Biggest Little Museums
Winter 2024-2025
Discover art, history, and science in northern Nevada’s metropolis.
For a mid-size city, Reno enjoys an outsized amount of fame. Sure, there’s that song, but the city is also known for its lavish resorts, mild climate, and adjacency to one of the world’s most famous alpine lakes. Beyond gaming and the great outdoors, Reno has emerged as something of a cultural destination as well. Across MidTown and downtown, some of the state’s best galleries and museums await an afternoon of exploration.
Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum
The Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum (The Discovery) features dozens of exhibits focused on technology, engineering, art, history, and invention. While originating as a children’s museum, Nevada’s largest hands-on learning center has morphed into an immersive experience for learners of all ages.
Every corner of the museum is packed with interactive exhibits that ask visitors to move, build, and think—all while focusing on issues and ideas important to northern Nevada. “Da Vinci’s Corner” offers plentiful activities themed around art and science. Guests set up dominoes, shoot catapults, manipulate magnets, and experiment with centrifugal force. For people who work more on the right side of the brain, the volunteer-led “Art Alcove” features daily classes that’ll get you drawing, painting, and crafting.
In addition to its quality museum content, The Discovery hosts a variety of programs, including a lecture series called “Science Distilled” and an adults-only program called “Social Science.” This after-hours experience—hosted four times a year—offers an evening of cocktails and science-based challenges, each presented with a unique theme like CSI, Brewology, and the ‘80s.
Nevada Historical Society
The Nevada Historical Society (NHS)—the state’s oldest cultural institution—is home to some of our most precious artifacts. The society maintains a collection of more than 500,000 photographs, manuscripts, yearbooks, newspapers, and relics.
In fact, the NHS has so much material that only about two percent of its collection is on display—which you’ll find at its headquarters on the University of Nevada, Reno campus. The society’s museum features many exhibits you won’t find anywhere else, including a miner’s bathtub, baskets by Dat So La Lee, gaming instruments, a map of John C. Frémont’s 1842 expedition, Mark Twain memorabilia, and—a favorite for kids—the two-headed calf.
Nevada Museum of Art
One of Nevada’s most esteemed cultural centers, the Nevada Museum of Art (NMA) is conveniently located in Reno’s bustling MidTown District. This world-class experience—Nevada’s only accredited art museum—brims with more than 1,500 paintings, photographs, sculptures, and prints across three floors, not to mention its ever-rotating collection of featured exhibits.
In 2025, the NMA will nearly double in size with the construction of a highly anticipated extension. In addition to a rooftop garden and new galleries, the additional space will focus on community outreach and workshops and classes for visitors to enjoy.
Wilbur D. May Museum
Located inside Rancho San Rafael Park, this museum preserves the personal collection of Wilbur D. May, a talented Reno resident who dabbled in ranching, painting, aviating, and traveling the globe. The permanent display features treasures ranging from swords and snuff bottles to Venetian glass and Egyptian statues. May’s hunting trophy collection—one of the museum’s highlights—adorns a richly decorated parlor room. The museum also hosts a traveling exhibition packed with activities designed to engage young visitors.