Calendar of Events

The Discovery will be closed to the public on Monday, August 15, 2022 for staff training in preparation for 2022-23 school field trips and our upcoming featured exhibition. The museum will reopen at 10:00am and resume normal operating hours on Tuesday, August 16, 2022.

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 a variety of plastics. Best of all, what you create is yours to keep! 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.

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 wood. Best of all, what you create is yours to keep! 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.

In this hands-on activity in The Shop, you can use a variety of materials to create a tree sculpture. Choose from a plethora of reclaimed and repurposed materials to design and build a sculptural rendition of a tree. Best of all, what you make is yours to keep! 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.

Celebrate National Wildlife Day with an exciting open build project in The Shop. Using wood, fabric, plastic, and more, create your rendition of your favorite animal. Best of all, what you make is yours to keep! 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.

$5 museum admission all day! The Nevada State Treasurer’s Office invites you and your family to The Discovery on Saturday, September 10, 2022 for an event designed to inspire children to envision their educational future and help parents and caregivers learn about the variety of state-sponsored 529 college savings programs available. Visitors of every age will enjoy $5 general admission all day! Members are always free!

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 wood. Best of all, what you create is yours to keep! 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.

Discover your inner sleuth when you explore the science that solves crimes. Apply your own wound, create blood spatter artwork, see what it’s like to be buried alive, gather evidence from crime scenes, test your crime committing knowledge in a trivia challenge, and much more! Labs, lectures and experiences at this Social Science will include: Autopsy Science In this lecture, explore topics like time of death, postmortem changes, patterns of injury, and a step-by-step presentation of the autopsy process from…

Visit The Shop to create the perfect decoration for fall. Using hammers and nails, you can create a autumn-inspired shape to trace with festive fall yarn. Best of all, what you make is yours to take home! 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.

Combine art with engineering in this design challenge in The Shop. Using cardboard and fasteners, you can create a set of “monster” jaws that chew when you activate them with your hands. Experiment with a variety of parameters during your build to see what makes the strongest set of jaws! 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…

Develop or refine your carpentry skills when you build a custom photo frame in The Shop. Using a variety of tools and materials, you’ll create a frame perfect for your favorite photograph. Keep it for yourself or give it as a holiday gift! 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.

Turn a pile of trash into a toy car—and watch it go! In this activity you’ll learn some physics concepts and use recycled materials to build a toy car that is propelled by a balloon. You can even find a friend, build two cars and race them against each other. Whose car will go the fastest? 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 Discovery invites you to an exclusive, members-only opportunity to see Survival of the Slowest, the exciting new featured exhibition that explores the often-overlooked species that have used their disadvantages to help them survive—and even thrive—in a world where large, strong, and fast animals are often at the top of the food chain. This world-class exhibition will allow visitors to get up close and personal with more than 15 live animals including a two-toed sloth, red-footed tortoise, green iguana, four-toed hedgehog, bearded…

The Discovery invites you to Survival of the Slowest, the exciting new featured exhibition that explores the often-overlooked species that have used their disadvantages to help them survive—and even thrive—in a world where large, strong, and fast animals are often at the top of the food chain. This world-class exhibition will allow visitors to get up close and personal with more than 15 live animals including a two-toed sloth, red-footed tortoise, green iguana, four-toed hedgehog, bearded dragon, ball python, and more! Visitors…

The Discovery invites you to Survival of the Slowest, the exciting new featured exhibition that explores the often-overlooked species that have used their disadvantages to help them survive—and even thrive—in a world where large, strong, and fast animals are often at the top of the food chain. This world-class exhibition will allow visitors to get up close and personal with more than 15 live animals including a two-toed sloth, red-footed tortoise, green iguana, four-toed hedgehog, bearded dragon, ball python, and more! Visitors…

What does a sloth eat? What does a snake’s skin feel like? Find answers to these questions and more during live animal feedings and presentations—part of Survival of the Slowest, The Discovery’s current featured exhibition. Join animal care experts to get up close and personal with some of the animals in the exhibition and see them enjoy their favorite meals and snacks. See the schedules below for each day’s feedings and presentations.

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.

The Discovery will be open 10:00am to 5:00pm on Monday, October 3, 2022 for Washoe County School District’s fall break, October 1-8, 2022. Be sure to check out the museum’s calendar of events to find out everything that’s happening at the museum during fall break..

Work with fellow museum visitors in The Shop to create a spooky cardboard Halloween-themed town. Build homes, skyscrapers, churches, parks, stores—whatever you can imagine. This is an ongoing collaborative project that will grow and change throughout the month of October. 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.

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 wood. 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.

Science Distilled is thrilled to partner again with Nevada Humanities and to welcome back author Kendra Atleework, author of Miracle Country: A Memoir of a Family and a Landscape. She will be joined by DRI scientist Ben Hatchett, Ph.d. and Reno-based artist Megan Berner. The evening will center on a conversation about witnessing the changing landscape through each panelist’s lens of expertise and experience. The evening will begin with an introduction to each speaker, followed by a panel discussion, and…

Flu and COVID-19 vaccines will be available at low or no-cost for children and adults who qualify. Vaccines will be administered by Washoe County Health District and/or Safeway on a first come, first served basis, while supplies last. No appointment necessary. If you have insurance, including Nevada Checkup or Medicare, please bring your insurance card. If you do not have insurance, the cost of vaccinations will be covered by Immunize Nevada. For patients receiving vaccines through Washoe County Health District,…

Head to The Discovery for a hauntingly good time at the 11th annual Halloween Trick or Treat. Visit the museum in costume and trick-or-treat from gallery to gallery. There’ll be spooky decorations and delicious treats for all of the friendly or scary ghosts, ghouls and goblins who dare to attend. Advance tickets are encouraged but not required.      A note about costumes: For the safety of all visitors, costumes with weapons of any kind are not allowed.

Join our friends from Tahoe Star Tours for a unique opportunity to gaze at Jupiter through computerized Celestron telescopes. Jupiter will be about 367 million miles away and will not be this close to Earth again until the year 2129. As a bonus, Saturn and a crescent Moon will also be visible. Telescope operators from Tahoe Star Tours will guide you to the eyepiece, and will answer questions about the solar system. Note: This event takes place in The Discovery’s parking lot. Entry to…