Calendar of Events

Visit Spark!Lab Smithsonian and use the process of invention to build a car that’ll protect its precious cargo. Using available materials and the invention process, you can create a vehicle that will protect a raw egg in the event of a crash. Even if your egg breaks, you can tweak your design and test it again, and again, and again! Please note: Activity available while egg supply lasts. Spark!Lab Smithsonian offers access to tools and materials that can be dangerous if…

The Discovery would not be Northern Nevada’s most exciting educational resource if it weren’t for the tremendous support of the museum’s amazing group of volunteers. To thank you for your support of the museum’s mission, we invite you, your friends, and your family to The Discovery’s annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration. Please join us for a Candy Land-themed event that includes snacks, refreshments and an awards presentation for the museum’s most dedicated volunteers! Let us know you’re planning to attend!

The Discovery is excited to unveil the “Super Service Center,” an exciting new exhibit located in the museum’s Little Discoveries exhibition. Little mechanics can step into a pretend auto repair shop equipped with all the tools and equipment they’ll need to perform maintenance on a kid-sized car. The exhibit will provide young museum visitors with the opportunity to explore the field of car care while also encouraging cooperative, hands-on play. Important note: The Super Service Center is located inside the…

Drivers, start your engines! Celebrate the grand opening of the new Super Service Center with a visit to The Shop. Using available materials and a little ingenuity, you can design and build a catapult that will propel your favorite toy car to record speed! 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.

Drivers, start your engines! Celebrate the grand opening of the new Super Service Center with a visit to The Shop. Using available materials and a little ingenuity, you can design and build a catapult that will propel your favorite toy car to record speed! 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 Earth Day by making beautiful flowers from recycled material. Using repurposed and recycled materials such as plastic bottle caps, food containers, newspaper and cereal boxes, we will create a artistic interpretation of the flowers of spring time. About Katie Steenberg Kat Shepard has a diverse artistic background but always centers her work on the celebration of nature and our relationships with the natural world. Found objects and sustainability have been a consistent source of inspiration. She has worked in performing…

Get ready to race toward the checked flag when you design and construct your very own race track in The Shop. Using cardboard and other available materials, you can create a twisting, turning, undulating race track for your favorite toy cars. Connect your track to a friend’s for even more fun! 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…

Get ready to race toward the checked flag when you design and construct your very own race track in The Shop. Using cardboard and other available materials, you can create a twisting, turning, undulating race track for your favorite toy cars. Connect your track to a friend’s for even more fun! 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…

From caffeine and alcohol, to marijuana and prescribed meds, drugs have varied and often misunderstood effects on the body and brain. At this Social Science, you’ll explore the science of drugs and their effects – positive and negative – on humans and our community. Labs, lectures and programming for this Social Science will include: Drug IQ Put your drug knowledge to the test when you and a team of four others join in on a survey-based drug Q&A session. Winning…

Visit The Shop to create your own motorized model airplane. Using available tools and materials, and a motor and battery, you can design and build a motorized airplane model that will spin and wiggle down the runway! 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.

Bubbles can be fascinating, beautiful and fun. But did you know bubbles can also help you explore scientific concepts such as elasticity, surface tension, chemistry, light, and even geometry? As part of the National Math Festival, explore the science and math behind bubbles with a variety of hands-on bubble activities throughout the museum. Join artist Kit Huntington, creator of Bubbleution, to create giant soap bubbles. With Bubbleution, Kit provides interactive entertainment with a fantastic display of giant bubbles for all to…

Visit The Shop to create your own motorized model airplane. Using available tools and materials, and a motor and battery, you can design and build a motorized airplane model that will spin and wiggle down the runway! 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.

Visit The Discovery on the second Wednesday of every month for Tech!Night, a new program designed to put emerging technology in the hands of museum visitors. Tech!Nights will feature a variety of high-tech tools and techniques, gadgets and games – command a robot, print in 3-D, and even code a new game – happening monthly in Spark!Lab Smithsonian.

Give Mom a gift made with love and your own hands when you create a shrinky dink in The Shop. Using available thermoplastic, you can decorate and shrink an item into a charm or bobble of your own design. 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.

Join us in Spark!Lab Smithsonian to turn an old, worn out t-shirt into versatile tote bag. Bring your own t-shirt, or grab one of ours, and follow the simple instructions to easily transform a tired t-shirt into a tote bag perfect for daily use. Activity presented in partnership with:

Give Mom a gift made with love and your own hands when you create a shrinky dink in The Shop. Using available thermoplastic, you can decorate and shrink an item into a charm or bobble of your own design. 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.