Programs and Events

At Discovery Science Place, we believe that more opportunity to become immersed in fun, hands-on education leads to a greater understanding and passion for learning. That’s why we offer a multitude of engaging, age-appropriate classes, camps and events for students of all ages to delve into. See below to learn more about the opportunities we offer.

Annual Events

Darwin Day– Held annually near the date of the birth of famed scientists Charles Darwin the DSP brings biology to life with live animals and numerous family-friendly displays and hands-on activities.

STEM Like a Girl– A full-day of STEM-based hands-on learning for middle school girls only. Held every February during National Engineering Week, this event is lead by local female STEM professionals and mentored by UT Tyler female STEM students. The event is often at no charge to attendees but does require a ticket/reservation as attendance is limited.

Tyler Maker Faire– Our largest single-day event of the year! Maker Faire is great for ANY age of visitor and you don’t have to have a DSP-age child to enjoy it (although they definitely will have a blast as well). Held every April, Maker Faire takes over the entire museum, the grounds, and the street next to us! Over 1,200 visitors enjoy interacting with 40+ “maker” booths- everything from science, to art, to invention, and more- blacksmiths to robots, to wood-workers to rockets, art cars to drones… We call it the greatest show (and tell) on Earth!

Summer Traveling Exhibits– Almost every summer the DSP features a traveling exhibit in the DSP annex next to the main museum. Past exhibits have ranged from life-sized models of the inventions of Leonardo da Vinci, to animatronic dinosaurs, to ancient Egypt… What will be here this summer?!?

Museum Day– Generally held every September we reopen from our annual Fall shutdown on National Museum Day- a one-day event hosted by Smithsonian Magazine that allows for FREE entry to the DSP (and countless other museums around the nation). It’s a great opportunity to take a break from the new school year and see what we’ve added during the shut-down.

Holiday Open House– Held every December, the DSP joins with other Downtown Tyler museums and attractions to open for a special evening of holiday fun. In addition to the entire museum we offer holidays snacks and a cool, hands-on experiment for the kids. In lieu of admission we ask for canned food donations to benefit the East Texas Food Bank.