Today's Hours
12:00pm - 5:00pm There’s always more to discover!
September 10, 2016 marks five years since The Discovery officially opened its doors. All the way back in 2004, local businessman and father, Chris Riche, identified the need for a safe, fun place to experience educational, hands-on learning in Northern Nevada. The spark of an idea that became The Discovery was born. Have the 12 ensuing years, from concept to build to becoming Northern Nevada’s most trusted resource for science education, confirmed this need?
By the numbers
The key performance indicators (KPIs) The Discovery uses to analyze business health look good with growing attendance, record numbers of field trips, and seasonal camps that are posting their best numbers to date.
By the feedback
The Discovery consistently ranks high in regional “Best Of” rankings like these:
- In 2015, Nevada Magazine ranked The Discovery as both the “Best Museum” and the “Best Family-Friendly Museum” in Northern Nevada, and in 2016 we were named “Best Kids Place”.
- This year, we tied with Lake Tahoe for “Best Family Outing” in the Reno News & Review’s Best Of issue, and were named the “Best Place To Take The Kids” for the fourth year in a row.
- The Northern Nevada Human Resources Association named The Discovery one of the five “Best Places to Work” in our region.
Perhaps the “need” that Chris identified back in 2004 was greater than anyone realized. People vote with their feet and with their support in “Best Of” surveys. The Discovery is on pace to welcome nearly 175,000 visitors this year and we remain a go-to for families in our region who need extracurricular fun and enrichment. Our motivated, hard-working staff ensures that the visitor experience is always excellent. If this need was misidentified, people would likely fail to remember us when they fill out their surveys, and they would choose somewhere else to spend their weekends.
Today, we at The Discovery are thankful to Chris for seeing the need, and to community members like you who have generously committed time and treasure to support this beloved community asset. We can’t do any of this without you.
We challenge you to help us celebrate five years
Your support enables The Discovery to reach more people, more often, with exciting ways to explore science—see how The Discovery, and our community, is making an impact. And now through December 31, 2016, your support has twice the power to fuel the museum’s mission, because the Terry Lee Wells Foundation is matching all donations up to $250,000.
We are challenging our community to help us advance scientific literacy by joining our growing list of supporters at one of these levels:
- 25 new donors at the $1,000 level
- 250 new donors at the $250 level
- 2,500 new donors at the $25 level
Gifts can be made through our website or by contacting Leigh Fitzpatrick at lfitzpatrick@nvdm.org or 775-398-5910. We thank you for your support and for making a difference for lifelong learners in Northern Nevada.