Discovery Center

Discovery Center of Springfield is an interactive, hands-on museum committed to inspiring people of all ages with a life-long love of learning and an appreciation for the world and our place in it.

DCS promotes Great Minds @ Play by creating and maintaining a fun and inspiring interactive educational resource center for students, teachers, and families of the Ozarks.  DCS demonstrates science, technology, art, history, and culture through exhibits, programs, and collaborative efforts.  DCS provides a number of unique, educational opportunities that provide hands-on, interactive, inquiry based learning experiences to help participants’ increase deductive reasoning and critical thinking skills. DCS delivers science lessons aligned to Grade Level Expectations (GLE).  Activities used to improve science knowledge include taking ScienceWorks On The Road outreach programs to classrooms and youth organizations throughout SW Missouri; hands-on labs with a science specialist are delivered through DCS video-conferencing programs; field trips and general public experiences where birth to adult can experience a unique learning environment of science and cultural exploration with hands-on, interactive exhibits onsite.  DCS Science Sprouts programs address the critical needs of ensuring children are starting Kindergarten ready to learn. After-school programs such as Discovery Science Club target inner city public middle school students who are high at-risk, low achieving students. The program focuses on inquiry based activities relevant to their lives. Students are having fun and for the first time, engaged in what they are learning and motivated to stay in school.  Additional special educational events include Earth Day, cultural days, Pi Day, DNA Day, Nano Day, scout nights and camp-ins to assist in earning badges. DCS hosts traveling exhibits, and has recently implemented Scientist Saturdays featuring local and regional scientists and researchers from the public, private and university sectors who have completed our Science Communication Fellowship Program. These Fellows now interact with visitors to communicate their research or product through activities, thus bringing real science to the forefront of the visitor experience.

DCS is not only a great place to visit with friends and family of all ages we also serve as southwest Missouri's primary science education resource facility. We currently serve 30 counties in Missouri, 33 other states, and 3 other countries including Mexico, Canada, and Australia through our general admission, field trips, home school, outreach and video conferencing programs, summer workshops and in-house programming.