Discovery Museum INC

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The Discovery Museum strives to engage, excite, and educate young learners through experiences and programs that inspire wonder and ignite creativity as the foundation for a lifetime love of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning.The Museums core audience is young learners ages 5-14 who connect to us with their teachers and classmates during the school day or by themselves or with their families, mentors, or social groups after school, on weekends, during school vacations or in the summer. We provide a hardy portfolio of STEM learning experiences including; unmediated gallery-based exploration of STEM focused temporary and permanent exhibits; over 80 unique onsite and offsite mediated demonstrations and learning labs; a Challenger Learning Center space exploration simulation; Planetarium shows; unique grant-funded school-museum science learning partnerships; and an engaging 7-week summer STEM learning program.

Form 990 Part I, line 1, FY2025. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 06-0740527) · Dispute this line
501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
73¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 145 volunteers and 76 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
The IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
The latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
3 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $4K a year · 0.2% of revenue · last 6 filings
A surplus in 3 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
73%
of spending
73% of spending went to programs.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$120K
to officers and key staff · 5% of spending
Pay to officers and key staff is 5% of spending.
Part VII, Section A
1.3 mo
of spending, in cash
Plus $1.3M in investments, Pt X · Ln 11–13
1.3 months of spending in cash.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
3
named funders · $28K
3 funders name it on their filings.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$1.1M
20% of total assets
Liabilities are 20% of assets.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
9
of 9 voting members
9 of 9 voting members are independent.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Revenue
$1.8M
-7% vs prior year
Spent
$2.6M
To programs
73%
Net assets
$4.5M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$1.8M
FY2025▼ -7%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$1.7M
FY2021$1.1M
FY2022$3.0M
FY2023$2.2M
FY2024$2.0M
FY2025$1.8M
Expenses
$2.6M
FY2025▲ +2%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$1.6M
FY2021$1.2M
FY2022$1.7M
FY2023$2.1M
FY2024$2.5M
FY2025$2.6M
Net assets
$4.5M
FY2025▼ -12%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$4.5M
FY2021$4.6M
FY2022$5.6M
FY2023$5.6M
FY2024$5.1M
FY2025$4.5M

From the FY2025 Form 990 (year ending June 2025) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Feb 1961.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

73 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 73% · $1.9M Management & general 12% · $305K Fundraising 15% · $377K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

12 people listed on the 990; $120K paid to officers and key staff (Part VII, Section A).

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Dir.
$120,000Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Co-Chairman
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vice Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Trustee
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Erika Eng’s $120K as Executive Dir. is at the 48th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3924 $1–10M arts & culture nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 3 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Erika Eng$120,000$118,692$107,923$96,104$8,811—
William a Finch—————$117,000
Terry O'Connor————$60,000—

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

See Discovery Museum INC executive salaries →

Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Inspires wonder and ignites creativity in young learners through hands-on STEM experiences and programs.

Questions for Discovery Museum INC

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Your first name shows with your question. Discovery Museum INC answers here, for everyone.

1 program · $1.9M · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

Educational and Guest Services Programs

Develop and deliver high-quality informal science programming supporting current national and local science education standards. Support classroom teachers to achieve their science learning goals through in-house, outreach, and professional development programming.

Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2024. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 06-0740527) · Dispute this line
$1.9Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 3 funders$28K
See all 3 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$1.8M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$771K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$685K
Other incomeLn 4–11$362K
Money outPt IX
$2.6M
Ln 25
Programscol B$1.9M
Managementcol C$305K
Fundraisingcol D$377K
Owns and owesPt X
$4.5M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$269K
Total assetsLn 16$5.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.1M
PeoplePt VI, VII
12
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a9
IndependentVI 1b9
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$771K
Government grantsLn 1e$284K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$80K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$685K
Investment incomeLn 3$31K
Other incomeLn 4–11$362K
Gains on assetsLn 7$38K
Total revenueLn 12$1.8M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$269K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$269K
Pledges and grants receivableLn 3$42K
Accounts receivableLn 4$39K
Inventories for sale or useLn 8$12K
Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesLn 9$123K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$3.8M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$1.3M
Total assetsLn 16$5.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.1M
Net assetsLn 32$4.5M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 576
VolunteersI 6145
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3More from this return
Investment feesPt IX, Sch D
Investment fees, as reportedPt IX 11f$14K
Share of the $1.3M endowmentSch D 1g1.1%
Typical, median of 2,202 orgs0.44%
EndowmentSch D · Pt V
LineFY25FY24FY23FY22FY21
End of yearLn 1g$1.3M$1.2M$1.1M$1.1M$1.3M
AddedLn 1b$1K
SpentLn 1d–1f$61K$60K$53K$40K$23K
4Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$452K$269K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$1.3M$1.3M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$4.1M$3.8M
Total assetsLn 16$6.2M$5.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.1M$1.1M
Net assetsLn 32$5.1M$4.5M
5Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Ln 5$120K$36K$84K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$1.1M$798K$77K$202K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$29K$14K$8K$6K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$44K$30K$2K$12K
Payroll taxesLn 10$97K$67K$6K$23K
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$0
Accounting feesLn 11c$14K$14K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$24K$24K
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$10K$10K
Investment management feesLn 11f$14K$14K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$69K$23K$43K$4K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$34K$17$5K$29K
Office expensesLn 13$60K$16K$40K$5K
Information technologyLn 14$0
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$234K$230K$4K$878
TravelLn 17$18K$14K$4K$186
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$0
InterestLn 20$8K$8K
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$390K$384K$5K$1K
InsuranceLn 23$89K$80K$8K$354
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$242K$233K$8K$236
All other expensesLn 24e$0
Total functional expensesLn 25$2.6M$1.9M$305K$377K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 25, 2025 $1.8M$2.6M−$723K$4.5M 990 PDF
FY2024Filed with the IRS Nov 25, 2024 $2.0M$2.5M−$536K$5.1M 990 PDF
FY2023Filed with the IRS Feb 14, 2024 $2.2M$2.1M$19K$5.6M 990 PDF
FY2022Filed with the IRS Apr 17, 2023 $3.0M$1.7M$1.2M$5.6M 990 PDF
FY2021Filed with the IRS Mar 24, 2022 $1.1M$1.2M−$70K$4.6M 990 PDF
FY2020Filed with the IRS Feb 3, 2021 $1.7M$1.6M$58K$4.5M 990 PDF

Schedules filed Part IV

A · Public support D · Assets and endowments I · Grants O · Explanations
See the full FY2025 990
Part I · Summary $1,848,902 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $991,983$770,645
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $644,466$685,425
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $82,333$68,339
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $273,297$324,493
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $1,992,079$1,848,902
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $1,347,422$1,366,320
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$9,625
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $1,181,030$1,195,770
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $2,528,452$2,571,715
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$536,373−$722,813
Part VI · Governance 9 of 9 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body9
VI-1b Independent voting members9
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,848,902 across 13 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $16,976 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1b Membership dues$67,245
VIII-1c Fundraising events$80,446
VIII-1e Government grants$283,508
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$339,446
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$770,645
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $685,425$685,425
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $30,798$30,798
VIII-5 Royalties$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossRelated to mission $322,411$322,411
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsRelated to mission $37,541$37,541
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events−$22,610
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $7,716$7,716
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $1,053,093 · Excluded from tax $47,774$1,848,902
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,571,715 across 31 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizations$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individuals$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipients$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Management $36,000 · Fundraising $84,000$120,000
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $798,065 · Management $76,954 · Fundraising $201,979$1,076,998
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $14,216 · Management $8,063 · Fundraising $6,456$28,735
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $30,305 · Management $1,679 · Fundraising $11,644$43,628
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $67,228 · Management $6,496 · Fundraising $23,235$96,959
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal fees$0
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $14,500$14,500
IX-11d Lobbying feesManagement $24,000$24,000
IX-11e Professional fundraising feesFundraising $9,625$9,625
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $13,577$13,577
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $22,894 · Management $42,589 · Fundraising $3,727$69,210
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $17 · Management $4,505 · Fundraising $29,060$33,582
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $15,762 · Management $39,675 · Fundraising $4,780$60,217
IX-14 Information technology$0
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $229,508 · Management $3,951 · Fundraising $878$234,337
IX-17 TravelPrograms $13,963 · Management $3,904 · Fundraising $186$18,053
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetings$0
IX-20 InterestManagement $7,543$7,543
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $384,315 · Management $4,635 · Fundraising $1,060$390,010
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $80,403 · Management $8,159 · Fundraising $354$88,916
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $233,284 · Management $8,305 · Fundraising $236$241,825
IX-24e All other expenses$0
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $1,889,960 · Management $304,535 · Fundraising $377,220$2,571,715
Part X · Balance sheet $5,616,644 assets, 24 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $452,421$269,136
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investments$0
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $218,638$42,434
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $57,583$39,057
X-5 Loans to officers and key people$0
X-6 Loans to other insiders$0
X-7 Notes and loans receivable$0
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $10,869$11,731
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $107,638$122,663
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $4,071,413$3,787,535
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $1,263,600$1,344,088
X-12 Other securities$0
X-13 Program-related investments$0
X-14 Intangible assets$0
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $15,622$0
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $6,197,784$5,616,644
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $125,647$130,629
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $200,619$263,054
X-23 Secured mortgages and notes payableStart of year $744,000$732,000
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $1,070,266$1,125,683
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $3,489,931$2,906,046
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $1,637,587$1,584,915
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $5,127,518$4,490,961
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $6,197,784$5,616,644
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $4,490,961 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$1,848,902
XI-2 Total expenses$2,571,715
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$722,813
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$5,127,518
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$86,256
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$4,490,961

Form 990 e-file FY2025 from the IRS (about our sources) · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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