Calendar of Events

In this season of giving, show your gratitude by building your very own gratitude box in The Shop. Using available tools and materials, you’ll create a handy box to hold notes and reminders of all the things you’re most thankful for. You can also craft a clever pop-up card to give to someone to show your thanks! 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…

In this season of giving, show your gratitude by building your very own gratitude box in The Shop. Using available tools and materials, you’ll create a handy box to hold notes and reminders of all the things you’re most thankful for. You can also craft a clever pop-up card to give to someone to show your thanks! 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…

Develop your carpentry skills when you build a custom photo frame in The Shop. Using a variety of materials and a photo you bring with you, or one taken at The Discovery, you’ll create a frame perfect for 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.

Develop your carpentry skills when you build a custom photo frame in The Shop. Using a variety of materials and a photo you bring with you, or one taken at The Discovery, you’ll create a frame perfect for 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.

Join Visiting Artist Zoe Bray to repurpose and transform objects such as cereal boxes, toilet paper rolls and plastic bottles into festive little puppets and theater sets. By cutting, pasting, drawing and painting on recycled material, we will create fantastical new worlds of our own. About Zoe Bray Zoe Bray is an artist and anthropologist of dual Basque and English roots, based in Reno. She loves to combine the traditional techniques of drawing and painting with illustration and animation to celebrate…

Develop your carpentry skills when you build a custom photo frame in The Shop. Using a variety of materials and a photo you bring with you, or one taken at The Discovery, you’ll create a frame perfect for 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.

Don’t let the Grinch steal your Christmas cheer. Visit The Shop to use available tools and a variety of materials to build a Grinch trap. If your trap is foolproof, you’ll save Christmas for everyone! 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 Shop to create your own version of a matryoshka doll. More commonly known as Russian nesting dolls, these well-known toys were originally designed by Sergey Malyutin, a folk crafts painter from Russia. Did you know? The largest set of matryoshka dolls in the world is a 51-piece set hand-painted by Youlia Bereznitskaia of Russia, completed in 2003. The tallest doll in the set measures almost two feet tall!

Challenge your brain, and your family and friends with a board game you create in The Shop. Using available tools and materials, create a board game inspired by the holiday seasons and cultures from around the world. 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.

Need some extra time to shop the Museum Store—maybe while the kids are at school? Take advantage of extended Museum Store hours and finish out your holiday shopping with Reno’s best selection of the smartest toys, games, gadgets, apparel, puzzles, science kits, and more! Members and nonmembers will get 20% off their entire purchase during these special hours! Complimentary gift wrapping also available. Enter to win a Plasma Car! Spend $100 or more in the Museum Store during extended hours…

Stop into Spark!Lab Smithsonian to invent your very own wobblebot. Combine a variety of common materials and simple electronics to create a “robot” that wiggles, wobbles. Please note: This activity includes access to tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young inventors use the tools and materials safely in this space.

Need some extra time to shop the Museum Store—maybe while the kids are at school? Take advantage of extended Museum Store hours and finish out your holiday shopping with Reno’s best selection of the smartest toys, games, gadgets, apparel, puzzles, science kits, and more! Members and nonmembers will get 20% off their entire purchase during these special hours! Complimentary gift wrapping also available. Enter to win a Plasma Car! Spend $100 or more in the Museum Store during extended hours…

The Discovery will be open 10:00am to 5:00pm on the Mondays during Washoe County School District’s winter break. That’s even more days to discover! Be sure to check out the calendar of events to find out what’s happening throughout the entire three weeks of winter break—December 21, 2018 through January 13, 2019!

Visit Art Alcove to create a classic tree-trimming work of art! Combine felted pom poms with a real pine cone to create the perfect decoration for the holidays—yours to keep, or give as a gift!

Visit The Shop to design and build the future of transportation. During “Open Build: Wheels,” take your pick from a variety of materials and use real tools to create nearly anything you can imagine with wheels. 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.

Stop into Spark!Lab Smithsonian to invent your very own wobblebot. Combine a variety of common materials and simple electronics to create a “robot” that wiggles, wobbles. Please note: This activity includes access to tools and materials that can be dangerous if used improperly. Parents are encouraged to help young inventors use the tools and materials safely in this space.