A must return for me. My entire family were members here, while my sons were growing up, for several years. Their annual behind-the-scenes open houses were a great time to view many of the off exhibit artifacts, which in all total over 30 million.
Have you been there recently Blackduiker? The new dinosaur hall is truly spectacular and the new mammal hall is very good. There is a new California history exhibit opening next year. Many old favorites are still there too: gems and minerals, the bird hall, African and North American mammal halls, and American history hall.
It's probably been 5-6 years since my last visit. But I have visited the Science Center, right next door, on a couple of occasions, since the opening of their new Aquarium display last year. Part of the new Eco Systems wing. I'm still anticipating the opening of their Asian Rain Forest habitat sometime in the near future.