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Maintaining The Discovery’s collection of exhibits, and building new ones, is a huge job. But did you know that role is filled by just one person? His name is Nathan Tobey and he is The Discovery’s Exhibits Manager.
Nathan was born and raised in Carson City, Nevada. He went to school at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon and the University of Nevada, Reno. He has been a contractor, carpenter, landscaper, pizza cook, waiter, bartender, umpire, shoe salesman, house cleaner, and a lot of other things.
For the past eight years, Nathan has been a part of the team at The Discovery, working diligently to repair exhibits when they get broken and building new exhibits when duty calls. Nathan began working at The Discovery in April 2012 after hearing about an opening in the exhibits department from friends. He was attracted to the position because it offered him the chance to combine his carpentry skills with his passion for trying new things and experimentation.
Some of the notable exhibits Nathan has built include the Praxinoscope, Electrosketch, a large dinosaur dig pit and nearly all of the fixtures in Inside Out: an Anatomy Experience. In the summer of 2018 Nathan built an entire exhibition that helped visitors explore the science of carnival games called Curiosity Carnival.
Nathan’s favorite part of working at The Discovery is seeing visitors get excited about the exhibits he creates. When asked what he would like to see The Discovery become in the future, he replied:
“I would like to see the museum become an even bigger part of Northern Nevada, and a cornerstone of our educational/cultural community.”