Hands On Discovery Center

Hands On! Discovery Center in Gray, Tennessee is the Tri-Cities area's primary children's museum, serving families in and around Johnson City, Kingsport, and Bristol with a genuine hands-on learning environment designed for children birth through age 10.

The museum occupies the right size for its audience — substantial enough for a real 2-hour visit, small enough that you never lose sight of your kids. Exhibits rotate between permanent hands-on science and exploration areas and changing installations that keep the experience fresh for families who visit multiple times per year.

What stands out about Hands On! compared to bigger urban children's museums is the staff-to-visitor dynamic. In a smaller facility, staff members actually interact with families — pointing out exhibit features, running mini-demonstrations, and answering the relentless 'but why?'

questions that kids generate in science spaces. That human element is sometimes lost in large, crowded metropolitan museums.

For Tri-Cities visitors, Gray's location is interesting because it's adjacent to the Gray Fossil Site — one of the most significant fossil discoveries in Eastern North America, with a museum and active dig site. Pairing Hands On! with the Gray Fossil Site Museum makes a strong full-day science and exploration itinerary for kids 5 and up.

Admission is very affordable by any regional benchmark — one of the better values in Tennessee for a children's museum experience. ACM reciprocal membership may provide discounts if your home museum participates.