Most museums make you whisper. Discovery Place in Uptown Charlotte makes you touch, build, launch, and occasionally get a little wet. It's the kind of place where your kids will forget they're learning anything because they're too busy launching rockets and designing circuits.

Located at 301 N. Tryon Street in the heart of Uptown, Discovery Place Science has been Charlotte's go-to spot for hands-on exploration since 1981. But this isn't the dusty science center you might remember from childhood field trips. After a major renovation, the facility now features a three-story rainforest habitat, a massive aquarium with touch tanks, and an IMAX Dome Theatre that wraps around your field of vision.

The real magic happens in the labs and workshops scattered throughout the building. Kids can design and test their own roller coasters in the Thinker Space, program robots to navigate mazes, or step inside a human cell in the immersive World Alive exhibit. The aquarium alone houses over 15,000 gallons of marine life, including sharks, stingrays, and a 250-pound goliath grouper named Goliath (creative, right?).

What sets Discovery Place apart is how it manages to engage every age group simultaneously. While your elementary schooler is obsessed with the kinetic sand tables, your teenager might be deep into the coding challenges. Even adults find themselves drawn into the physics demonstrations and live science shows that happen throughout the day.

The museum also hosts traveling exhibits that rotate every few months. Recent installations have included everything from a deep-sea exploration experience to a hands-on animation studio where visitors create their own stop-motion films.

Insider tip: Visit on a weekday afternoon after 2 PM when school groups have cleared out. The rainforest exhibit is significantly less humid then, and you'll have the touch tanks practically to yourself. Also, the IMAX shows are included with membership but cost extra for day visitors—if you're local, the family membership pays for itself in two visits.

Discovery Place is open Tuesday through Sunday, with extended hours on Fridays. Parking is available in the adjacent deck, though the Seventh Street Station light rail stop puts you right at the entrance if you want to avoid the hassle.