Discovery Children's Museum facts for kids
DISCOVERY Children's Museum & The Smith Center for the Performing Arts
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| Established | 1984 |
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| Location | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Type | Children's museum |
| Public transit access | Yes |
The DISCOVERY Children's Museum is a super fun place in Las Vegas, Nevada, made just for kids! It's a special kind of museum called a children's museum, and it's a nonprofit. This means it's not trying to make money but rather to help people learn and explore. This amazing three-story museum is about 58,000 square feet, which is huge! It's right next to The Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Downtown Las Vegas. Every year, about 250,000 people visit this museum to explore and learn.
History of the Museum
The DISCOVERY Children's Museum was started by two people, Robin Greenspun and Mark Tratos, in 1984. They wanted to create a special place for kids to learn in Las Vegas. They worked with local groups like the Junior League of Las Vegas to get money for this new educational museum.
In 1985, a plan was approved to build a new library and the museum together. The museum, which was first called Lied Discovery Children's Museum, opened its doors on September 9, 1990.
Moving to a New Home
In 2010, the museum announced exciting plans to build an even bigger and better home! This new building would be in an area called Symphony Park. The whole project, called the Donald W. Reynolds Discovery Center, was going to cost $50 million.
A big part of the money came from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. They gave $43 million to help build the new center. The museum then worked hard to raise the last $7 million needed to finish the project. The brand new museum finally opened on March 9, 2013, giving kids even more space to discover and play!
