Reno Field Trips Guide

Field Trip Categories In And Around Reno

Museums, Tours, And Local Landmarks

National Automobile Museum
Reno's National Automobile Museum grew from the famous collection assembled by casino owner Bill Harrah, but the museum is organized to show changes in technology and society rather than simply line up expensive cars. More than 200 vehicles are displayed along recreated streets, including early horseless carriages, luxury touring cars, racing machines and experimental designs. Notable cars have included a 1907 Thomas Flyer associated with the 1908 New York-to-Paris race and vehicles tied to celebrities and film. Upper elementary students can compare steering, tires, lighting and passenger protection across decades; middle and high school groups can investigate mass production, gasoline infrastructure and how automobiles reshaped western cities. The recreated street settings help younger visitors place cars in time. A useful assignment is to choose two cars 30 years apart and explain what changed because of engineering, law and consumer expectations—not just styling.
Street Address: 1 Museum Dr, Reno, NV 89501
Web Address: https://automuseum.org/

Arts, Culture, And Performance

Nevada Museum of Art
Nevada Museum of Art is unusual among regional art museums because its identity is closely tied to the relationship between people and the environment. The Center for Art + Environment maintains a major archive of artists and projects concerned with land, water, climate and altered landscapes, making the museum especially relevant in a desert state where growth depends on scarce resources. Galleries mix contemporary art with historical and regional works, while the Will Bruder-designed building evokes the dark rock forms of the Black Rock Desert. Middle and high school groups can connect visual art to mining, water use, wildfire and land art; elementary students can focus on texture, scale and landscape imagery. Exhibitions change frequently, so teachers should check the current installation before writing assignments. The museum works particularly well when paired with a Truckee River or desert-landscape observation outside, allowing students to compare artistic interpretation with the actual environment.
Street Address: 160 W Liberty St, Reno, NV 89501
Web Address: https://www.nevadaart.org/

Science, STEM, And Discovery

Fleischmann Planetarium
Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center sits on the University of Nevada, Reno campus beneath a distinctive hyperbolic-paraboloid dome completed in 1963. The building itself is a midcentury engineering lesson, while the planetarium presents dome shows on astronomy, space exploration and Earth science. Exhibits have included meteorites, spacecraft models and hands-on displays that connect what students see overhead with physical evidence from the solar system. Elementary groups respond to constellation and planet programs; middle and high school students can use a show to investigate scale, orbital motion and how astronomers infer properties of distant objects from light. Because the planetarium schedule changes daily and some programs are produced for specific ages, teachers should select the exact show before booking. Pairing the visit with the university campus can also introduce older students to astronomy and atmospheric-science careers rather than treating the planetarium as only entertainment.
Street Address: 1664 N Virginia St, Reno, NV 89557
Web Address: https://www.unr.edu/planetarium

Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum
The Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum, usually called The Discovery, is a hands-on science center with a strong Nevada identity. Its permanent Nevada Stories gallery uses the state's landscapes and communities as a framework, while exhibits on water, anatomy, engineering and invention encourage children to build and test rather than read long labels. The Cloud Climber—a multi-level climbing structure rising through the building—is a signature physical challenge, and younger children have dedicated spaces for sensory and imaginative play. Preschool through middle school is the best range, with older students benefiting most from maker or lab programs. For field trips, teachers can connect water exhibits to the Truckee River and arid Great Basin rather than treating them as generic hydrology. The museum occupies a repurposed downtown building, another small example of how Reno has transformed older urban spaces for new cultural uses.
Street Address: 490 S Center St, Reno, NV 89501
Web Address: https://nvdm.org/

Gardens, Parks, And Outdoor Learning

Truckee River Walk
The Truckee River Walk turns Reno's downtown riverfront into an outdoor lesson in watershed, flood control and urban design. The Truckee River begins at Lake Tahoe, flows through Reno and ultimately terminates at Pyramid Lake, so students can trace a complete closed-basin watershed rather than a river that reaches the ocean. Along the walk, parks, bridges, public art and engineered banks show how the city has tried to live beside a river that can flood dramatically during snowmelt and winter storms. Elementary students can observe current, riparian vegetation and human use; middle and high school groups can discuss dams, water rights, endangered fish and the competing needs of cities, agriculture and tribal communities downstream. A field trip should use a short, preselected section with safe river access rather than simply walking for distance, and spring runoff requires extra caution near fast water.
Street Address: 2 S Arlington Ave, Reno, NV 89501
Web Address: https://renoriver.org/

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