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The Discovery brings a slice of Washington, D.C. to the biggest little city in more ways than one. In addition to being home to the very first Spark!Lab Smithsonian located outside the National Mall in our nation’s capital, The Discovery’s Spark!Lab is curated by a transplant from that same city.
Chris White is The Discovery’s Spark!Lab Smithsonian Coordinator. Chris grew up in Maryland and attended Xavier University of Louisiana where he double majored in American history and political science. Prior to joining the team at The Discovery, Chris worked at the original Spark!Lab in Washington, D.C., which is part of the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation located in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
Chris relocated to Reno in 2014 to take over coordination of The Discovery’s Spark!Lab and elevate the educational experience for the museum’s visitors. In additional to creating exhibits and hands-on activities related to the process of invention, Chris also manages the Scratch Code Challenge, The Discovery’s annual coding competition. In the future, Chris hopes to help The Discovery curate content and create exhibits that can be sold to other museums to help fund future development here at The Discovery.
Another distinction Chris holds here at The Discovery is that he is the only two-time winner of the museum’s Festivus Film Festival, an annual short film contest for museum staff.
If you’re curious about the process of invention and would like to experience it first-hand, stop by The Discovery and spend some time with Chris in Spark!Lab. His passion for invention and ability to make learning fun are contagious.