for me was when they ended the membership line - as in, I had to wait in line for everyone else. I'm no better than anybody except in this fact, I WAS - in that I had membership. It was so absurd that I was furious - and over the membership. I didn't renew and haven't been back for an A/D since. A shame, It was pretty cool.

Ive wanted experience this for so long and last night made it happen at Mary's & Mimosas: A Brunch Themed Affair. Need I say more? No, but I will anyway. Local distilleries and restaurants offered up sizable samples of Mary's, mimosas, and brunch items on their menus. It was super yummy and boozy. Me and my friends had a blast. AND it was in a Friday. I believe it's usually on a weeknight, which is a drag. OMSI with no kids plus booze and food? Uh, this is a no-brainer. The event was well-run and the museum was as great as ever.

Ok OMSI this one was awesome. Great people and lines not long.. We got ciot hats. Many drinks

To start I've loved OMSI with my kids for years. Now I had the chance to go for the 2019 Octoberfest. I had a great time! The variety of activities and beers was wonderful. I was able to bounce from live music to comedy to playing in the turbine hall without the kids. I admit it, I love playing there as much as they do. Only I got to enjoy it all with a delightful beer. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety and short lines for tasters. The usual suspects of IPAs was present, but several stouts, and a few unique brews were there too. Only drawback was not enough food. There was a noticeable lack of food unless you wanted sweets or expensive jerky. All in all I would happily go again

Bourbon and Bacon Fest 2018 - Never again. We've wanted to go to this for a few years, and were really excited. What a let down. What a joke!! Long lines, poor organization, small (tiny!) samples. This was a ridiculous rip off and waste of time. We literally stood in line for 15 mins for a 1/8 shot of bourbon. I don't know why they give you shot glasses when the vendors give you a thimble-sized sample. You'd have to use eight drink tickets to fill up the shot glass (you only get 6). THEN you get to wait in line again... This is really just waiting in line for a teeny bite or sip over and over. The map they gave out didn't tell us where each vendor was, so we waiting in long, long lines to even find out what was offered. Often the lines were not for ticket samples, rather to buy something ($38/pound beef jerky, $5 tiny cakes, $4 brownies). A hot, crowded, unorganized mess. We felt taken advantage of. A total rip off. Sold out event, indeed. We should have sold our tickets.

Regarding: OMSI After Dark: Oceans 8/30/2017, 8:00pm I purchased tickets online to attend this event. It was the first time ever going here. There were too many people for my comfort and perhaps it was oversold. However, my issue came when waiting for the shark dissection presentation in the Life Lab at 8:00pm. I surmise that 100 people were in that room. Only one door was opened (locked via levers at the edge of the door's inside edge) and by the time the room started to fill I felt uncomfortable with having only one door as an exit in the event of an emergency. I opened the second door and to my surprise, the door ONLY opened inward. As people continued to enter the room, I decided to leave as the room was even getting hot. When leaving the room, the first thing I thought was that if both doors closed and there was a panic, no one would get out. The doors only open inward...!!! Fire codes were changed decades ago because of deaths from doors unable to be utilized to exit. This is very disturbing. I let someone at the front desk know before I left. I will not return to OMSI. Very poor architecture and planning for the amount of people that attended this event.

Last night my beau and I attended the OMSI After Dark event which is held the last Wednesday of every month from 6pm - 10pm. I have wanted to go to OMSI since I moved here, but hordes of squealing, hyper children being chased by frantic parents is not my scene. After Dark gives any person over the age of 21 an option to go and enjoy science without having to "enjoy" children. They rid the museum of all the little weezers, stay open until 10 (usually closing at 5:30pm), bring in booze and let you take your adult beverages anywhere. They must really trust us! Tickets for the event are $10, one dollar off normal adult admission. I suggest ordering and printing online as we bought ours the day of and got to skip the long and growing ticket line. Along with our admission to the entire museum including the Da Vinci exhibit, we received a sample of local organic vodka, Elemental Vodka, and unlimited samples of Hot Lips Soda. Cash bars were scattered throughout and prices are what you expect to pay at a function like this, $4.50 for a domestic bottle up to $8.00 for premium wine. There were other activities available for a cost such as Starry Night Live - Constellations of Spring in the Planetarium and a Laser Radiohead show later in the evening. I thought the event was a huge success. The place was packed and people were buying drinks and really enjoying themselves getting into the activities. I was worried that four hours was not going to be enough time to see/experience it all but it was perfect. We were tired and ready to leave by 9:30pm. My complaint would be that it was too packed and was hard to get into some of the exhibits; especially in the Da Vinci exhibit. At most points we were four people back and everyone around us was bumping into one another. At that point we would just move on and not bother waiting. I like to loose myself in museums and it would have been impossible based on the number of people. I am still glad we choose this night to go and if I was to go back, I would make sure it was an After Dark evening. I think OMSI should explore the option of doing an event like that maybe a little more often.

The price of the day time (with kids), and the night time (+18, and booze) is the same price $13 per person. Its in your opinion to see which crowd is better to fight with. I must say.. there are quite a lot of BIG KIDS (adults) that take their sweet ass time with some exhibits. So maybe it's down right equal, cept that some of the BIG KIDS (adults) often time don't use their best judgement on where to place their cup of beer. Saw a few spills during my time there. The smell is unpleasant. The only reason we came to the night time one.. was we missed the day time hours :( Also don't think the night time has the submarine available. But overall, I love interactive museums such as this one, and the one in SF. The unique thing about the one in Portland, is they have a few "labs" (chemical/laser.. etc) that allows you to try different things hands on. A lot of the bigger exhibits and displays are exactly the same as the one in other interactive museums. Just a tad bit run down. Hopefully they keep up with the maintenance. But definitely a good place to spend a good 4-5 hours, with big kids or little kids. All will enjoy :)

5 stars for kid-less fun. For those who know me, I stay as far away from those little people as possible. They are are loud, they have runny snot, and hearing them cry or even laughing gives me anxiety. We just do not mix. So thank you OMSI for this opportunity for me to nerd out stress free! Minus 1 star for broken everything! I get it, things break down and need fixing. However, it just seemed like a large number of stations had non-working parts. The ones that were in working order were cool. Very fun and informative. It's a great place to learn about fun facts about physics, chemistry, biology and more! It was pretty busy last night, but it was Valentine's day. I am unsure if that is the norm. Some stations were pretty busy and had a wait. Some of the smaller rooms felt like an inferno due to poor circulations and bodies packed in like sardines. Plus, you can walk around with booooze. Yep. Nerd out while getting buzzed. What else could be more fun. :) Overall, it was a fun time. If you are hands-on like I am, there is a lot of things to touch and mess with.

Agghhhhhhh! Fun!!!!!! Maybe it's the drinks, but really it's the fun exhibits that lead to hours of laughs, teasing, and rambunctiously running around. Free samples of Saint Cupcake, Hot Lips Soda (dang that's good stuff!!!), Dave's Killer Bread, Elemental Vodka, Moonstruck Chocolates and more! The companies giving out free samples change month to month. You can look at OMSI's website to see who to expect that month. Secret hint: Go to the free OMSI Science Pub the week before. (You have to get there over an hour early to get in. They are wicked popular and super entertaining.) There's a trivia round where you can win free tickets to OMSI and you can use them for After Dark! I did!!!

NOPE, NOPITTY, NOPE, NO! OMSI After Dark's Tapas & Tequila event in a nutshell: I paid $35 for an itsy-bitsy sip of tequila and a teeny-weenie, lil' tostada. Seriously, they oversold this event SO HARD. The lines were outrageously long. The place was so freaking packed, it was impossible to enjoy the exhibits. At one point, I was hoping to get into a fist fight with one of the countless line-cutters, just for something fun to do, but alas, I didn't get to sample nearly enough tequila to get my mean on. If you have money to burn, go for it, but I'll never waste my hard-earned dollars on this disaster again.

Attended the Corklandia at the OMSI on 11/10/17. There were many different wine and food vendors. Will definitely attend another After Dark event in the future.

I had so much fun at Omsi After Dark! I know some of it has to do with the nostalgia of visiting for the first time since elementary school, but it was fun to get the museum to explore without any kids around! Sure, the lines for alcohol were pretty long but I really only needed a drink to nurse as I played with the logic puzzles and visited the exhibit on Space, looked at fossils, and listened to a weird music show in the Planetarium. To be honest, the draw for my entire group was the logic puzzles, we didn't even explore the whole museum. I can't wait for the next one - I hope the earthquake machine is still there somewhere!

I want to love OMSI After Dark. I grew up an OMSI kid and loved the museum, camps, and classes. I was so excited when they remodeled, rebranded, and started focusing on programs that appealed young adults. A kid-free science museum with beer? Sign me up! But every single OMSI After Dark event I've been to has been over-crowded, with lines so long for the booths and exhibits that I end up leaving without seeing half of them. Sometimes I felt like I paid to just stand in a science museum and drink beer, rather than enjoy the special booths and exhibits. Perhaps they could offer each topic on two nights and halve the capacity at each night, or at least provide duplicates for the talks and booths they're showcasing. In short: absolutely awesome idea; poorly executed & way over-sold.

Not what I expected. I was severely disappointed. Lines were longer than Disneyland. Waiting 30 minutes for a half shot of liquor from a disgruntled employee was ridiculous. Food was a tiny bite size morsel and you had to wait for those too. The piles of trash in the auditorium showed me the employees had no desire to be there. And at time of purchase the website was stating entries would be capped , but it was wall to wall people with no place to walk or see exhibits because of food & drink lines. I would have much rather gone during the day. Kids would be better than all these adults trying to get their drink on. Thanks OMSI for all the selections, but if had been just Mary's & Mimosas things might have gone smoother.

Why is Omsi after dark so fun? Booze. No kids. Frolicking around like the crazy nerd you are with no inhibitions. I am obsessed with OMSI after dark! 10/10 so fun will do again!

OMSI After Dark = All the fun of the OMSI exhibits, without having to hang back and let the kids have all the fun. PLUS, Drinks and Food!!? I AM SO IN!! I have been a few times, to the tasting events and the non-tasting ones. Always a great time, and lots of people to amuse yourself watching. Worth it to get the VIP entry for a few bucks more? YES. You get in an hour earlier, and with only about a hundred total inside during that hour you get to actually tatse things without waiting in lines, and the vendors are more able to share some info with you before they get overwhelmed with all of the nonsense of the larger crowds. The bottom line is that these events will not be fitting for everyone. You must love crowds, and being entertained by "new friends", and have the natural curiosity to enjoy OMSI at all if this is going to be something you like to go to. Also: Parking can be crazy. Leave your car somewhere easy to get in and out of and then Uber the few blocks down to OMSI from there. SO easy.

Enjoyed visiting inside and the displays. Would be nice if they had the real meaning of Christmas exhibit however. I am sure that is too much to ask for in Portland. This year was the biggest downer of holiday spirit when visiting Portland in 20 years; no holiday decorations up anywhere, Homeless everywhere, dangerous drivers, and the hate of Christianity is apparent. Pretty gross.

Cider after dark+++ great experience. The staff and many volunteers were extremely friendly and helpful. It was a lot of fun just watching adults play and enjoy the exhibits. Mixed croud. Wonderful environment. U agree about eating ahead if time as small snack item we're the vendors option. The cafe was yummy yet simple, we had pizza and it was yummy and fresh...the artichoke was delightful for a late night snack. So glad we went. I did use an electric scooter as my cane was not going to get me through the entire event. For anyone with a disability I was impressed with the comfort and quality, it made for an enjoyable experience.

This museum has a lot for the kids to explore. The staff here were not very friendly though. We are visiting family and we have a two year old. We went to the kiddy room, and when our cousins met up with us (who have a 7 yr old so) the man at the front was very rude. He said they couldn't come in because their son was 7. It wasn't until they said our cousins with there toddler was inside he let them go in. I can understand this if they were strict about the age rule and weren't rude about it. In the water area there were many many kids that were over 6. If you're are not strict to enforce the rule then no need to be rude about it. Our cousin is super sweet and it kind of ruined his time until we went to a new room.

The program after dark was so busy I could barely see anything... maybe limit how many people you sell tickets too....

You know, I wanted to like this...in fact, my hubby and I have talked about it for MONTHS. Every last day of the month, something else came up. At last, we were set to go to OMSI After Dark! Woop! The entire idea is awesome and there isn't much better than kid-free events. We made our way through the museum back to Theory, which is actually pretty awesome - OMSI has really outdone themselves with this remodel. It takes me back to the days of middle school where I was at Z-Dances in that same exact cafeteria. However cool it was, Theory was ANYTHING BUT organized. It was pure chaos. There were no rhyme or reasons to any of the lines for the overpriced beer & wine. Throughout the museum, they had different alcohol options but again, people were just crowded around them waiting and preventing anybody from actually enjoying any of the toys. It seems a lot like people didn't even come to OMSI to enjoy a kid-free nerd night, they just wanted to drink. Well, I can drink at a bar and not pay $13 to get in. While OMSI makes every effort to provide something for everybody (vendors, samples, lots of options to drink, dancers, etc) this really just wasn't my cup of tea. Truth be told, I wish that I paid the admission and went during normal hours with the kids. I think they would have been more well behaved and it would have been quieter. Specifically, I would have been able to move around freely. NOTE: Make sure you show up somewhat early, parking gets pretty sparing during this time. Do NOT forget your ID, they're very strict on this.

It was my first time..... I didn't know what to expect..... Everyone says it's a lot of fun once you try....... OMSI After Dark Every LAST WEDNESDAY of every month, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) center holds a 21+ event showcasing samples of local beers or wines and food. If you enjoy adult-only events + booze, this would cater to you. I attended September's Burger's & Brew event. Non-members $25 and Members $15 will give you a pint size glass and about 10 tokens to sample the various local breweries. What breweries did I try? + Fish Brewery's "Spire Dark & Dry Cider" (**my fave of the night that I came back multiple times**) + Double Mountain Brewery's "The Vaporizer" + Buckman Botanical Brewery's "Ginger Pale Ale" + Fort George Brewery's "Sunrise Oatmeal Pale Ale" What food samples did I devour? +Nicky USA's open-faced "Bison Burger" (**my fave of the night**) +SortaSausage's "Hemp Burger" patty +Stock & Barrel's "Cheese Fondue + Bread" Parking can be a bit difficult since this these events are pretty popular, so you may want to get there early. The events run from 6PM-10PM. My first time was amazing..... Now I know what the fuss is all about........ And I'm looking forward to attending the next event ....... At OMSI After Dark

Geek, nerd, dweeb, dork...ok, yeah you got me. Guilty as charged. While these terms may have been mean spirited slurs during some of my more awkward teen years, they are now titles of honor that I pin fondly to the lab jacket of my persona. My name is Chris, I like science. I am a nerd. And you know what, I'm ok with it, because while the school yard tormentor is working at the local Quickie Mart to support his 6 brats and a toothless 300lb prostitute wife he met at a taping of the Jerry Springer show, this skinny legged geek got himself a fine ass hottie. "It's poetry in motion and now she's making love to me. The spheres're in commotion. The elements in harmony. She blinded me with science. She blinded me with science! And hit me with technology." - Thomas Dolby So when the TLB told me that OMSI, one of my favorite childhood haunts, was offering the opportunity at their monthly AfterDark event to wander the halls without the presence of shrieking children, with an adult beverage firmly in hand, it was something I couldn't turn down. And neither could a large portion of Portland's intelligent and cool populace. And while it was crowded, we still managed to create our own flying paper space ships, shoot balls across the padded room, make our hair stand up on end, and touch, push, pull and twist as many buttons, knobs, levers and handles we could get our hands on while occasionally learning a little more about the world we live in and what makes it tick. "From my heart and from my hand, why don't people understand, my intentions...ooooh, Weird Science" - Oingo Boingo Now I've never been confused with Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, but after agreeing to hold on to one electrode while submersing my hand into a bowl of water containing the other electrode, Beaker might be my more apropos Muppet doppelganger. As my body completed the electrical circuit and began to twitch, shake and shudder like an epileptic lap dog on crack , the TLB said it reminded her of the Simpsons episode where the family goes in for a little "aversion therapy" with Dr. Monroe. Wow, I didn't realize a shock therapy session was included in the $10 ticket price. Since I prefunked with some good friends at Laurelwood beforehand, I used my advanced intelligence (finally) and passed on the samples of free vodka. I've learned through multiple self inflicted experiments that beer before liqueur...yeah it is scientifically true, really does make you sicker. The cash bars were a little overpriced, but that was to be expected. Plus, just having the opportunity to throw back a brew while pretending to be Mister Wizard was worth the $5 bottle of Mac's. Overall, we had a great time and if you don't mind the crowds it is the best way to experience OMSI. "I've got science for any occasion, postulating theorems formulating equations" - Beastie Boys

So let's just get this straight. You're going to give me free beer and wine (last month's beer was from Firestone Walker!!!!) and set me loose in a museum packed with hands-on science exhibits? You're kidding right???? No? Okay, but you're going to charge a fortune for this right? $12????? That's it? You're playing a joke right? Any minute a schoolbus load of kids is going to show up and like usual I'm not going to be able to see the exhibits (because I'm shorter than they are) or get anywhere near said exhibits because "they're for kids". Still no? Adults only? Alright, I'm in, let's do this! A few of the things I remember: My inner geek running wild fueled by alcohol. I wired a circuit, my rubber band boat won the race, and I played with a lot of balls in the ball room. (Damn straight I did!). The entire night I was high fiving my buddy Ryan and yelling "we're doing science!" I also discovered the quick tip limit because I was so excited about what was going on and felt the need to share it with all of Yelp. (In case you're wondering it's two). A few things specific to last month, but an example of how awesome it can be: Demonstrations from the Rose City Rollers-I even got to put on the skates and pads and take a few wobbly whirls around. (This might have gone better before the beer). Re-aquainted myself with some old video game favorites, Zelda, Metroid, Smash Bros, onto the old arcade games, Ms. Pac-Man. (Wash your hands, use the sanitizer they put out!!!) And the games were free!!!! Checked out the Narnia exhibit and some memorabilia from the movie. What we got right: Eating beforehand-the food is pricey and doesn't look all that appetizing Buying our tickets in advance, they often sell out. Noticing where the swarms of people were and trying to go in opposite order. It's crowded but definitely doable. Brought cash for the cash bar. Our biggest mistake: -Not showing up early. We thought we could get through the whole museum in a few hours. We showed up a bit after 7 and pretty much stayed til the end and were lamenting the fact that we probably only saw half the exhibits and didn't get nearly long enough with the arcade games. Definitely one of the coolest things I've done in the last month. This is THE way to experience OMSI. Science!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Every last Wednesday of the month, OMSI hosts OMSI After Dark, which is for adults only from 6-10pm. I was really surprised by how enjoyable this was. My husband and I had wanted to check out the latest Mythbusters exhibit but that itself would not have been enough of a draw. I was impressed that they had a live demonstration within the exhibit that they did for us adults. There were samples from local breweries, a juice company, Hot Lips soda (including two sugar-free varieties, desserts, jerky, beans and more. There was a live band, loud music and dancing. Almost all of the general rooms were available to these beer-toting adults primarily in their 20s and 30s. I haven't been to the exhibits since I was little. It was eerily nostalgic how many have remained the same. There have been some additions, as well, which makes the passing of time even more notable. The auditorium was packed with local game companies and in a classroom there was Dungeons and Dragons going on.

OMIS After Dark's Tequila and Tapas event was overall okay...they did an awesome job at marketing this event to bring in such a huge crowd but did many do such a good job at organizing/running the event itself. The lines for anything were pretty long and at one point all the lines were meshed together and people weren't sure what they were waiting in line for. It's was hard to enjoy the exhibit with the amount of people there.

OMSI always excite my 4 year old . He like the science play , physics and chemistry lab areas . We spend hours there on week ends . We have a membership. Recently we went to OMSI after dark for robotic revolution . It was awesomely cool . My son and me enjoyed all the exhibit . The charge was 5$ / person for members . Otherwise 20$ / person. Totally worth it. Enjoyed the robots talk , walk, play,dance and much more .