Museum of Discovery
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2008) |
 Exterior view of entrance, November 2020 | |
 | |
| Established | 1927 |
|---|---|
| Location | 500 President Clinton Ave., Suite 150 Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Coordinates | 34°44′51″N 92°15′56″W / 34.747508°N 92.265442°W |
| Type | Science museum |
| Website | museumofdiscovery.org |
The Museum of Discovery, formerly the Arkansas Museum of Natural History and Antiquities, is located in downtown
History
Prolific writer and
The museum continued to grow and acquire more and better artifacts and exhibits. The museum was one of three state organizations to receive a mold of the
In 1997–98, the museum became the Museum of Discovery: Arkansas' Museum of Science and History, relocating to the River Market. The Children's Museum of Arkansas, located in Union Station merged with the Museum of Discovery in 2003. In 2008 the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation awarded a $9.2 million grant to the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock for expansion and renovations. These would include three new interactive exhibits and, construction of a new entrance from Clinton Avenue (the entrance was from the lobby of the Museum Center, an office building that had a number of other tenants including the museum).[citation needed]
Following renovations, the Museum of Discovery reopened in January 2012 with a new focus of STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) education.[citation needed]
The Museum of Discovery's former visitor experience director, Kevin Delaney, used to perform science experiments for visitors, and created the "Science After Dark" program for adults. In 2017 he started performing on the Science Channel, and subsequently became The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon's science expert.[3]
On July 4, 2015, the Museum of Discovery debuted a
In April 2019, the Museum of Discovery partnered with a local silicone manufacturer to create a brightly colored hands-on display to benefit children in Arkansas on the
In February 2021, a water pipe burst, flooding and damaging much of the museum. The museum was closed for major repairs and reopened on August 21, 2021.[5][6]
Description
![[icon]](/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2022) |
The museum is housed in a historic building in the
It is focused on
The musical bi-polar tesla coil – named after its inventor Nikola Tesla, the developer of the alternating current system of electricity used today – is a device that creates high-voltage electricity at a high frequency visible to the eye. The Museum of Discovery's coil emits electrical discharges to a variety of songs and shares the record for the world's largest bi-polar tesla coil with the coil at the Hands On! Regional Museum in Johnson City, Tennessee. The device can produce 200,000 volts of electricity.[citation needed]
See also
- MOD., Adelaide, South Australia
- Museum of Discovery and Science, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
References
- ^ "ARKANSAURUS FRIDAYI". Archived from the original on May 5, 2008. Retrieved March 10, 2008.
- ^ "Museum of Discovery". Retrieved March 10, 2008.
- ^ "Kevin Delaney on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon". NBC. January 1, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
- ^ Misty Smith (April 2018). "Silicone for Health & Wellness Projects". ARCO® Silicone Blog. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
- ^ "LR Museum of Discovery Reopening This Weekend". AMP. August 16, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ^ ""Museum of Discovery is currently closed for repairs due to a burst pipe"". Museum of Discovery. April 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2021.