Wonderland is for our youngest visitors (age 5 & younger) Build with giant blocks, pick up your construction clothes at the dress up station and practice our heavy machinery skills with the backhoe, crane, in the dig pit.

Explore captures many imaginations and digging for dinosaurs, exploring the Ozarks karst and creating your own aircraft that you can launch.

At the Watershed exhibit, make it rain on the cross-sectional city and landscape. Get a look at the differences that environmentally safe practices make on erosion and water quality issues. Look for creatures in the Cave and discover how life is affected by pollution and all that we do.

Also in Explore, you'll find the Flight exhibit hall, where you can experiment with different shapes to create your own aircraft, and then test it from our vertical launch pad. Learn more about the concepts of flight with our Bernoulli Blower.

Phenomena features exhibits centering around electricity, weather and other explainable amazements.  Make your hair stand up on the Van De Graaff Generator, Capture your Shadow and see the lighting in Tesla Coil.

Want to see what it's like to be a grownup? Come to Discovery Town offers you the chance to be a member of the television crew at KDCS TV or write an article in Daily Discovery.  Spend your money in the market or go to the theatre and enjoy a show.

In the Explor-atory Lab investigate each of our monthly themes through interactive experiments and join our book club.

BodyWorks Theater is an extravaganza of health-related displays that explore the human body, health and wellness.  Sense-sational Hall houses unique exhibits like Big Mouth, Eye Spy, and Brian Central that allow visitors to investigate the workings of the human body.

Brain Bytes are Interactive demonstrations on everything will have you watching, listening, asking questions all the while learning and having fun.  Located in BodyWorks theatre – Times vary daily.

In the Cruse Charitable Trust ChromoZone Gallery learn about basics of life where cells, DNA & genetics are explored.  ChromoZone Lab is open to visitors to slow down, sit down and check out a microscopic view of you.    Lab hours are Tuesday-Friday 10am-2, Saturday 11-3 Sunday 2-4.

WorldWise Gallery – Compare and contrast other regions of the world by experiencing the music, history, art, and language of Peru, China, Japan, Mexico, the Lake Chad (Africa) region, the Netherlands and our current events kiosk featuring Israel, Jordan and Syria. Submerge yourself in the geography and culture of these lands.

EnergyExchange Gallery - Energy does not change but it can be transformed through water energy, kinetic, mechanical and electrical energy.  Gears, pulleys, lifts are a great way to move things. 

LEED Gold Certified Building

Discovery Center opened the 1^st SW Missouri LEED Gold Certified building.  With the addition of 60,000 sq ft adding exhibit space, classrooms and offices the building itself is an exhibit.  You will find over 50 signs throughout the building discussing all aspects of green building and construction considerations and practices, plus ways to conserve at home.   

“green” features include:

·        Cisterns – 2 4200 gallon rain water storage tanks.  After the rain water is collected from the two roofs, grey water is re-used for toilet flushing and irrigation.  Typically these tanks are not visible to the public or are found outside of buildings.  Ours are a focal point inside the building.

·        Roof top garden – a main feature on the 3^rd floor.  Native plants are flourishing in this garden.  It is also a cooler roof system, decreases run off and the water is recycled to be used again. 

·        Daylighting is evident through the design.  Lighting sensors are used throughout the building which allows the lights to come on onlywhen there isn't enough daylight coming in.

·        Saw-tooth design of west side of building decreases the western exporsure to take advantage of a more North west exposure.

·        Pervious concrete sections allow rain to soak into the ground rather than run off the sidewalk.

·        Cut out sample of spray foam insulation in the wall.

·        Photovoltaic panels harnessing 5-7% of energy needs of building.  Located in two places. 

·        Additional “green” programming includes Environmental Pathways Program and EnergyExchange Gallery.