The Terry Lee Wells Discovery Museum of Nevada celebrated its 10 year anniversary on May 25 after first opening its doors Sept. 10, 2011.

So why is the museum late for its own anniversary party?

Like most places around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the hands-on science museum hard.

In 2019, The Discovery had 182,230 museum attendees. Due to COVID closures and restrictions, visitors dropped to 27,057 in 2020 and 49,871 in 2021. The total number of employees and volunteers also dropped from 574 in 2019 to 101 in 2020.

The Discovery also struggled with social distancing and no contact learning, which is a tough bump for a highly-interactive museum.

But things are starting to change, according to CEO Mat Sinclair. 

At the anniversary event in late May, Sinclair said was ready to get his museum back on track as COVID restrictions became bearable. Currently, they require non-vaccinated individuals to wear masks, but vaccinated individuals are only strongly encouraged to wear masks.

During the anniversary event, Sinclair put on a special presentation to look back on what the museum has accomplished — and what's next.

Sinclair has been working at the museum since April 1, 2013. When discussing his position, he said he was blown away by the dedication of the community.

“The knowledge that The Discovery would get to play a key role in the educational and cultural changes happening in a community like this were just simply just too good to pass up,” Sinclair said.

After being hired, Sinclair was told The Discovery needed donations. He set out on a mission to raise half a million dollars in five months time, a goal that the community helped him fulfill ahead of schedule.

“We have literally doubled the amount of exhibits in our inventory in ten years time,” said Sinclair. 

The total attendance since their doors opened in 2011 is close to 1.7 million. So far this year, The Discovery has seen 41,782 visitors.

Besides field trips and other museum experiences, camps are also offered for out-of-school sessions for students of all ages. Since The Discovery has begun to outgrow their space, off-site camps are added during the summer.

The Discovery will get a new temporary exhibition in September called “Survival of the Slowest.” It will be the largest temporary exhibition ever hosted at the museum and will contain 10 live animals, including a three-toed sloth — what Sinclair refers to as “the star of the show.”

The Discovery is already featuring the bilingual exhibition "Energy/Energía," which features 18 hands-on exhibits focused on energy generation, use, and storage.

Besides the future of exhibitions, Sinclair also laid out the plan for what’s next for the museum.

Their goals include reaching out to Latinx communities and celebrating   members who have grown up and are now visiting with their own kids.

Sinclair said it's important to show the community that The Discovery can be educational for adults, too.

By 2025, Sinclair also plans to launch the museum’s Regional Outreach Program. His goal is to reach out to people who cannot necessarily reach out to them.

One of the biggest challenges The Discovery faces, Sinclair says, is trying to stay ahead of the “wear and tear” that comes with being a hands-on museum.

“I want you all to think about your house. Invite 200,000 people into your house each year, your carpets are going to wear, your coffee tables are going to get some stains on it. When we are inviting visitors to touch our stuff and interact with them, that’s millions of cycles on our equipment a year,” Sinclair explained.

Even though the pandemic was an unexpected challenge that they continue to overcome, Sinclair sees it as an opportunity to use their museum to hope for a better scientific future.

“If our community had a firm grasp on their 7th grade life sciences class, a lot of what we experienced over the last few years, maybe would look really, really different. So if that’s where the bar is set, the opportunity for us is to elevate that bar,” said Sinclair.

The Discovery Museum of Nevada is open seven days a week through Labor Day. 

Where: 490 S. Center Street · Reno, NV 89501

Advance tickets are not required. Admission can be purchased upon arrival at the museum.