It is the mission of Discovery Place, a private 501(c)(3) not-for-profit education organization, to inform, challenge, and engage audiences of all ages in the wonders of science and the natural world via its spectacular exhibits and educational programs.
Through Museum visits, interactive educational programming, and community outreach projects, Discovery Place welcomes more than 750,000 people annually. Its four distinct museum experiences make it a hub for science education and exploration in the Carolinas.
They want to pave the way for a future in which everyone uses science to improve their lives, the lives of others, and the world at large.
Discovery Place is a forerunner in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the Carolinas with its four interactive museums located in three separate cities, educational outreach activities, and professional development for teachers.
Discovery Place Museums have been providing hands-on learning opportunities for local students and their families since 1947, when a young educator saw a need for it. We now provide high-energy, high-impact science education to three-quarters of a million people annually through our four Museums in three cities and community outreach programs throughout the Carolinas.
At our cutting-edge facility in uptown Charlotte, or at your school, Discovery Place Education Studio offers individualized STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) professional development for teachers from all across the region.
To this day, 75 years after its humble beginnings in Uptown Charlotte, Discovery Place is dedicated to inspiring people of all ages to use science to improve their lives, the lives of others, and the world at large.
In 1946, teacher Laura Owens desired a setting where her pupils could interact with and learn about natural history specimens and artifacts. Owens opened a modest museum in the former Sunshine School on North Cecil Street in Charlotte with aid from the local community in July 1947.
Due to the museum’s popularity, Mecklenburg County collaborated with the Junior League of Charlotte and the Lions Club to develop the Children’s Nature Museum. The new museum was constructed on Sterling Road in Charlotte, on land next to Freedom Park, with the goal of getting kids excited about and involved in the natural world.
When it debuted in 1951, the Children’s Nature Museum was one of the first institutions in the Southeast dedicated to connecting children and their families with the natural world through experiential learning.
In 1965, the museum added a planetarium to its collection to teach visitors about the stars. Students from all around North Carolina came to the planetarium to learn about the stars and constellations.
Billy Graham Library
Water Destruction Masters