Calendar of Events

From Memorial Day, May 26 though Labor Day, September 1, 2025, The Discovery adds Monday to the days the museum is open to the public. That’s seven days a week you can build, invent, explore and have fun! We hope to see you here. Be sure to check out the calendar of events to find out what’s happening all summer long!

Hands-on gets serious in The Shop! In this material-specific session of Open Build, you’ll use real tools to build nearly anything you can imagine out of cardboard. Best of all, what you create is yours to keep! Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can cause injury if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers use the tools and materials safely in this space.

Hands-on gets serious in The Shop! In this material-specific session of Open Build, you’ll use real tools to build nearly anything you can imagine out of cardboard. Best of all, what you create is yours to keep! Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can cause injury if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers use the tools and materials safely in this space.

Put your do-it-yourself skills to work in The Shop when you use real tools and materials to create a fun game to play with family and friends. Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers use the tools and materials safely in this space.

Every Wednesday, beginning at 4:00pm, museum admission is just $5 per person! And best of all, the museum stays open until 8:00pm so there’s plenty of time to explore! Members and children under age 1 are always free.

Dogs are easy to train. Bugs are not. Except for this cute little fella. He always does what you tell him. But can you program him to navigate an obstacle course or perform a specific action? Visit Spark!Lab Smithsonian to find out if you have what it takes to code a bug!

Dogs are easy to train. Bugs are not. Except for this cute little fella. He always does what you tell him. But can you program him to navigate an obstacle course or perform a specific action? Visit Spark!Lab Smithsonian to find out if you have what it takes to code a bug!

Dogs are easy to train. Bugs are not. Except for this cute little fella. He always does what you tell him. But can you program him to navigate an obstacle course or perform a specific action? Visit Spark!Lab Smithsonian to find out if you have what it takes to code a bug!

From Memorial Day, May 26 though Labor Day, September 1, 2025, The Discovery adds Monday to the days the museum is open to the public. That’s seven days a week you can build, invent, explore and have fun! We hope to see you here. Be sure to check out the calendar of events to find out what’s happening all summer long!

Every Wednesday, beginning at 4:00pm, museum admission is just $5 per person! And best of all, the museum stays open until 8:00pm so there’s plenty of time to explore! Members and children under age 1 are always free.

The 4th of July holiday is typically once of the most damaging to Lake Tahoe, with huge amounts of litter and other debris left behind. In that hands-on activity, visitors can invent a device that will help keep Lake Tahoe’s beaches and shores clean using a variety of materials. What will you invent to help preserve one of America’s most beautiful lakes and the jewel of the Sierra? Please note: Spark!Lab offers access to tools and materials that can cause injury…

Get ready to ring in the New Year when you build your own pom-pom launcher in The Shop. Using a variety of materials, you’ll create a device that converts potential energy into kinetic energy to send pom-poms into the air. Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers use the tools and materials safely in this space.

The 4th of July holiday is typically once of the most damaging to Lake Tahoe, with huge amounts of litter and other debris left behind. In that hands-on activity, visitors can invent a device that will help keep Lake Tahoe’s beaches and shores clean using a variety of materials. What will you invent to help preserve one of America’s most beautiful lakes and the jewel of the Sierra? Please note: Spark!Lab offers access to tools and materials that can cause injury…

Beginning July 6, 2025 the The Discovery’s hours on Sundays will change to 10:00am to 5:00pm. Our members and visitors have spoken and we’ve responded. The new hours will give our community two additional weekend hours to explore, learn and play. We hope to see you here! To see what else is happening here at The Discovery, be sure to check out our complete calendar of events!

Get ready to ring in the New Year when you build your own pom-pom launcher in The Shop. Using a variety of materials, you’ll create a device that converts potential energy into kinetic energy to send pom-poms into the air. Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers use the tools and materials safely in this space.

The 4th of July holiday is typically once of the most damaging to Lake Tahoe, with huge amounts of litter and other debris left behind. In that hands-on activity, visitors can invent a device that will help keep Lake Tahoe’s beaches and shores clean using a variety of materials. What will you invent to help preserve one of America’s most beautiful lakes and the jewel of the Sierra? Please note: Spark!Lab offers access to tools and materials that can cause injury…

From Memorial Day, May 26 though Labor Day, September 1, 2025, The Discovery adds Monday to the days the museum is open to the public. That’s seven days a week you can build, invent, explore and have fun! We hope to see you here. Be sure to check out the calendar of events to find out what’s happening all summer long!

Visit The Shop to put your creativity and your sewing skills to the test when you design your very own stuffed shark. You’ll use available materials to design and fill your own stuffed shark to keep! Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can cause injury if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers practice the safe use of the tools and materials in this space.

Visit The Shop to put your creativity and your sewing skills to the test when you design your very own stuffed shark. You’ll use available materials to design and fill your own stuffed shark to keep! Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can cause injury if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers practice the safe use of the tools and materials in this space.

Visit The Shop to put your creativity and your sewing skills to the test when you design your very own stuffed shark. You’ll use available materials to design and fill your own stuffed shark to keep! Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can cause injury if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers practice the safe use of the tools and materials in this space.

Every Wednesday, beginning at 4:00pm, museum admission is just $5 per person! And best of all, the museum stays open until 8:00pm so there’s plenty of time to explore! Members and children under age 1 are always free.

Invention is a process! You’re invited to visit The Discovery’s Spark!Lab Smithsonian to explore the steps in the invention process including think it, sketch it, create it, tweak it, and sell it. Visit a station for each step in the process and who knows, you might just invent something new! Please note: Spark!Lab offers access to tools and materials that can cause injury if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young inventors use the tools and materials safely in this space.

Visit The Shop to design and build your own version of a nautical vessel. Using a selection of buoyant materials and a variety of tools, you can create a boat and then test its seaworthiness. Please note: The Shop offers access to real tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young tinkerers use the tools and materials safely in this space.