
Calendar of Events
Past Events

Tool Exploration
Visit each exploration station in The Shop to get your hands on a variety of tools. At each station, get your Tool Exploration passport stamped to earn your Discovery Toolsmith certification. 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.
Find out more »
Tool Exploration
Visit each exploration station in The Shop to get your hands on a variety of tools. At each station, get your Tool Exploration passport stamped to earn your Discovery Toolsmith certification. 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.
Find out more »
Cardboard Space City
Work with other museum visitors in Spark!Lab Smithsonian to create a cardboard model of a futuristic space community. This collaborative project will grow and change through Sunday, September 18, 2016, so make plans to visit the museum again to see how it turn out!
Find out more »
Cardboard Space City
Work with other museum visitors in Spark!Lab Smithsonian to create a cardboard model of a futuristic space community. This collaborative project will grow and change through Sunday, September 18, 2016, so make plans to visit the museum again to see how it turn out!
Find out more »
Tool Exploration
Visit each exploration station in The Shop to get your hands on a variety of tools. At each station, get your Tool Exploration passport stamped to earn your Discovery Toolsmith certification. 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.
Find out more »
Cardboard Space City
An event every week that begins at 9:30 am on Wednesday, repeating until September 14, 2016
Work with other museum visitors in Spark!Lab Smithsonian to create a cardboard model of a futuristic space community. This collaborative project will grow and change through Sunday, September 18, 2016, so make plans to visit the museum again to see how it turn out!
Find out more »
Cardboard Space City
An event every day that begins at 9:30 am, repeating until September 10, 2016
Work with other museum visitors in Spark!Lab Smithsonian to create a cardboard model of a futuristic space community. This collaborative project will grow and change through Sunday, September 18, 2016, so make plans to visit the museum again to see how it turn out!
Find out more »
Cardboard Space City
An event every day that begins at 9:30 am, repeating until September 10, 2016
Work with other museum visitors in Spark!Lab Smithsonian to create a cardboard model of a futuristic space community. This collaborative project will grow and change through Sunday, September 18, 2016, so make plans to visit the museum again to see how it turn out!
Find out more »
Tool Exploration
Visit each exploration station in The Shop to get your hands on a variety of tools. At each station, get your Tool Exploration passport stamped to earn your Discovery Toolsmith certification. 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.
Find out more »
Cardboard Space City
An event every week that begins at 11:00 am on Sunday, repeating until September 18, 2016
Work with other museum visitors in Spark!Lab Smithsonian to create a cardboard model of a futuristic space community. This collaborative project will grow and change through Sunday, September 18, 2016, so make plans to visit the museum again to see how it turn out!
Find out more »
Tool Exploration
Visit each exploration station in The Shop to get your hands on a variety of tools. At each station, get your Tool Exploration passport stamped to earn your Discovery Toolsmith certification. 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.
Find out more »
Cardboard Space City
Work with other museum visitors in Spark!Lab Smithsonian to create a cardboard model of a futuristic space community. This collaborative project will grow and change through Sunday, September 18, 2016, so make plans to visit the museum again to see how it turn out!
Find out more »
Cardboard Space City
An event every day that begins at 9:30 am, repeating until September 17, 2016
Work with other museum visitors in Spark!Lab Smithsonian to create a cardboard model of a futuristic space community. This collaborative project will grow and change through Sunday, September 18, 2016, so make plans to visit the museum again to see how it turn out!
Find out more »
Open Build
In The Shop, hands-on gets serious. During “open build” take your pick of real tools and materials to design and build nearly anything you can imagine. Best of all, whatever you create 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.
Find out more »
Open Build
In The Shop, hands-on gets serious. During “open build” take your pick of real tools and materials to design and build nearly anything you can imagine. Best of all, whatever you create 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.
Find out more »
Open Build
In The Shop, hands-on gets serious. During “open build” take your pick of real tools and materials to design and build nearly anything you can imagine. Best of all, whatever you create 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.
Find out more »
Do-it-yourself Costumes
An event every week that begins at 9:30 am on Saturday, repeating until October 15, 2016
Visit The Shop to get a jump on your costume for Halloween. Choose from a variety of cloth and materials and assemble your scary, silly or scientific costume using hot glue, needle and thread, or knots. And best of all, what your create 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 in this…
Find out more »
Flying UAV’s
An event every week that begins at 9:30 am on Saturday, repeating until October 29, 2016
Inspired by Naval fighter pilot Missy Cummings, test your piloting skills in Spark!Lab Smithsonian when you take The Discovery’s UAV for a test flight through a challenging obstacle course.
Find out more »
Discover Your Way
On Sunday, October 2nd from 10:00am to 12:00pm, The Discovery is offering exclusive admission to families with children on the Autism Spectrum and with sensory processing disorders. This exclusive event provides an opportunity to enjoy sensory-friendly time at the museum and allows parents to network with one another. Discover Your Way visitors are welcome to stay and play when the museum opens to the general public at noon. For more information about Discover Your Way, please contact Catherine Van Dellen at…
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Do-it-yourself Costumes
An event every week that begins at 11:00 am on Sunday, repeating until October 16, 2016
Visit The Shop to get a jump on your costume for Halloween. Choose from a variety of cloth and materials and assemble your scary, silly or scientific costume using hot glue, needle and thread, or knots. And best of all, what your create 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 in this…
Find out more »
Special Monday Hours
The Discovery will be open 10:00am to 5:00pm on Monday, October 3 in recognition of Washoe Country School District’s fall break. Be sure to check the calendar of events to find out what’s happening at the museum throughout the break.
Find out more »
Play the Theremin
An event every week that begins at 9:30 am on Tuesday, repeating until November 15, 2016
It may sound like it’s from the future, but it’s actually from the past. The theremin, invented in 1920 by Léon Theremin, is an instrument you play by waiving your hands near two antennas—you never actually touch it! Visit Spark!Lab Smithsonian to try your hand(s) at creating a song of your own on a modern-day theremin!
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DNA Exploration
An event every week that begins at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, repeating until November 30, 2016
Inspired by scientist Rosalind Franklin‘s discovery of DNA’s double helix structure in 1952, museum visitors will extract, isolate, and observe the DNA of an ordinary strawberry to understand more about the building blocks of life and pursuits in the field of geneology.
Find out more »
Do-it-yourself Costumes
An event every week that begins at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, repeating until October 12, 2016
Visit The Shop to get a jump on your costume for Halloween. Choose from a variety of cloth and materials and assemble your scary, silly or scientific costume using hot glue, needle and thread, or knots. And best of all, what your create 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 in this…
Find out more »