Discovery Station

The exterior of Discovery Station at Hagerstown, Inc.

Discovery Station at Hagerstown, Inc.
Established	July 5, 1996 (1996-07-05)
Location	101 West Washington Street, Hagerstown, Maryland, 21740
Type	Hands-On Museum
Website	http://www.discoverystation.org/

Discovery Station, is a hands-on, family-friendly museum in downtown Hagerstown, Maryland, United States that opened to the public in 2005. The museum's focus is on science, technology, history and culture. The museum is a member of the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC), the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), and the NASA Museum Alliance.

The museum is located in a historic bank building across from the Washington County Courthouse. The original bank housed the Federal Depository during the Civil War. Visitors can enter the main vault and examine its mammoth leaded glass door and mechanisms. With its white marble exterior and soaring palladium windows, the building is one of the most architecturally significant in downtown Hagerstown.

Discovery Station is visited by thousands of visitors each year and is especially popular with children.

Exhibits

LEGO® Robotics Education Exhibit

The exhibit contains three sections. The first section focuses on the construction and programming of LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education EV3s. The second section features two LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education EV3 Arena Challenges, where visitors can compete against one another. Finally, the third section focuses on the real world application of robotics.

The LEGO® Robotics and Education exhibit and associated programs that are conducted by Discovery Station at Hagerstown, Inc. are not affiliated, sponsored, or endorsed by LEGO Education or The LEGO Group.

Dinosaur Exhibit

A full-scale cast model of a Triceratops skull acquired by Discovery Station is on exhibit. Included in the Dinosaur Exhibit are fossil tracings, a dinosaur dig, literature, and other interactive activities providing hands-on learning experiences.

Space and Beyond Exhibit

A quarter-scale model of the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft is on display. This exhibit also touches upon the future of space exploration and the colonization of Mars.

Discovery Station Race Car Derby

This hands-on exhibit features a large-scale race car track for toy cars. The display teaches children and adults the basics of kinetic and potential energy.

Hagerstown Aviation Exhibit

Exhibit includes equipment and electronics displays, an experimental Papoose airplane built in Washington County, and a hands-on, child-friendly, interactive Cessna 150 with full instrumentation and indicators. Museum visitors can sit in the cockpit and take turns working the controls.

A 1/5 scale replica of the famous PT-19 trainer is on permanent display courtesy of the late Jack Garrott, who piloted a PT-19 during World War II and constructed the flyable model.

The RMS Titanic Exhibit

An exact replica of the RMS Titanic is on display at Discovery Station. It is one of the largest models of the legendary ship ever constructed and took ten years to build. Created by Norman Little from plans and drawings of the original ship, the one-sixtieth scale navigable craft is over fifteen feet in length, weighs 500 pounds, and contains over one thousand portholes. Authentic fittings, stained glass, and passenger replicas add to the realism and historical exactness of the Titanic exhibit.

This award-winning Titanic model has been featured on TV, in newspapers and magazines, and on the cover of Model Tech magazine. It is seaworthy and has been sailed by radio control on waterways in Florida, where it was built.

Upcoming Exhibits

Discovery Station will be opening a new exhibition in late 2016. This hands-on “Sustainability Exhibit” will allow visitors to explore the impact of applying renewable energy practices to their daily lives while enabling them to become the sustainable practitioners of the future.

This exhibit will contain hands-on features pertaining to:

Recycling
Solar Energy
Waste Management
Food Production
Weather Forecasting

In 2017, Discovery Station will also be opening a new exhibit called "STEAM Machine: Moving Ahead With The Future". This hands-on exhibit will encompass numerous STEAM principles.

Weekly Programs

Discovery Station holds weekly science experiments and STEAM activities each Saturday. These "Saturday Plus Programs" are free with the price of admission into Discovery Station and are usually hands-on.

Discovery Station also hosts an ongoing "Story-Time" program that occurs each Wednesday at 11 a.m..

Non-Profit Status

Discovery Station at Hagerstown, Inc. is governed by a volunteer board whose members serve without compensation. Members serve three-year terms. Currently, Discovery Station has only one paid staff personnel. Programs and activities are conducted by the officers and directors assisted by an enthusiastic and dedicated group of volunteers from throughout the region.

Discovery Station at Hagerstown, Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization, incorporated in the State of Maryland on July 5, 1996. Discovery Station is tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, as of March 11, 1997. Discovery Station is a charitable organization, registered with the Maryland Office of the Secretary of State, Charitable Organization Division (telephone: 410.974.5534).

Fundraisers

Discovery Station hosts several fundraisers throughout the year to offset the costs associated with operations, program development and exhibit creation.

Casino Royale - This fundraiser event is an evening of casino games held in Hagerstown, MD each year.
Superhero 5k - This is a themed 5k run that is held in Hagerstown,MD each year.
Discovery Golf Classic - This golf tournament is an ongoing shared fundraiser between Discovery Station and the Hagerstown Lions Club.
Hangarfest - This event is a rock concert held at the Rider Jet Center in Hagerstown, MD. Discovery Station co-hosts this event with the Breast Cancer Awareness of the Cumberland Valley.
Surgeons vs. Chefs - This event is a pumpkin carving competition between local surgeons and chefs. It is held at the rustic Springfield Barn in Williamsport, MD.

Museums in Maryland

Art	Academy Art African Art Museum of Maryland American Visionary Art Art Gallery at the University of Maryland Baltimore Museum of Art Brooke Whiting House of Art Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture Charm City Art Space Contemporary Havre de Grace Decoy Museum Janus Museum Maryland Art Place Maryland Institute College of Art Galleries Ratner Museum Strathmore Walters Art Museum Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art Washington County Fine Arts

Aerospace & Aviation	College Park Aviation Museum Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum Goddard Visitor Center Hagerstown Aviation Museum Patuxent River Naval Air Museum

Entertainment	Chesapeake Children's Museum Geppi's Entertainment Port Discovery Radio & Television Museum Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum

History & Historic houses	Adkins Historical Museum Baltimore Museum of Industry Banneker-Douglass Museum Barbara Fritchie House and Museum Beall-Dawson House Belair Mansion Belair Stable Museum Benson–Hammond House Bowman House Button Farm Living History Center Clara Barton National Historic Site Carroll County Farm Museum Carroll Mansion Costen House Cray House Darnall's Chance Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum Evergreen Museum & Library Flag House Furnace Town Girdletree Barnes Bank Government House Great Blacks in Wax Museum Hager House Hammond–Harwood House Hampton National Historic Site Hancock's Resolution His Lordship's Kindness Historic London Town Historic St. Mary's City Homewood Museum J. Millard Tawes Historical Museum Jerusalem Mill Village Julia A. Purnell Museum Kennedy Farm Ladew Topiary Gardens La Grange Plantation Laurel Museum Marietta House Museum Maryland Historical Society Maryland State House Miller House Museum Montpelier Mansion Mother Seton House Mount Clare Museum House Mount Harmon Plantation Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Hill Farm Pemberton Hall National Colonial Farm Poplar Hill Mansion Riversdale Rose Hill Manor Park & Children's Museum Schifferstadt Architectural Museum Smallwood State Park Sotterley Plantation Star Spangled Banner Flag House and 1812 Museum Steppingstone Museum Surratt House Museum Susquehanna State Park Taylor House Teackle Mansion Thomas Stone National Historic Site Tudor Hall (Bel Air, Maryland) Tudor Hall (Leonardtown, Maryland) Union Mills Homestead William Paca House & Garden

Maritime	Annapolis Maritime Museum Calvert Marine Museum Capt. Salem Avery House Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum Concord Point Lighthouse Cove Point Light Havre de Grace Maritime Museum Historic Ships in Baltimore Joppa Wharf Museum Maryland Dove Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum Point Lookout Light Richardson Maritime Museum Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse Tilghman Watermen's Museum Turkey Point Light Station Upper Bay Museum U.S. Naval Academy Museum Waterman's Museum

Military	Airmen Memorial Museum Antietam National Battlefield Bainbridge Naval Training Center Museum Fort Frederick State Park Fort George G. Meade Museum Fort McHenry Fort Washington Park Maryland Museum of Military History Monocacy National Battlefield National Cryptologic Museum Point Lookout State Park

Railway	B&O Railroad Museum Baltimore Streetcar Museum Boonsboro Trolley Museum Brunswick Heritage Museum Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum Huntington Railroad Museum La Plata Train Station Marion Station Railroad Museum National Capital Trolley Museum Perryville Railway Museum Queponco Railway Station Stevensville Train Depot The Train Room and Museum Walkersville Southern Railroad Museum Western Maryland Railway Historical Society Museum

Science, Natural History & Medicine	Baltimore Public Works Museum Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge B. Olive Cole Pharmacy Museum Cylburn Nature Museum Deep Creek Lake Discovery Center Discovery Station Eden Mill Nature Center Lamar Heritage and Culture Center Maryland Science Center National Electronics Museum National Museum of Dentistry National Museum of Civil War Medicine National Wildlife Visitor Center at Patuxent Research Refuge Stonestreet Museum of 19th Century Medicine University of Maryland School of Nursing Living History Museum William P. Didusch Center for Urologic History

Sports	Babe Ruth Lacrosse Sailing Sports Legends

Transportation	Bob's Vintage Museum Canal Place C&D Canal Museum Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Queen City Transportation Museum Thrasher Carriage Museum Wheels of Yesterday

Heritage	Banneker-Douglass Museum Jewish Museum of Maryland Latvian Museum National Slavic Museum Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture

Miscellaneous	Anne Arundel County Free School Christian Heritage Museum George Alfred Townsend Museum Mt. Zion One Room School National Museum of Language National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton St. Martin's Episcopal Church Museum Phoenix Shot Tower Sturgis One Room School Wye Grist Mill

Coordinates: 39°38′35″N 77°43′22″W / 39.64306°N 77.72278°W / 39.64306; -77.72278

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