Nevada’s Discovery Museum Inspires the Youth of Northern Nevada

Discovery overload: A term coined by the staff of the museum to describe the event that occurs when a child finally reaches the top of the ramp to enter The Discovery Museum and first lays eyes on the all the attractions. The Cloud Climber is the first challenge to be witnessed, and conquered.

18 students from Austin, NV grades K-4 piled into a bus to drive 175 miles each way to see the Nevada Discovery Museum. How did they earn the funds to pay for the bus trip? They sold a sheep. Welcome to Nevada.

A mother and her daughter were skipping away as they were leaving The Discovery, an employee asked the mother, “Wow, most kids are battling to get out of here- your daughter is so cooperative!” The mother replied, “I had to tell her that we are going home to eat whipped cream! “

Great stories like these are consistently posted on The Nevada Discovery Museum’s Facebook page, and they often receive tons of attention. What great way to depict the type of excitement that is experienced by the children here. Patrick Turner is the Marketing and PR Manager at Discovery, and does a fantastic job at creating the museum’s culture through their Facebook. Videos, stories, and pictures are shared consistently each week to share individual experiences of the children.

In 2004, The Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum was founded by Chris Riche. Chris and his two young sons frequently visited other museums; he realized Reno’s lack of an educational  hands-on experience for children. Chris formed a small board of individuals who would help develop his idea as well as look for donors. Over $20 million has been donated to this non-profit start-up, $5 million which was donated by The Terry Lee Wells Foundation. The Discovery Museum landed in the old City Hall building on Center St. Remediation began on September 8, 2010 to create an over-arching theme of contextual Nevada.

You want water? There’s the “Truckee Connects.” You want stars, fishing and camping? There’s “Under the Stars.” The Discovery’s board wanted to create something that was directly related to what Reno is. They didn’t want just any museum; they wanted a place to educate our youth on the history of this great state which they’re being raised in. Whether its wandering through a mine tunnel, crushing rock with a pick ax, or rooting through crushed cork to look for hidden treasures, The Nevada Discovery Museum is a hands-on representation of Northern Nevada. Tica Lubin was responsible for the museum’s content creation and design. Members from Indian colonies, University of Nevada, NV Energy, and miners from Virginia City all contributed to create an accurate and engaging experience for our youth.

September 10, 2011 The Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum opened. To date, over 125,000 people have visited the museum. This is double the amount of visitors forecasted in such a short period of time. It was estimated that the Discovery would sell 2,000 yearly memberships by the end of 2011, almost 6,000 memberships have been sold.

Become a fan of the Nevada Discovery Museum on Facebook to live vicariously through these excited kids (and parents!) and get updated on the latest happenings like homemade hydrogen balloon explosions and mentos and tonic water geysers!

Mark Trujillo and The Hub Coffee Co. Do Coffee and Social Media Right

“It’s always just been about bikes. It’s always just been about coffee.” -Mark Trujillo

I was wandering down Cheney St. in MidTown Reno looking for The Hub. Owner Mark Trujillo saw me aimlessly looking around before pointing me to a small opening, a former 2-car garage, where I found Reno’s beloved coffee shop. Beginning from the small and discrete location, to the old bikes hanging on the wall and roll-up door on the outside, to the raw brick walls, modern art, and tiny service station on the inside; this place is one of Reno’s best kept secrets. A REAL and authentic coffee shop, The Hub offers the best cappuccinos and coffee in town. If you are looking for a quiet place to study, a low-key place to have private conversation, get a meal, or a sugary flavored non-fat-latte-macchi-frapp-a-what? Then do not come to The Hub. This place is busy, has a “Cheers” like atmosphere, it’s small, gimmick-free, and they are serious about coffee.

Reno native and avid cyclist, Mark Trujillo sold Walden’s Coffee House in 2009 to search for something different; a place, which solely focused on providing the best coffee around. In June of 2009, Mark opened The Hub Coffee Co. in Reno’s MidTown District. Businesses (Sup, Crème Café, Sushi Pier 2, Midtown Eats, etc.) in this district, often unknown to all the tourists, are tiny gems nestled right below the big buildings of Downtown. Mark and his son Joey, 22 and Jessica 20 have created an atmosphere, which depicts the personality of their coffee- raw.

“If I am going to provide a product, I want it to be the best and I want it to be as raw as possible. We do not manipulate our coffee.”

You will not find any blue, yellow, white or pink sugar packets in the building. Non-fat milk doesn’t exist. The only additive they offer is a homemade chocolate sauce for their mochas. Best chocolate I have ever had. Mark gets his coffee from small, intimate, culturally-sound farms that have processes which have been handed down from generation to generation. He receives the coffee bean raw, roasts the beans in-house, and serves his drinks with no fuss or over processing.  Watch Mark make yours truly a cup of coffee:

Mark and his son Joey are responsible for creating the buzz around town about their coffee on the expanding world of social media. With their location being so small and discrete, they rely on social media to help spread the word. Did you know that coffee has 300 more properties than wine, and that it’s the 2^nd highest traded product in the world next to petroleum? Facts like these can be found on their Twitter. Want to see a never-ending review list with pictures from all of their fans? Check out their Facebook. Want to know about the various coffee beans produced worldwide? We have bloggers on our hands, people! Check out their blog.

“It’s not about specials or sales. It’s about our customers, coffee, how it’s served, or our process. We use social media to excite our customers and depict what we are all about. We are a hidden, local hot-spot and we leverage that mystery and build it up with our social media marketing. I respond to every single comment or complaint, I am building relationships with my fans.”

Mark and his kids are running a business that profits pennies at a time from their coffee, and it has taken time for him to figure out what works best for him. He never makes the same mistake twice, and that he will not lose to competitors. Mark and Joey Trujillo are leading by example on the social media-marketing front; follow these guys to see what’s going on in that 2-car garage on Cheney St., and at their new location in The Discovery Museum.