Its earliest incarnation was as the Science Model Area Resource Team (SMART) Center at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Its primary purpose was originally to host interactive JASON Project broadcasts for students featuring Robert Ballard, the oceanographer who discovered the wreckage of the RMS Titanic.

While the organization would host JASON Project through the spring of 1998, the SMART Center began developing additional hands-on science experiences for students in grades K-8 and their teachers with support from an anonymous benefactor.

When the Discovery Center separated from Lehigh University in 1999, it was a small, grass-roots organization that served school field trips for grades K-8 primarily and had limited exhibit and program engagement.

A 2003 merger with the former Leonardo da Vinci's Horse, Inc. (LDVHI) bolstered the organization's strength, gave it a new namesake, and added an emphasis of connecting science and technology to the arts and other disciplines.

Along with achieving a record number of more than 93,000 total participants, the center established its integrated workforce development initiatives as its signature experiences during the 2012 fiscal year.

These initiatives integrate a limited-engagement Da Vinci Science Center exhibit experience with community programming that highlights industry workforce development needs and opportunities.

Try a giant lever, feel the difference a pulley makes, use the superpowers of hydraulics to Lift 1000 Pounds, take a roll on a Newton Chair, and discover the forces that help planes fly.

During the design process, they select elements like tire tread, horsepower and fuel source, which ultimately impact how the simulation performs while maneuvering through virtual obstacles.

Visitors also get to apply what they learn themselves, building large replicas of carbon nanotubes and a feature the center calls "Balance Our Nano Future".

[18] Da Vinci Science City was planned to feature traveling exhibit galleries shared with the main Allentown location, and would additionally host an aquarium restaurant, large screen theater, and event center.

[21] The current chief executive officer of Da Vinci Science Center is Lin Erickson, who is serving in this role for the second time after being rehired for the position in 2013.

Thrash, in turn, moved to become the president and chief executive officer of Air Zoo museum in Portage, Michigan, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.