Clay Center
Clay Center
4.5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
About
Opened in the summer of 2003, the Clay Center strives to present a variety of arts and sciences all under one roof. The Avampato Discovery Museum is two floors of fascinating interactive science exhibits, while the ElectricSky™ Theater features planetarium shows. In addition there are a large performance hall and a small black-box theater, an art museum, a fun museum shop, and a cafe. There's something interesting scheduled virtually every night here!
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
200 reviews
Excellent
124
Very good
41
Average
20
Poor
10
Terrible
5
Dara
8 contributions
Jul 2022 • Couples
We looked forward to visiting the Clay Center because we enjoy all the Sciences, Art and Music, and History and Culture. According to the reviews, this was the place to spend time if one is in the area. So we planned to spend this rainy afternoon there today but were hard pressed to find anything of interest for more than half and hour. There is very little worth seeing here if you are an adult. The young man who took our money at admissions could have told us this but could barely remove himself from the book he was reading to give us any information about the place and neither could the other two seat fillers next to him. No directions or information was offered until we asked about show times for the Planetarium which we were told was broken and would be working again sometime in the future maybe next week, after he took our entrance money, of course. The planetarium was the main reason we came in the first place. We browsed around to the Juliet Art Gallery which had some quilts on the wall and a small exhibit of elaborate sketches by Rick Ambrose which were good then wandered through the exhibits. As I said, if you are a child, there are some interesting interactive exhibits, but many are out of order. I also noticed a clock that didn’t work and a toilet that didn’t flush, so the maintenance should be upgraded. We left extremely disappointed by the experience. Frankly, it was a waste of our time and money.
Written July 26, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TAK0269
Clarksville, TN683 contributions
May 2024 • Family
First off if this was crowded in any way I cannot see it being a pleaser. We went and there was only one other family. Not long after a small school class came. We were the only one in the planetarium. The magic tree house was not bad, but I thought it would be more educational of the stars and planets. Most of it was showing the kids searching on the internet. However, for the 7 and 9 year old it was a nice. The water area was ok for little toddlers. It was neat how they have the balls going up and traveling to a tornado water area. But after a few times it will lose the interest of older kids. The music area was ok again if very many others this area will be overcrowded and unusable soon. The craft area was one we were looking forward to. However, not being very creative we were at a loss of what to make with all the items there. They had little sheets that gave you ideas. But again with no creativity ourselves it was a bust. They girl in the room was little help.the best was the little town. However, the fact that many things were not working, like the registers in the store and the scale or scanner in the clinic it was disappointing. More disappointing was children are allowed to run wild and nothing was in its place. Finally you have a card that you are supposed to complete tasks at each location, which we did, then the ATM you inset your code. However the questions that were asked had nothing to do with the tasks we were told to complete. So many questions were answered wrong, unless you wanted to run to ATM find out question run back to that area and find the answer then go back to the ATM it is useless to try and complete. The one thing the loved the most was top floor they had two screens you could draw on. They stayed there the longes being we were the only ones there. Again if it was busy this would not have been able to be done. Overall because we were many times by ourselves it made this place nice. However, I would never travel as we had done do a long distance to visit.
Written June 2, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lauraprophoto
Milton, West Virginia20 contributions
Jan 2024 • Family
The Clay Center has greatly changed since it opened 18 years ago. The science museum originally had lots of activities. Brought our 10 year old grandson and discovered much less interactive exhibits. The original science section was very good and took about 2 hours to appreciate. Today we looked through everything including the art gallery in less than an hour. Perhaps 4-5 years old would have liked it. Admission was $8 each but didn't including the movie in the planetarium ($4 extra). Parking was $3.
Written January 2, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
PurpleAnkh
Fort Washington, MD280 contributions
Dec 2023 • Solo
I loved the Romare Bearden exhibit. The interactive activities available to children and families throughout the museum were very engaging. As an educator I appreciated the book cubes throughout the museum that supported the subject of the exhibits or extended learning beyond what was available in the individual exhibits. There is an outdoor sculpture garden. The museum has three floors of activities and exhibits.
Written January 2, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Crystal
2 contributions
Aug 2023
Great Children’s Museum. We loved it until we were over taken by a large group called Kinder Kamp that raced the shopping carts downs the walkways, threw everything in the mechanic’s shop and basically ran over every small child in their way while the adult supervisors were on their phones. We had to take our 4 year old home, and we live an hour away. I know that isn’t the responsibility of the museum, but it ruined our visit.
Written August 5, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
nlemley
Ravenswood, WV4 contributions
Jul 2018 • Family
I took my children here upon their request. They had both visited the museum on field trips. We were having a pleasant time until we decided to look at the art exhibit “30 Americans”. Almost immediately, my children were confused and began asking me many questions. I told them that “art” is sometimes like this (because I didn’t want to scare them by saying some people are evil and insane - which is how I would describe this being on display in a children’s museum.) My children, 9 and 11, asked me questions like “Mommy, why is that baby peeing in that kid’s mouth?” “Mommy, why does that woman have a carrot in her behind?” - CHILDREN SHOULD NEVER SEE THIS and SHOULD NEVER HAVE TO THINK ABOUT or SEE THESE THINGS. I think whoever is in charge of allowing this art to be on display should be fired. I’ve included pictures - which makes me sick because this is basically when my children lost their innocence - seriously it makes me want to vomit sayings that. But those responsible should be help accountable.
Written August 24, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JaneEllen41
Beverly Hills, FL90 contributions
We attended the fun day free event and was not impressed. Most exhibits are geared toward 5y and under, didn't get to enjoy the show at the theatre cause they ran out of tickets,and they shut down the face painting line an hour and half early. I felt the Faith and the Devil" exhibit should not be in a kids museum! It depicted satanic pics and curse words everywhere, I felt it very offensive! I don't plan on returning.
Written July 27, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Biggeer
Chicago, IL62 contributions
Apr 2011 • Solo
It's rather expensive considering there is not much to do. I went through the whole place in under two hours. If I was traveling I would rather go to COSI in Columbus, OH. They have an art gallery but it was horrible, worst gallery I've ever seen in my life. There is a nice art gallery in Huntington, WV about 45 mins away.
Written December 18, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LadyRedRider
Charleston, WV270 contributions
Mar 2018 • Friends
An okay place but way over priced for the area. The concerts are okay if you can get decent tickets after the local big dogs have scarfed the best ones for themselves. As with all venues in Charleston, the big shots in town pick thru the tickets and what is left the locals can buy. This started as a great little place but is now too expensive for its own good. The concerts DO NOT ALLOW food or drinks unless its pre-show or intermission and only in the lobby never at your seat. Was horribly harrassed during Mothers Day 1 year for taking a picture yet all around me people were videoing Vince Gill. I used a still frame camera, NO flash and was harassed by this old woman usher who was so rude. She climbed across 4 people to tell me no pictures but all 4 of the people she climbed across were videoing brazenly - I was humiliated and have never returned. Staff are unfriendly, the seats are small and the seats in the back are horrible due to the incorrect sloping of the theater.
Written April 2, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sasha S
Charleston, WV84 contributions
Jan 2015 • Couples
There are five main reasons to find yourself at the Clay Center and five different reviews depending.
1. The 360 Theater/Planetarium: Fun for kids and adults (though it can give you a massive crick in the neck) and so far as I know the only one in the state. Fairly comfortable seats, not too bad prices, and a great image. Great for astronomy buffs.
2. The (actual) Theater and events there-in: kind of small, but very classy for Charleston. It's nice for showing of smaller orchestral things, theatre, that sort of thing, but they periodically overstep their size and try out larger events like Cirque de Soleil and other very physical events and then it just seems ridiculous. It's also very, very pricey.
3. Events: They do have entertainment spaces for weddings, meetings, and other such events (frequently after one of their theater performances) I've heard nothing bad, but nothing exceptionally good, either.
4. Their art gallery: unremarkable. Nothing of any particular note has ever come through. It's nice to walk through and look, but it feels like you should be seeing something of real impact to have paid so much to get in.
5. Their "Discovery Center" (Finally, something for the kids!): Unlike Sunrise, which they replaced, the Clay Center has not put much money into keeping up their attractions for the kids and a lot of the interactive exhibits are falling apart now. Kids still seem to enjoy it, but expect a few things that don't work, and more things that don't work like they should.
1. The 360 Theater/Planetarium: Fun for kids and adults (though it can give you a massive crick in the neck) and so far as I know the only one in the state. Fairly comfortable seats, not too bad prices, and a great image. Great for astronomy buffs.
2. The (actual) Theater and events there-in: kind of small, but very classy for Charleston. It's nice for showing of smaller orchestral things, theatre, that sort of thing, but they periodically overstep their size and try out larger events like Cirque de Soleil and other very physical events and then it just seems ridiculous. It's also very, very pricey.
3. Events: They do have entertainment spaces for weddings, meetings, and other such events (frequently after one of their theater performances) I've heard nothing bad, but nothing exceptionally good, either.
4. Their art gallery: unremarkable. Nothing of any particular note has ever come through. It's nice to walk through and look, but it feels like you should be seeing something of real impact to have paid so much to get in.
5. Their "Discovery Center" (Finally, something for the kids!): Unlike Sunrise, which they replaced, the Clay Center has not put much money into keeping up their attractions for the kids and a lot of the interactive exhibits are falling apart now. Kids still seem to enjoy it, but expect a few things that don't work, and more things that don't work like they should.
Written April 1, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Is there handicap parking available?
Written February 19, 2020
Is this is good attraction for older children (ages 11 & 12). Thank you!
Written May 28, 2018
Inmy opinion yes. There is a floor with many science experiential exhibits and one with art that changes periodically.
Written May 29, 2018
Nicollette W
Elizabethtown, Kentucky
What kid friendly restaurants are nearby?
Written October 21, 2015
There are also some kid-friendly restaurants on Charleston's east side. Heading east on Washington Street, you'll find a Gino's Pizza and Tudor's Biscuit World. Also on Washington, closer to the WV State Capitol, you'll find a McDonald's, Wendy's and Domino's. The WV Capitol Complex is really cool for kids and the WV State Museum in the Cultural Center is amazing.... and FREE!
Written October 29, 2015
I suggest you keep an eye on the Clay Center's Facebook site. They had a free Summer Fun Day in early July. Last year, they offered free admission to military families between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Written July 14, 2015
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