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Museum of Life and Science Reviews

Museum of Life and Science

Museum of Life and Science

Durham, NC
4.9 out of 5 rating, 40 Reviews
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Reviews

4.9 out of 5 rating
4.9 out of 5 rating
40 Reviews
97% recommend it
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    4.9 out of 5 rating
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Awards

40
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2020 Winner
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2018 Winner
  • Hannah
    Hannah Sent on 09/06/2022
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    Perfect venue

    We had our wedding here 9/4/22 and everything was perfect. We did the magic wings package. We added a butterfly release which was absolutely magical. Our guests really enjoyed the butterfly conservatory during cocktail hour. The outdoor ceremony space is so gorgeous and unique. Working with Rachel was fantastic and we really could not have asked for a better experience.
  • Matthew
    Matthew A. Sent on 10/30/2023
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    The Museum made for an unique venue!

    Our guests really had fun at the Museum and we heard many people state how exciting it was to attend a wedding in such an interesting space. Of all the wedding plans we could have made, I don't think we could have made a better choice than to pick this venue. We appreciated Rachel's professionalism and attention to detail. We couldn't have asked for a more magical venue for our wedding.
  • Allyson
    Allyson Sent on 06/06/2023
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    Perfect Venue for our Wedding!

    Our wedding at the Museum of Life and Science was fantastic! Rachel was super communicative while we were planning everything and was such a joy to meet with during the walk through and final details meeting. While we were originally planning on an outdoor event, Rachel made sure that we had a complete rain plan during the final details meeting. Because of this, when the forecast called for rain on our date and we decided to move it inside just a couple of days before the wedding, it was A LOT less stressful. We are actually so happy it rained though, our wedding was such a blast with all of the exhibits and our pictures turned out so fun! It also gave our guests who aren't big dancers something fun to do during the reception (:The museum staff during our wedding was so friendly, extremely helpful, and just went above and beyond to make sure everything went smoothly! Richard was especially great, we and our guests loved the insect encounter with him, he was super knowledgeable and you could tell he really cared for the insects. And we loved having butterflies released by him for our first look! We would definitely recommend this venue! (and the butterfly release add on, our first look pictures came out so great 🥰)

    Photos are from Buffalo and The Bird
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    Holly D. Sent on 06/20/2022
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    Magical venue, wonder staff

    We had our wedding at NCMLS April 30 2022. The venue coordinator Rachel was absolutely amazing and the staff were so kind and friendly. We did the wings and wonder package, which worked out very well given NC’s finicky weather. We also added 1hr of photography time, 1 hr of reception time, and the animal encounter. All were excellent calls that gave us the chance to enjoy ourselves at a more leisurely pace. The animal encounter was an extra dose of delight for our guests and we’ve had many folks tell us it’s the most fun they’ve had at a wedding.
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    Stephanie R. Sent on 11/16/2021
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    Incredible Experience

    From the first contact, everything was amazing. Planning our wedding was simple. Event staff were thoughtful and kind. Everyone was attentive. Every detail was covered. Rachel was beyond professional and had wonderful suggestions to help us plan for an incredible experience. It’s a very unique venue!!! None of our guests had been to a wedding like this before!

    Museum of Life and Science's reply:

    We are so happy to hear what a wonderful time you had celebrating your wedding at the Museum of Life and Science. It was an absolute pleasure getting to work with both of you and to meet your lovely friends and family. We hope it was a memorable evening for everyone!
  • Katie
    Katie F. Sent on 06/19/2022
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    Fun and fantastic wedding venue!

    We recently had out wedding outside the Butterfly House at the Museum of Life and Science. Working with Rachel, the Museum's wedding coordinator, was an absolute pleasure--she's incredibly professional, detail-oriented, and has great recommendations. She was incredibly flexible with us planning from out of state and with changing our wedding date due to COVID. The Butterfly House and tent were an absolutely magical setup for our wedding--gorgeous lighting and not much decoration needed. The Museum staff did a great job of having everything set up exactly how we planned it and even helped drive us around in a golf cart so we could get some great photos! And our guests had a great time being able to wander through the Butterfly House during cocktail hour. I can't think of a better place for two scientists like us to get married.
  • Jordan
    Jordan L. Sent on 08/30/2020
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    Perfect package for an intimate wedding

    My now-husband and I had planned our August 2020 wedding at a different venue but had to downsize our guest list and change our plans considerably due to COVID-19. We had frequented After Hours events at the Museum in the past and were thrilled when we came across their Intimate Wonder packages for up to 20 people. Rachel was so helpful and flexible in pivoting nearly everything about our wedding and really felt like a friend through the whole crazy process. It was so easy to create a perfect wedding plan using the all-inclusive package options even though we only started planning two months before the big day. We were even able to add on access to Museum spaces other than our ceremony/reception location (the butterfly house lawn and tent) to get some unique photos of the two of us!

    We were the first event the Museum hosted after their re-opening and the evening ran like clockwork. Everything was gorgeous, the staff moved us to the rain plan quickly when it was needed, and the food and cake were absolutely delicious! We highly recommend the Intimate Wonder package for anyone looking for a unique venue and super easy coordination with amazing vendors at an affordable price for an intimate group of family and friends.
  • Alexandra
    Alexandra Sent on 04/23/2020
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    So many compliments from our guests

    We absolutely loved our venue. After the wedding, we had many guests reach out to us and tell us that it was the most fun they’d had at a wedding in a long time. They loved being able to explore the butterfly house and insect exhibit. Also, the photos with the dinosaurs and butterfly house as backdrops were stunning.

    Museum of Life and Science's reply:

    Alex, we are so happy to hear that you and your guests had such a wonderful time! The Butterfly House is a fantastic place to keep guests entertained and active at your wedding during family photos!
  • Michaela
    Michaela Sent on 11/19/2019
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    A Magical Event with the Museum

    Got married in October of this year - I am hearing back all the time about how fun, unique and unforgettable my wedding was. I couldn't have been happier with my experience with the museum, from planning with Lauren all the way up to the day.

    For my wedding and reception, I wanted our celebration to not just be about us, but also be a genuinely fun event for my family and friends. I started researching the Museum of Life and Science because it was one of my favorite places to go as a kid, and I was so excited to see that they were open for special events. At our reception, we had the train at the museum running, liquid nitrogen margaritas and the insectarium and butterfly house open for touring. Obviously none of this would be feasible at a different venue. There are a number of different package options you can pick throughout the museum - and the best part is if you pick one of the outdoor options as I did, you will automatically have a fantastic indoor rain plan set up for you. We also had first look photos at various exhibits throughout the grounds that turned out magical.

    This was truly the best night of my life and I'm so thankful to Lauren and the Museum of Life and Science for helping put it all together!
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    Hannah L. Sent on 09/03/2019
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    Wonderful experience

    Selecting the Museum of Life + Science as a our venue was definitely one of the best decisions we made when wedding planning. Working with Lauren was great and the entire process was really straightforward. They're not the cheapest option in town, but you get what you pay for - we received tons of compliments from our guests about how professional and helpful the museum staff were during the wedding and reception. They also raved about how beautiful the butterfly house and lawn were. Overall, we could not have been happier!
  • Richard
    Richard B. Sent on 06/27/2019
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    Absolutely Gorgeous Venue for Outdoor Wedding

    We held our wedding here on June 22, 2019. From guests who visited during the day to guests that were seeing the museum for the first time at our ceremony, everyone had positive things to say about our choice of venue. My favorite part was doing our first look in the butterfly house. It was such a magical place to see my bride in her wedding dress for the first time. I was awestruck. I couldn’t have asked for a better moment.

    The museum staff were great with Lauren helping coordinate our wedding up until the day-of and Chase coordinating the day-of. They answered all our questions and were on top of anything that came up. We were a little eager to move forward when we booked the venue nearly a year and a half before our wedding, but Lauren was great at working with us despite having other, nearer, events to work with. The timelines and all the materials we were provided were very helpful!

    Lauren and Chase also coordinated our vendors so when we showed up the day-of, everything was setup and ready to go. It was a huge relief to see when we arrived!

    All-in-all, we highly recommend the Museum of Life and Science for weddings!
  • Abby
    Abby Sent on 06/03/2019
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    The Wedding Venue of Our DREAMS!

    It’s impossible to put into words just how perfect our wedding day was thanks to the Museum of Life and Science and their incredibly wonderful staff. After considering a total of 25 different wedding venues throughout the state (and touring 8 of them), I can say with absolute confidence that, as far as venues go, the Museum of Life and Science is the BEST of the best. We held our ceremony on the lawn outside the butterfly house and had our reception under the special events tent. WEEKS after our wedding, guests are still commenting on how “magical” our venue was, and we couldn’t agree more. The grounds are beautifully landscaped, and the glass, butterfly house provides a really dramatic ceremony backdrop, so we were able to keep décor relatively simple since the space is already so naturally gorgeous.

    But in addition to the incredible space itself, Lauren and the rest of the museum staff were an absolute DREAM to work with and made the sometimes complex and overwhelming process of wedding planning so manageable! From the moment we first met Lauren, she made us feel so taken care of and reassured that our wedding day would go off without a hitch (which it ultimately did!). Lauren was ALWAYS available to answer our questions in the months leading up to the wedding, to advocate for us when some challenges arose with a few of our vendors, and to make sure all our needs were met on the day of. She worked so closely with us (and so well with the rest of our vendors) that she truly felt like a friend by our wedding day. On top of that, all the museum staff we interacted with on the day of the wedding were absolute saints and treated us like royalty. One staff member drove us around the grounds in our own private golf cart so we could squeeze in a bunch of pictures at different exhibits while another caught butterflies for us to use in our photographs (talk about going above and beyond the call of duty!). Everyone blended seamlessly into our day with warmth and professionalism, and we just couldn’t have asked for better folks to spend our special day with! If you’re still on the hunt for a wedding venue, you can stop searching now because this one can’t be beat! Pro Tip: We HIGHLY recommend picking a date in May when all the flowers are in bloom!

    Museum of Life and Science's reply:

    Abby, thank you so much for your kind words! You and Adam were a pleasure to work with and we wish you both a long and happy life together!
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    Eleanor Sent on 04/29/2019
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    Wonderful in every way!

    Lauren and her team at the Museum made our wedding so special! We decided to get married in the treehouses, and Lauren did a wonderful job of figuring out how to stage the ceremony so that guests could see, hear, and enjoy everything. The photos beforehand on the Dinosaur Trail, the cocktail hour in the Butterfly House, and the reception on the lawn were all perfect. While load-in time at this venue is pretty short since it’s an active children’s museum, Lauren still made it easy for us to have everything ready on time. We also appreciated having access to a golf cart to help move guests with mobility challenges.

    I grew up going to the Museum as a kid, so to get married there was meaningful and magical. Highly, highly recommend this venue and their warm, capable, responsive events team!!

    Museum of Life and Science's reply:

    Eleanor, we were so happy to be a part of your wedding day! Thank you so much for the kind words and we look forward to seeing you and Jalal in the future!
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    Catherine Sent on 10/14/2018
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    Our wedding at the Museum of Life and Science was absolutely perfect! Lauren was responsive and a delight to work with throughout the planning process, and the rest of the day of staff were friendly and completely on top of everything. Our wedding day went off without a hitch and we appreciated that there were no hidden costs for anything. We chose the magic wings package (ceremony on the lawn, cocktail hour in the butterfly house, reception under the tent) and it truly was magical. The guests raved about the liquid nitrogen margaritas, the butterfly house, and even the insect exhibits! The only downside is that the time frame for set up is rather limited since you have to wait until the Museum closes to start setting up. The Museum was clear about that from the start so it wasn't a surprise, but if you choose the Museum, be sure to discuss this early on with your other vendors (especially your florist) to ensure that your plans can realistically be set up in only an hour!

    Museum of Life and Science's reply:

    Thank you so much for your wonderful review, Catherine! It was a pleasure working with you and Zili and we wish you a long and happy life together!
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    Rachael Sent on 07/06/2018
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    My husband and I are a local wedding + couples photography team, we coordinated with the museum to use the butterfly house for a recent maternity session. Our experience was fantastic, Sarah was amazing to work with and so quick in her responses to any questions we had. The rate to use to the exhibit for the session was very reasonably priced and definitely worth every penny! Sarah even tagged along with us on the day of the session to help manage the museum visitor traffic during our shoot. She showed us some great outdoor spots to use in addition to the exhibit itself. The Magic Wings butterfly house was gorgeous and so well maintained. It was a perfect backdrop and a fun experience. I hope to return in the future with more of my clients! It was all around a fantastic time and I highly recommend working with the museum and their events staff.
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    Kassy Sent on 11/04/2017
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    I can't imagine a more magical and fun place to get married. We chose the "special events tent" outside of the butterfly garden, and it was perfect. I wish we could do it all over again!

    Museum of Life and Science's reply:

    Thank you Kassy!
  • User3304395 Sent on 11/12/2017
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    We had our wedding ceremony at the Museum of Life and Science and it was beautiful! Lauren was very easy to work with and graciously answered my dozens of questions. The day of the staff was very accommodating and helpful. We're so pleased we chose this as our ceremony venue!

    Museum of Life and Science's reply:

    Thank you Jessica!
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    Jamie Sent on 05/29/2017
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    We could not be happier with our choice to have our wedding at the Museum of Life and Science! It is such a unique venue and it's perfect for those who might not want the classic church/ballroom event. One of the best parts of having your wedding there is being able to take pictures all over the grounds, our photographer was so excited to shoot in the butterfly house and in the hideaway woods. Another benefit is the ability to move your event inside if you decide to book the lawn/tent and the forecast shows rain, which was my biggest fear in choosing an outdoor venue. Also, Lauren, the events manager, was absolutely wonderful to work with and was on top of everything during the planning process and the event itself.

    Museum of Life and Science's reply:

    Thank you Jamie!
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    Rachel Sent on 04/27/2017
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    I want to find another reason to throw a giant party just so we can have it here! The Museum is gorgeous, interesting, and amazing. The staff were incredible and helpful in every way. Love, love, love.

    Museum of Life and Science's reply:

    Thank you Rachel!
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    Jessica Sent on 04/11/2017
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    Seriously, this is an amazing venue! All of our guests commented on how great and unique it was. The staff was incredible; they were flexible and worked hard to help everything run smoothly. They took care of so much of the day, we hardly had anything to worry about. It was a little pricier than having our wedding in, say, a hotel ballroom but TOTALLY worth the extra cost.

    Museum of Life and Science's reply:

    Thank you Jessica!
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    Carrie Sent on 02/04/2017
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    Couldn't imagine our wedding being anymore perfect then it already was. It was worth every penny and then some and the rentals team work tirelessly to ensure your day goes off without a hitch! I wish I could re do the day exactly as it was! Thank you MLS staff! Xo
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    Jennie Sent on 06/20/2015
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    My husband and I knew from the moment that we visited that we wanted to have our wedding at the Museum of Life & Science. We chose to use the indoor spaces (aerospace room, math, weather) because we wanted people to be able to play with the exhibits. The prices were very reasonable and they worked with us to make sure that we were able to stay in budget. Tiera (the new events coordinator) was great with responding to my emails and helping us drop things off ahead of time. They were super flexible with our ideas and everyone raved about what a cool space it was. I loved that you can take your photos anywhere on the property, even if you aren't renting that space (bridal party with dinosaurs!!!) They also have really fun add-ons such as a photobooth or train rides. It is such a unique space if you are wanting to do something a little different and the staff is a pleasure to work with.
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    Erin Sent on 08/03/2014
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    We had gone to an after-hours event at the Museum of Life and Science before my fiancé and I were engaged. When we were looking for places to get married that would reflect us, we thought about the Museum. We wanted to have the wedding outside but knew we’d need a backup area in case of rain, extreme heat, etc. The Museum was perfect. They only schedule one event per night so if the weather is iffy, you can move it inside. We used the lawn area next to the Butterfly House and it was great. Kelly and her team coordinated everything without a hitch. The space was lovely and I have had nothing but compliments about how everything went. How can you beat providing your guests with a train during cocktail hour?
  • User1127065 Sent on 04/05/2013
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    The museum was wonderful and easy to work with. They provided an incredible wedding coordinator and made all the arrangements with vendors. They had plenty of experience hosting large events, so they had every last detail covered. Wonderful experience!
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    Liz Sent on 08/06/2012
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    I agree! Kelly Taylor and her staff are absolutely wonderful to work with... they listened to what we wanted and then made it happen beautifully, smoothly and behind the scenes. The location is absolutely magical as well! So beautiful and so many fun things for guests to do, from train rides, to liquid nitrogen margaritas to butterfly watching.
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