2018 Annual Report
The Discovery continues to grow! In 2018, The Discovery quietly celebrated our seventh year of serving our community. In those seven short years, The Discovery’s impact in our region has truly been felt. Museum visitation continues to grow, and participation in the museum’s programs and events is higher than ever before, but our work never ends.
understanding of the river’s importance in our region. The refresh of the Truckee Connects exhibition is the first phase of a larger effort. The second phase of the project will include a complete redesign and relocation of the museum’s Nevada Stories
In May of 2018, A T. rex Named Sue, the blockbuster exhibition
exhibition. More on our plans for the
featuring a 42-foot-long cast of the largest T. rex ever discovered
new Nevada exhibition later in this
officially came to a close. With summer, and the museum’s highest
annual report.
visitation months quickly approaching, we put together plans for ways to hold our visitors’ interest and excitement—a giant dinosaur is tough to top! To do that, our exhibits team designed and built an exciting exhibition focused on the science of carnival games titled Curiosity Carnival. Boasting more than 20 exhibit experiences, all completely built in-house, the exhibition was an instant hit. It demonstrated The Discovery’s ability to create engaging exhibitions on a limited budget and in a relatively short time frame.
Thanks to the hard work of The Discovery’s staff, dedication of the museum’s volunteers and donors, and guidance from our Board of Directors, the museum reached a number of significant milestones in 2018. The work of curating a cultural asset like The Discovery is never done. I hope we can count on your continued philanthropic support to help us grow the museum’s impact and reach more people more often with new exciting ways to experience science! With gratitude,
Later in the year, we unveiled an exciting refresh of Truckee Connects, one of The Discovery’s most beloved exhibitions. A working model of the river system in our region, Truckee Connects has been part of the museum’s collection of exhibits since opening. The update included new hands-on experiences, improved interpretive text, and labels denoting various landmarks along the river’s path, all with the goal of creating a stronger 2
Mat Sinclair, MPA President/CEO
Table of contents Letter from the President/CEO............................ 2 2018 year in review................................................... 4 2018: Impact by the numbers................................ 5 Curiosity Carnival...................................................... 6 Truckee Connects exhibit refresh...................... 7 Volunteer of the Year............................................... 8 The impact of financial assistance.................... 9 Annual list of donors............................................ 10 Financial statements.............................................. 12 Revenue and expense summary........................ 13 Letter from the Board Chair................................. 15
Core mission & objective We seek to inspire by being the place to experience science.
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2018 year in review 2018 was another busy year at The Discovery. The year was filled with continued growth and change, all focused on the museum’s mission to inspire by being the place to experience science.
LET THERE BE DONUTS! In February, The Discovery welcomed Holey Schmidt! Donuts, a new tenant in the dedicated restaurant space at the museum. The locally owned specialty donut shop became an instant hit. Boasting a large number of truly unique donut flavors each day, along with locally roasted coffee drinks, Holey Schmidt gives museum visitors a family-friendly place to stop off for a sweet treat while visiting the museum. INSPIRING THROUGH THE WORK OF DA VINCI Thanks for continued funding from the Redfield Foundation, The Discovery was able to add a number of new exhibits and refresh several others in the Da Vinci’s Corner exhibition in 2018. Visitors can experiment with light in the improved dark room that now includes a shadow wall where visitors can freeze their shadows with a flash of light. Outside the dark room, new exhibits include a triple turntable that allows visitors to have fun experimenting with inertia and centrifugal force. FOLLOWING A GIANT DINOSAUR After an extended stay, our beloved A T. rex Named Sue exhibition headed for its next location in May. Finding an exhibition to replace it was going to be a big challenge, but not one the creative staff at The Discovery couldn’t overcome. Brainstorming for the exhibition that would replace Sue began early in the year. It was decided that we 4
would create a large-scale exhibition to help our visitors explore the science of carnival games. Opened in June, just in time for Washoe County School District’s summer break, Curiosity Carnival featured 3,000 square-feet of hands-on exhibits. The exhibition, built entirely in-house by The Discovery’s staff, boasted more than 20 hands-on experiences for visitors of all ages.
STEP INSIDE THE MEGA BODY The Discovery has become known for providing its visitors with largerthan-life educational experiences. In keeping with the museum’s reputation, we hosted the MEGA Body exhibit in late August in partnership with Renown Children’s Hospital. The MEGA Body is a 12-foot-tall, 50-foot-long, inflatable, walk-through human body
that illustrates healthy body functions along with preventive measures to help avoid common diseases. Over the course of the exhibit’s three-day stay, the museum welcomed 3,783 excited visitors.
INVENTIVE INVENTION PROGRAMMING Again in 2018, The Discovery featured four unique themes in Spark!Lab Smithsonian. Through a complete transformation of the graphics in the space, and themed hands-on programming, Spark!Lab helped visitors explore topics such as environmental sustainability, learning through play and the science of carnival games. By developing a plan and timeline for completely transforming the Spark!Lab experience on a regular interval, The Discovery has been recognized the Spark!Lab National Network as the exemplar location in the network of eight locations.
2018: Impact by the numbers 183,341 Annual museum visitation
16,477 School field trip participants
406
Science Distilled attendees
17%
Visitors from outside Nevada
1,158
Seasonal camp participants
$77,931
Financial assistance distributed
4,283
Member households (as of 1/1/19)
1,466
Social Science attendees
9,697
Hours donated by 247 volunteers 5
Curiosity Carnival exhibition With A T. rex Named Sue scheduled to depart The Discovery in May 2018, we knew we needed to create a new attendance driver for the summer months. The goal was to create an exhibition that would provide an engaging, large-scale experience for museum visitors. After a substantial amount of brainstorming that involved members of the museum’s staff at all levels, it was decided that we would create an exhibition that explored the science, technology, engineering, art, math, and history of carnival games. The name Curiosity Carnival was chosen for the exhibition. Occupying more than 3,000 square feet and boasting more than 20 hands-on experiences, Curiosity Carnival was created entirely in-house by The Discovery’s exhibits developer Nathan Tobey, members of our part-time staff, and a group of very dedicated volunteers. Exhibits in the space helped visitors explore probability, physics, motor skills, and other surprising concepts. It also allowed visitors to challenge themselves to experience the thrill of victory and learn why carnival games are so intriguing. In addition to being designed and constructed entirely in-house, the exhibition was also bilingual. All text in the exhibition was offered in English and Spanish making it a relevant and accessible experience for a much larger audience. Curiosity Carnival opened to the public on Friday, June 15 with a Family Night kick-off event that included a special performance by Phys Thomas of JuggleMania. During the 6
exhibition’s run, The Discovery welcomed more than 42,000 visitors. Support for Curiosity Carnival was provided by Lydia & Matt Meyer, Blake Douglas Smith, Desert Wind Homes, The Gorelick Family, Keith and Terry Davis, and Reno Aces Baseball Club.
A refreshing new look for Truckee Connects The Truckee River plays an important role in our region as a recreational attraction, drinking water and irrigation source, and crucial part of the water cycle. To help our region’s visitors and residents understand the river’s importance, The Discovery created Truckee Connects, a working scale model of Lake Tahoe, the Truckee River, Pyramid Lake and many other interesting points in between. Now, much like the efforts underway to protect and improve our region’s watershed, The Discovery recently began the process of redesigning Truckee Connects, one of the museum’s most popular exhibitions. Truckee Connects has always been a very popular exhibit here at The Discovery, but many of our visitors aren’t aware that it is a working model of the Truckee River. The redesigned Truckee Connects exhibition will include new hands-on experiences, improved interpretive text, and labels denoting various landmarks along the river’s path, all with the goal of creating a stronger understanding of
The refresh of the Truckee Connects exhibition is the first phase of a
the river’s importance in our region.
larger effort at The Discovery. The second phase of the project will include a complete redesign and relocation of the museum’s Nevada Stories exhibition. In this second phase, Nevada Stories will move to a new location on the museum’s lower level. The new exhibition will highlight the amazing and unique ecosystems of our great state. Visitors will learn about the variety of species that live in Nevada, from the important insects that pollinate our crops, to the majestic mammals the west is best known for. They’ll have an opportunity to examine specimens like the early naturalists did through experiences related to our state’s history, resources and ecology as well as the industries they foster. 7
2018 Volunteer of the Year Lee Nelson with Exhibits Developer Nathan Tobey.
Volunteer of the Year: Lee Nelson Lee Nelson is an essential member of The Discovery family. Since he became a volunteer in 2016, Lee has dedicated over 1,000 hours of service to the museum, working closely with Nathan Tobey, The Discovery’s Exhibits Developer. In April, Lee was recognized as The Discovery’s 2018 Volunteer of the Year! Lee served in the U.S. Army and is a Vietnam combat veteran. After finishing his service, Lee earned a professional art degree from Spokane Falls Community College and began a career in graphic design producing reproduction art, package designs, presentation graphics and advertising for clients including Johnson & Johnson, Cutter Laboratories, Apple Computer, Landor Associates and others. Lee has assisted in designing and implementing corporate identity programs for AT&T, Coca Cola, Jardine Matheson, Pacific Telesis, GE, GM/Saturn and several other international companies. He also ran his own media company, Illusion Industries which, in addition to other projects, developed a successful web-based travel magazine. In addition to his work in graphic design, Lee’s fine art oil painting was represented by the Pantheon Gallery in San Francisco and he was an instructor in the Graphic Communications Department at San Francisco Community College for seven years. When Lee isn’t donating his time to The Discovery, he enjoys spending time with his
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The Discovery is designing and building exhibits that will be enjoyed by the more than 200,000 visitors the museum welcomes each year. The Discovery’s Volunteer Program recognizes the value of service and encourages members of our community to participate in activities that engage and inspire our visitors. Over the last seven years, The
grandchildren and working on do-it-yourself projects at home.
Discovery has hosted more than 1,000 volunteers who have served
Lee focuses his volunteer time at The Discovery on designing and
over $1.5 million in service value to support the museum, including
fabricating exhibits enjoyed by our visitors. You can find his work
exhibit design, event support, and visitor engagement. In 2018 alone,
in several of our exhibitions, including the marble tables and doll
nearly 300 volunteers dedicated more than 9,600 hours of their time in
house in Spark!Lab Smithsonian, and the Pendelux stand and marble
support of The Discovery’s mission to bring hands-on, informal science
labyrinth in DaVinci’s Corner. His favorite thing about volunteering at
education to visitors of all ages.
over 66,000 hours! Furthermore, our volunteers have contributed
The impact of The Discovery’s financial assistance program Before Jessica Westin took on the role of Programs Coordinator for The Discovery, she had no idea how much financial assistance really helps patrons coming to the museum. The Discovery’s financial assistance program makes field trips for Title 1 schools affordable, gives students from entire schools and their families the chance to come to the museum for a Family Science Night, provides memberships to families who can benefit from quality time at the museum, and much more. About two years ago, when Jessica was working at the admissions desk, a family of seven came in. They could not afford the cost of admission and were going to leave. She explained how The Discovery offers financial assistance for annual memberships and suggested that they apply. The family’s application was approved, and they received a one-year membership to The Discovery.
place for the kids to play and be kids while learning at the
About a month ago, one of the adults on that membership came in
same time. I have never run into another museum that is
and wanted to renew the membership but told our staff that they
so generous as to have these kinds of programs. As the
could not afford the $25.00 application fee as they were now homeless.
mother of two autistic children, the membership also gives
Fortunately, Jessica overheard the conversation and offered to reduce
me a break while the children climb, explore and play.
the application fee to $1.00. The woman was able to find some loose
This means a huge amount to me. I hope you are able to
change and paid the fee. Later, Jessica emailed her to say that her
continue this program for people like my family who really
application was approved again. The woman responded to Jessica’s
benefit from it.”
e-mail with these kind words: “Thank you so much. It means a lot to us that The Discovery
The Discovery’s financial assistance program is made possible thanks to the generosity of the museum’s donors. For more information about
has these programs, especially since we have become
how you can provide support, please contact Danielle Williams, Senior
homeless and your museum provides a safe and secure
Development Officer, at 775-398-5955 or dwilliams@nvdm.org. 9
2018 annual donors $500,000+ Terry Lee Wells Foundation $50,000-$100,000 The Nell J. Redfield Foundation Dorothy Lemelson The Mathewson Charitable Lead Trust Number Two $25,000-49,999 Ranson and Norma Webster Foundation at the Community Foundation of Western Nevada Engelstad Family Foundation Gary and Sher Muhonen Clarence & Martha Jones Family Foundation The Bretzlaff Foundation E.L. Cord Foundation $10,000-24,999 Kristin and Klaus Grimm Charles and Margaret Burback Jack Van Sickle Foundation Robert Z. Hawkins Foundation Stillwater Foundation Thelma B. & Thomas P. Hart Foundation Trout Unlimited Heidemarie Rochlin Helen Close Charitable Foundation Community Foundation of Western Nevada The CarMax Foundation NAPA Autocare HQ Dolan Auto Group Anonymous Paul Bible Charles H. Stout Foundation Marybeth M. Lamb Foundation Nevada State Treasurer’s Office NV Energy Foundation Robert R. Banks Foundation Roxie and Azad Joseph Foundation Trust Wells Fargo Foundation West Star Foundation $5,000-9,999 Yelp Best Buy Foundation Newmont Ventures Limited dba Newmont Mining Corp Matt and Lydia Meyer BJ and NL Shipman Family Foundation Fund at the Community Foundation of Western Nevada
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Lee F. Del Grande Foundation NAPA Auto Parts - Sacramento Distribution Scheel’s Synchrony Financial NV Energy Whole Foods Market The Smile Shop Trout Unlimited - Sagebrush Chapter J.P. and Fong Menante Race178 Vantage Wealth Planning David and Judy Hess Greg and Keni McKenzie Jesse and Amber Haw Edna B. & Bruno Benna Foundation Gabelli Foundation Great Basin Federal Credit Union Anonymous U.S. Bank Foundation $2,500-4,999 Outlets at Legends Desert Wind Homes Gunderson Law Firm JPMorgan Chase & Co. LP Insurance Services One Nevada Credit Union U.S. Bank A Master Mechanic Microsoft Susan and Ron Clayton Allen’s Automotive Arrow Automotive Christensen Automotive Greg’s Garage Levrett Autmotive LT Automotive Marketing Evolution NAPA Auto & Truck Parts Roy Foster’s Automotive Wayne’s Automotive Anonymous Leigh and Rorie Fitzpatrick E.L. Cord Foundation Childcare Center - TMCC Fennemore Craig Koch Elevator
$1,000-2,499 Michael and Karren Smith Ron and Linda Smith King Won and Linda Won The Quigley Family Jay Porter Bruemmer Charitable Lead Trust, In honor of Beau, Jack & Oliver Bruemmer The DDS 2009 Trust Richard and Susan Gobbs, to honor Sarah Gobbs-Hill AutoVitals Edward Jones - Bohlander Heritage Bank of Nevada Martin Senour Auto NAPA Echlin NAPA Heating & Cooling PortaCool Tolles Development Company Vaulet Group Wells Fargo Country Financial Squaw Village Neighbourhood Co Alan and Susan Liebman Doug Erwin and Bin Bin Young Jed and Tiffany Bodger Zoe Caldwell and Edward Perry Parker and Megan Stremmel Brett and Sarah Porter Elizabeth S. Ray Chuck and Pam Alvey Cindy and Carl Sassenrath David and Tammi Crowther Dianne Tobey, In Memory of Nick Tobey Elisabeth and David Garcia Fritsi Ericson George and Candi Peek Keith and Terry Davis Matthew Gili R. Parkin and Christine May Gaven Gregory Albright & Associates Ltd Chevron E.W. McKenzie Foundation Museum of Science, Boston Nature’s Bakery Renown Health The Gorelick Family The Crystal Family Foundatio
$500-999 Matt and Katie Anderson Paul Sieben Logic Commercial Real Estate Nevada State Science Teachers Association Lebo and Merrill Newman Megan Weber Bryson Bohlander and Katie McCandless Bodger Law Practice Clausen & Co First American HomeGate Realty Sierra Air Inc. Spanish Springs & Lemmon Valley Grocery Outlet Paul Mitchell The School - Reno Nicole Stoker and Kyle McCann Mike and Beth Farley Stacy Kendall and Stuart Golder William and Cathleen Cobb Tony and Alannah Manfredi Candy and Dal Hunter Robin Mercer Jessica and Dan Clausen Jim and Erin Marren Laurel Saito and Louis Provencher Dr. Phillip Manwell Scott and Beth Minick Susie and Pat Riley William Stensrud and Suzanne Vaucher Wayne Marshall Ciorciari Family Balkamp Tools & Equipment Dermody Properties Foundation Hallmark Iron Works, Inc Kukui NAPA Commodities NAPA EESG NAPA TRACS NAPA Undercar Reno Aces Baseball Club Tahoe Mountain Resorts Foundation United Way of Southern Nevada $250-499 Sparks Reno/ NAPA Business Development Group - Shari Pheasant Diane and Marc Nicolet Brian and Sara Cushing Johanna and Peter DeKay
cbCharge Robert and Michelle Mollath Steven and Joann Phillips Susan Fisher Kappes, Cassiday & Associates Beverly Crowe AmazonSmile Foundation Eliesebeth and Matthew Rogers Judge Connie J. Steinheimer & Jeffrey A. Ostomel Tamara Gray Alejandro Sabogal Amanda and Michael Clark Amber and Andrew Harrison Nicole C. Askin Aubree Dearing Charlotte and Richard McConnell Connie Mock Jaunice and Matthew Franzen Gary Rosenbloom Krystal Huck Jackelin Barraza James and Carol Barnes James and Kim Carter Jaren and Mary Blake Patricia Work Jennifer and Nick Sillik Jennifer Cantley and Kenneth Peck Jimmy and Joice Fong Justine and Eric Mansfield Karla Pambogo Kathleen Blomenkamp Kathryn and Trevor Lynch Kerry and Austin Sweet Kristin and Aaron Strickley Lebo and Merrill Newman Lyn Karol Blumenthal Joshua Martin Marvin Reesman Mary and Chris Santiago Maryanne and Michael Berdan Michael and Adrielle Libbee Nina Fuego Michael Petersen Phoebe Nordstrom Ray and Selene Lee Richard and Leslie Delacruz Robyn Marshall Ronald Swanger and Diane Crecelius Russ and Kathy Fields Allene Streight
Steve Tafoya $250–$499 (continued) Vanery Haymore Abigail Hogan Herbert Coard Lisa Genasci Western Environmental Testing Laboratory $10-249 Courtney and Shane Forster Network for Good John & Charlene Hargrove David and Marilyn Ramsdell Marilyn P. Johnson Michael and Maria Heath Vanessa and Steve Richardson Jane M. Grossman Lauren Payne Susan Lombardi Anthony Brunelli DDS Kevin and Christine (Malachowski) Bruemmer Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain Jeff and Kristin Paine Brandon Hart The Law Offices of Paul H. Lamboley Great Basin Brewing Company Nancy W. Northrup Susan Gagosian Christopher Kain Judy Caviglia Stephanie & Tony D’Arcy Alana and Mike Heim Bill and Kim Luikart Marcia Holloway, In Honor of Jackson and Hudson Porter Christine and Preston Yoshioka David Shintani and Christie Howard Gloria Casci, In Honor of Jackson and Hudson Porter Hyung and Young Shin Jackelyn and Thomas Shoupe Jacqueline Pistorello Josh and Marie Scilacci Marc and Noreen McKinney Mike and Tammy Brenner Natalie and Alex Vogel Paul and Heidi Georgeson Cindy Bansen, in honor of Hudson and Jackson Porter Kristy Zive Teresa Maloney Todd and Anne Gilligan
Will Zimmer Aubrey Pulido Greg Ruzzine Jeff Patzlaff Judy Robertson Katie Feser Teresa Draeger Tobin S. Bechtel William C. Torch Alpha Delta Kappa Thelma Matlin Satoko Kurita Karol Hines Shea Ryan Danielle Sherman Beth Bomberger Craig Colefer Russell B. Rappel Schmid Total Wine & More Amanda Mawson and Darren Pluff Heather Ashbridge Christopher Coombs Giles and Linda Vanderhoof Meghan and Brian Schiedel Peter and Elizabeth Gifford The Mayer Family, In Memorial of Scarlett Alexandra Leal Risa Ronan Anita Roberts Robin Lappin Jane Holman Jeanna Adams Keith Olson Lois Bynum Margaret Shea Sarah Chan Verda Logan 1864 Tavern Earlene Bigotti Robert Jungnitsch Kelly and Tom Brooks Devon Johnston and Phyllis Bateman CalNeva - Siri Casino Jeff T. Brown Kathleen Fralick Janet Wright Alison and Bruce Cunard Elaine Bradley James R. and Joanne G. Perkins Elaine Manoukian Michael and Nicole Kattelman Cheryl Knudson
Deborah Bailey Lucy M. Cass Verna and Stevielynn Webber Holly McCutcheon Allyson and Jay Kreimer Erikka Welter and Raymond Gonzales Blake Horan Kelly Ulinski Constance Phillips John Roberts Jonathan Lei Ken Thom Mary Ann Fasano TOBI Cares Donation Program Charity On Top Foundation, Inc. Regina Maaka Nicole Willis-Grimes and Jesse Wadhams Matthew Herald Leath M. Hayden Yili Liang Sara and Scott Morrison Hannah Williams Josh Culpepper Megan Gaffney Valerie Leitko IN-KIND 1864 Tavern 22 Taylor Aaron Foster Alysia Crissman Amy Altick Anatomie Anthony Brunelli DDS Batch Cupcakery Beaujolais Bistro Bell Limo Best Buy Bibo Coffee Co Bibo Freddo Big O Tires bigtruck Brand, Inc. Blend A Catering Company Bonanza Casino Brett Tierney and Kimberly Surratt BrewChatter Bruka Theatre Butter + Salt Calafuria Celadon Events Cherry Bomb Catering Coffeebar Color of Neon
Coney Island Bar Country Financial Creative Coverings CustomInk Dean Biggs Desert Sky Adventures Doughboys Donuts Ellen S. Arrascada Ferino Distillery Fig Tree Catering Food Evolution FOX11 Reno Frey Ranch Estate Distillery Fur and Feather Works General Electric Global Coffee Great Basin Brewing Company Gypsy Getaway Wagons LLC Harrah’s & Harveys Lake Tahoe Hash House a Go Go Hot August Nights Foundation Jason Wiley Jordyn and Patrick Mahoney Joyce Morris Karen Beckel Keurig Dr. Pepper KRNV MyNews4 Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival Liberty Food & Wine Exchange Louis Basque Corner Makari Rose Studio Maplewood Stables Marc and Diane Nicolet Mastercraft Hardwood Lumber Inc. Mellow Fellow Gastropub Men Wielding Fire Michael’s Deli MOD Pizza Montbleu Mt Rose Drinks Mt. Rose Ski Resort National Automobile Museum Need 2 Speed Nevada Fine Arts Nevada State Society Colonial Dames Nicole Barker Night in the Country Noble Pie Parlor Outlets at Legends Patagonia Personal Party Pigeon Head Brewery
Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts POSH Salon & Med Spa Powerhouse Science Center Race178 Redwood Rotisserie + Grill REI Reno Renaissance Reno Reno Aces Baseball Club Reno Air Racing Foundation Reno Chamber Orchestra Reno eNVy Store Reno News & Review Reno Philharmonic Reno Tahoe Limousine Renown Health Resort at Squaw Creek Rocksport Roundabout Catering & Party Rentals Rowdy Bar Ruby River Steakhouse Sacramento Zoo Salon Glow SCHEELS Seaglass Fine Art Photography Shoe Sierra Air Inc. Sierra Diving Center Sierra Mattress Company Sierra Nevada Journeys Silverland Inn & Suites Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Somersett Country Club Sorensen’s Resort Soul Space Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits Squeeze In Tahoe Adventure Company Temple Yoga Reno The Depot Reno The Renaissance Tina Perkins Toiyabe Golf Club Total Wine & More Two Chicks Walden’s Coffee House Washoe Public House Wes Harbor Whispering Vine Whitney Peak Hotel Wild Garlic Pizza & Pub Yoga Loka Yogurt Beach
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2018 audited financial statement In 2017, The Discovery continued its progress toward becoming a more financially self-sufficient organization. However, even with this continued progress, the museum still relies on the generous support of donors to help fund the major exhibition construction and updating of current permanent exhibitions that are critical to the long-term success of the museum’s mission. STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
BALANCE SHEET
Revenue and other support
Assets
Earned revenue
$1,925,721
Gift revenue – unrestricted
$596,213
Investment/interest income
-$197
In-kind services Total earned and unrestricted gift revenue Gift revenue – restricted Total revenue
$40,470 $2,562,247 $884,485 $3,446,732
Expenses Program services
$1,880,858
General and administration
$451,668
Fundraising
$300,218
Financial assistance distributed
$77,931
Depreciation
$832,144
Total expenses
$3,542,819
Change in net assets
($96,087)
Current assets Other assets Property and equipment (net) Total assets
$1,562,142 $193,971 $13,325,793 $15,081,906
Liabilities Accounts payable and accrued expenses Total liabilities
$1,158,330 $1,158,330
Net assets Property and equipment net of debt
$13,325,793
Undesignated
($595,691)
Permanently restricted
$1,173,183
Designated endowment
$20,291
Total net assets
$13,923,576
Total liabilities and net assets
$15,081,906
The Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum (The Discovery) was incorporated in 2004 in Nevada for the purpose of inspiring curiosity, creativity and the joy of lifelong learning. The Discovery is an IRS-approved 501(c)3, tax-exempt organization with tax ID #61-1474845.
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2018 revenue and expense summary 1.58% 1.08%
-0.01%
2.87% 6.48%
11.08%
15.71%
Annual Revenue
16.66%
$2,562,247*
Annual Expenditures $2,710,675*
75.15%
Earned revenue (admissions, memberships, camps, school field trips, facility rentals, special events, etc.) Grants and foundation gifts Individual and family gifts Corporate gifts In-kind services
69.39%
Galleries and exhibits, educational programs, visitor experience Operating expenses (staff, overhead, advertising) Fundraising (events, mailings, donor cultivation) Donor-funded financial assistance distributed *Excludes $$832,144 in depreciation.
Investment/interest income *Excludes $884,485 in funds with donor restrictions.
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NEVADA EXHIBITION RE-IMAGINING OUR STATE’S HISTORY Rugged, dramatic, diverse — this is how our great state will be portrayed in The Discovery’s planned exhibition, Nevada. A re-imagining of the museum’s current Nevada Stories exhibition, Nevada will reside in a new location within the museum’s walls and will help create an understanding of our state’s beautiful landscapes, contrasting regions, diverse flora and fauna, varied industries, and the careers they foster. This 3,000 square-foot exhibition, boasting more than 30 hands-on exhibits, will be a welcoming space for long-time Nevadans, new residents, and those visiting our state. Nevada will encourage museum visitors to become familiar with a variety of topics like the species that share our land, the clarity of Lake Tahoe, predator-prey relationships, land resource management, native and invasive species, and more. The exhibition aims to inspire stewardship of the land, and most importantly, a lasting sense of place. The Discovery is currently seeking individual, corporate and foundation donors to support the Nevada exhibition. 14
From the Board Chair After two years as a member of The Discovery’s board, in 2018 I took on the
Board of Directors
role of Board Chair. I am extremely proud of the impact The Discovery has
Austin K. Sweet, Esq. Board Chair
had in our region since opening in 2011 and am excited to help guide the museum into the future.
Stacy Kendall, MA Vice Chair
The Discovery continues to create interest and engagement in science for
John Hargrove Secretary
visitors of all ages, and there is so much potential for the future. Working together with the museum’s dedicated staff and volunteers, we have created plans that will help the museum reach an even broader demographic and provide more ways for our community to engage in hands-on science exploration. As our region continues to grow and our population diversifies, the need for the types of hands-on science learning The Discovery provides grows exponentially. The Discovery plays an important role in our region’s economic and cultural development by providing a much-needed educational diversion for families, and
Dan Clausen, CPA Treasurer Jed Bodger Immediate Past Chair Bryce Bohlander, CFP Mike Heath Tony Manfredi
by inspiring the future generations of scientists, inventors, engineers, researchers and critical thinkers our
Kyle R. McCann, CFP
diversifying economy requires. I am confident that both the short and long-term plans in place for The Discovery
Sarah Porter
will help the museum serve an increasing number of visitors with engaging and relevant ways to explore science,
Dr. Rina A. Schumer
technology, engineering, art, math, and so much more.
Parker Stremmel Will Zimmer, LUTCF
This year, and in the years to come, I hope you’ll join me in supporting The Discovery. The strong work of the museum’s staff and volunteers cannot continue without your financial support. Thank you for believing in the power of lifelong learning and the potential the museum creates for everyone in our region. With gratitude,
The Discovery’s board has earned the Community Foundation of Western Nevada’s 100% Giving Board Award for 2018.
Austin Sweet, Esq. Gunderson Law Firm 15
490 S. Center Street · Reno, NV 89501 · 775-786 -1000 · nvdm.org
