Discovery Theater

The Discovery Theater is a Smithsonian theater that presents many shows for children and adults throughout the year. The theater was founded in 1964 as The Smithsonian Puppet Theater; performances were shown in a room on the third floor of the NMAH.

The theater moved into the Arts and Industries Building in1979 and was renamed as Discovery Theater. The main performances held at the theater featured puppets telling traditional stories, playing music from around the world, telling of myths, ensemble performances by street performers and commedia clowning.

To help get more children to the Smithsonian, the theater started to present heritage and cultural arts performances. Tickets to performances are very affordable which makes the theater a great place for students to make their first visit to a museum and a theater.

The Arts and Industries building closed their doors in 2004 as it was in dire need of renovation. The theater moved into a new boutique building that was designed by Sachs Morgan Studios, which holds over 50,000 visitors each year to view over 300 performances each year. One of Discovery Theaters award winning puppet shows was Dinorock, this show now performed around the world to many, many theater visitors.