Discovery Ball

Discovery Ball

213-744-7494
[email protected]

Discovery Ball 2024

A Successful 25th Annual Discovery Ball!

On March 16, 2024, nearly 600 guests joined the California Science Center Foundation in celebration at the 25th Annual Discovery Ball featuring the special exhibit LEONARDO DA VINCI: Inventor. Artist. Dreamer. We are delighted to share that we exceeded our gross revenue goal – raising more than $1.6 million for the Science Center’s educational exhibits, programs and operations!

We gratefully recognize the outstanding leadership of our Discovery Ball Chair Steve Powell of Southern California Edison, and our dedicated Gala Committee: Pat Dennis, Lindsay Dunn, and Al Fohrer, who helped ensure the success of the fundraiser in support of our mission to stimulate curiosity and inspire science learning in everyone.

Heartfelt gratitude goes to our Gala Presenting Sponsor: Edison International; our Gold Sponsors: City National Bank, Ibrahim El-Hefni Technical Training Foundation, and U.S. Bank; along with all our generous sponsors and supporters. On the night of the gala, guests responded generously to help exceed our goal for raise-the-paddle, contributing essential funding to underwrite science camp scholarships and education programs for children and youth in need.

The Discovery Ball is the California Science Center Foundation’s signature annual benefit event. The black-tie gala has been described as “a virtual who’s who of the Los Angeles business community” by the Los Angeles Business Journal. It consistently places in the top 5 annually in the benefits category of the Top 100 Events in Southern California by BizBash Magazine and recently won Special Events Magazine’s 2020 Gala Award for Best Fundraising Event.

Stay tuned for more information about our 26th Annual Discovery Ball in Spring 2025. To inquire about how you can support, contact the Development Office at 213-744-7494 or [email protected].

                                                                                         Gala Presenting Sponsor
Edison International logo

A virtual who’s who of the Los Angeles business community.

Los Angeles Business Journal

Relive Past years' galas

An aerial view of Edgerton Court at the California Science center, filled with guests in formalwear. String lights criss-cross over the party, there are tall cocktail tables and short round tables with red-and-white checkered tablecloths. In the background, a painted backdrop of a hilly Tuscan landscaped framed by 3 stone arches, and flanked by 4 real potted cypress trees.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography

25th Annual Discovery Ball featuring LEONARDO DA VINCI: Inventor. Artist. Dreamer.

A large painted backdrop of a Tuscan landscape, with green rolling hills, a castle, some small stone houses, and a large red poppy field. In front of it, two mirrored food stations with tables and shelves decorated with potted tomato and basil plants, pasta, canned tomatoes, and baskets of fruits and vegetables.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
A cocktail party. In the foreground, a woman with long black hair and a fruit basket hat stands in a circular table with cups of charcuterie meats and cheeses. Around here, guests in formalwear mingle and eat. In the background, a painted backdrop of a hilly Tuscan landscape, framed by three stone arches and four real potted cypress trees.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
In the foreground a table richly decorated with tomato and basil plants and baskets of tomatoes. There are platforms with plates of bread and tomato sauce, and behind the table three women in black chef's coats and hats and brown aprons, smile while preparing the food. Behind them, two ladder shelves filled with plates, pasta, and canned tomato sauce. Behind the shelves is a painted backdrop of rolling green hills and a red poppy field.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
A photo booth setup; a backdrop of a slightly blurred Italian city scene with two arched doorways. In front of that, two Vespa scooters; a red one to the left and a mint green one to the right. To their right is a prop vintage suitcase and a potted pink geranium plant.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
A man with a beard, dressed as Leonardo da Vinci in black and red robes and a red feathered cap, stands behind a desk covered in historical props: parchment, drawn diagrams, an oil lamp, a painters box with brushes, quills, inkwells, etc. Behind him, suspended da Vinci drawings and diagrams and an easel with a propped drawing of an early parachute design.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
Pavilion hangar space outfitted with perimeter drapery and set with gilded banquet rounds, a central programming stage, and aerial installations
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
A closeup of a round dinner table with a white-and-gold paisley velvet linen. Each place has a gold chair, a white plate with a gold rim and an appetizer, and golden glasswear. In the center is a pink, red, and green floral arrangements with a hanging cluster of grapes. In the background, slightly blurred, are many similar tables.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
A dinner party. In the background, dimly lit party guests in formal wear sit at round tables in gold chairs. In the distance, a red velvet draped wall and a hanging da Vinci flying machine. In the foreground, on a small gold stage, a juggler in a jester outfit balances a juggling club on his nose.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
In the foreground, a dimly lit crowd of party guests sit at round tables, chatting and eating. Behind them, a stage with a red-draped back wall, decorated with suspended mirrors in gold frames. On the center of the stage is a white stone column with a hula-hoop shaped ring on top, in which sits a contortionist performer painted all white in a renaissance outfit.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
Pavilion hangar space outfitted with perimeter drapery and set with plush lounge furniture and oversized Mona Lisa for a gala after party
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
Pavilion hangar space outfitted with perimeter drapery and illuminated in orange and amber. Event space is filled with guests enjoying after party activities.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
An aerial view of Edgerton Court at the California Science center, filled with guests in formalwear. String lights criss-cross over the party, there are tall cocktail tables and short round tables with red-and-white checkered tablecloths. In the background, a painted backdrop of a hilly Tuscan landscaped framed by 3 stone arches, and flanked by 4 real potted cypress trees.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography

25th Annual Discovery Ball featuring LEONARDO DA VINCI: Inventor. Artist. Dreamer.

A large painted backdrop of a Tuscan landscape, with green rolling hills, a castle, some small stone houses, and a large red poppy field. In front of it, two mirrored food stations with tables and shelves decorated with potted tomato and basil plants, pasta, canned tomatoes, and baskets of fruits and vegetables.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
A cocktail party. In the foreground, a woman with long black hair and a fruit basket hat stands in a circular table with cups of charcuterie meats and cheeses. Around here, guests in formalwear mingle and eat. In the background, a painted backdrop of a hilly Tuscan landscape, framed by three stone arches and four real potted cypress trees.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
In the foreground a table richly decorated with tomato and basil plants and baskets of tomatoes. There are platforms with plates of bread and tomato sauce, and behind the table three women in black chef's coats and hats and brown aprons, smile while preparing the food. Behind them, two ladder shelves filled with plates, pasta, and canned tomato sauce. Behind the shelves is a painted backdrop of rolling green hills and a red poppy field.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
A photo booth setup; a backdrop of a slightly blurred Italian city scene with two arched doorways. In front of that, two Vespa scooters; a red one to the left and a mint green one to the right. To their right is a prop vintage suitcase and a potted pink geranium plant.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
A man with a beard, dressed as Leonardo da Vinci in black and red robes and a red feathered cap, stands behind a desk covered in historical props: parchment, drawn diagrams, an oil lamp, a painters box with brushes, quills, inkwells, etc. Behind him, suspended da Vinci drawings and diagrams and an easel with a propped drawing of an early parachute design.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
Pavilion hangar space outfitted with perimeter drapery and set with gilded banquet rounds, a central programming stage, and aerial installations
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
A closeup of a round dinner table with a white-and-gold paisley velvet linen. Each place has a gold chair, a white plate with a gold rim and an appetizer, and golden glasswear. In the center is a pink, red, and green floral arrangements with a hanging cluster of grapes. In the background, slightly blurred, are many similar tables.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
A dinner party. In the background, dimly lit party guests in formal wear sit at round tables in gold chairs. In the distance, a red velvet draped wall and a hanging da Vinci flying machine. In the foreground, on a small gold stage, a juggler in a jester outfit balances a juggling club on his nose.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
In the foreground, a dimly lit crowd of party guests sit at round tables, chatting and eating. Behind them, a stage with a red-draped back wall, decorated with suspended mirrors in gold frames. On the center of the stage is a white stone column with a hula-hoop shaped ring on top, in which sits a contortionist performer painted all white in a renaissance outfit.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
Pavilion hangar space outfitted with perimeter drapery and set with plush lounge furniture and oversized Mona Lisa for a gala after party
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
Pavilion hangar space outfitted with perimeter drapery and illuminated in orange and amber. Event space is filled with guests enjoying after party activities.
Image attribution
Andrena Photography
Slider info
A dark stage, with drums, guitars, speakers, and music stands, before a painted backdrop of a Mayan pyramid at night, under a full moon. To the left, a screen projection with the title "Discovery Ball" and the California Science Center logo.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography

24th Annual Discovery Ball featuring Maya: The Exhibition

Two women stand in the center of the foreground. The woman on the left wears a Guatemalan dress decorated with huge embroidered flowers in every color of the rainbow. She wears a floral headband in her hair. The woman on the right wears a simpler Guatemalan dress, with a black skirt and a brightly colored embroidered bodice and sash over her chest. Behind them to the left and right are two red bandstands, with musicians and singers behind them, one playing a guitar, in front of a painted backdrop.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
A round black bar, the sides decorated with colorful red and blue patterned Guatemalan fabric. A large, voluminous flower arrangement with red, blue, and pink flowers sits on the bar, along with a framed menu and bottles of liquor and wine. Behind the bar is a hanging backdrop of a Guatemalan town, with a brown cobblestone paved street and colorfully painted one-story buildings under a blue sky.
Two women, both with long brown hair and both dressed in black formalwear crouch on either side of a small brown and white donkey, who wears a collar of bright yellow, red, and blue flowers around her neck. The woman on the left holds a black and white leash attached to the donkey's snout, and the donkey's face turns down to the right towards a green mesh bag full of hay.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
A long bar, decorated with a dried brown grass skirt and two large red, yellow, and blue flower arrangements on each end, and bottles of liquor in the middle. Behind the bar, four 3-tier gold shelves with liquor, clear glassware, and on the top tier, large dolls dressed in traditional Guatemalan dress.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
A food station with a dried brown grass skirt, bamboo columns, and a dried grass roof with a large patch of bright pink flowers. Two potted tomato plants stand on each side of the station, which is decorated with straw hats, baskets, Guatemalan fabric and a clay vase.
On the left, a table with bright pink and yellow patterned Guatemalan fabric. Behind the table, a woman in a blouse and skirt prepares tortillas with a stone tool. More tortillas rest on a platform to her right, and a basket covered in bright fabric is in front of her. To the right, a large brightly colored relief sculpture of figures harvesting and cooking with corn.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
Space Shuttle Endeavour, suspended and lit with purple lights. Below it are dozens of lit round tables and chairs and a bright white lit-up dance floor. Above it is a purple and white illustrated scorpion, and other less distinguishable Zodiac constellations.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
About a dozen round tables with black linens with a gold marble pattern and gold chairs. Each table has an orange floral centerpiece. The tables sit beneath the belly of Space Shuttle Endeavour, which is suspended and projected with purple lights.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
In the foreground, two banquettes with white velvet rounded couches surrounding a round gold and glass table. They sit on a beige carpet and bamboo lanterns hang above them. In the background, two wood bars, two leafy potted plant, and a tall painted relief sculpture of a Mayan figure.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
A dark stage, with drums, guitars, speakers, and music stands, before a painted backdrop of a Mayan pyramid at night, under a full moon. To the left, a screen projection with the title "Discovery Ball" and the California Science Center logo.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography

24th Annual Discovery Ball featuring Maya: The Exhibition

Two women stand in the center of the foreground. The woman on the left wears a Guatemalan dress decorated with huge embroidered flowers in every color of the rainbow. She wears a floral headband in her hair. The woman on the right wears a simpler Guatemalan dress, with a black skirt and a brightly colored embroidered bodice and sash over her chest. Behind them to the left and right are two red bandstands, with musicians and singers behind them, one playing a guitar, in front of a painted backdrop.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
A round black bar, the sides decorated with colorful red and blue patterned Guatemalan fabric. A large, voluminous flower arrangement with red, blue, and pink flowers sits on the bar, along with a framed menu and bottles of liquor and wine. Behind the bar is a hanging backdrop of a Guatemalan town, with a brown cobblestone paved street and colorfully painted one-story buildings under a blue sky.
Two women, both with long brown hair and both dressed in black formalwear crouch on either side of a small brown and white donkey, who wears a collar of bright yellow, red, and blue flowers around her neck. The woman on the left holds a black and white leash attached to the donkey's snout, and the donkey's face turns down to the right towards a green mesh bag full of hay.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
A long bar, decorated with a dried brown grass skirt and two large red, yellow, and blue flower arrangements on each end, and bottles of liquor in the middle. Behind the bar, four 3-tier gold shelves with liquor, clear glassware, and on the top tier, large dolls dressed in traditional Guatemalan dress.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
A food station with a dried brown grass skirt, bamboo columns, and a dried grass roof with a large patch of bright pink flowers. Two potted tomato plants stand on each side of the station, which is decorated with straw hats, baskets, Guatemalan fabric and a clay vase.
On the left, a table with bright pink and yellow patterned Guatemalan fabric. Behind the table, a woman in a blouse and skirt prepares tortillas with a stone tool. More tortillas rest on a platform to her right, and a basket covered in bright fabric is in front of her. To the right, a large brightly colored relief sculpture of figures harvesting and cooking with corn.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
Space Shuttle Endeavour, suspended and lit with purple lights. Below it are dozens of lit round tables and chairs and a bright white lit-up dance floor. Above it is a purple and white illustrated scorpion, and other less distinguishable Zodiac constellations.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
About a dozen round tables with black linens with a gold marble pattern and gold chairs. Each table has an orange floral centerpiece. The tables sit beneath the belly of Space Shuttle Endeavour, which is suspended and projected with purple lights.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
In the foreground, two banquettes with white velvet rounded couches surrounding a round gold and glass table. They sit on a beige carpet and bamboo lanterns hang above them. In the background, two wood bars, two leafy potted plant, and a tall painted relief sculpture of a Mayan figure.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
Slider info
An aerial view of a large dinner party with dozens of round tables, each with guests seated around the. On the left, a huge projection of the Ankor Wat temple at night, under a starry sky and full moon. On the ceiling, a gobo projection in a green palm leaf pattern.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography

23rd Annual Discovery Ball featuring Angkor: The Lost Empire of Cambodia

White lounge furniture a circular bar sit under the belly of the suspended Endeavour Space Shuttle.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
Eight community volunteers in Cambodian dress stand in a line, each holding a stack of folded colorful silk scarves. They stand in front of a backdrop of a Cambodian town.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
Three community volunteers, in Cambodian dress, receive a guest in a tuxedo. They place a colorful scarf around his neck.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
A large dinner party with guests seated at round tables. On the right side is a small stage with 5 dancers in Cambodian dress and musicians. On the back wall, an enormous projection of the Angkor Wat temple at sunset fills the entire wall.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
In the foreground, a round table with a shiny green linen, clear glassware, brown charger plates, and a centerpiece with orange and green tropical flowers. In the background, there are small potted palm trees, and a bamboo bar with several bottles of liquor sitting on it.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
In the foreground, a round table with 9 gold bamboo chairs. The table has a green linen with gold napkins and white plates, each with a colorful appetizer. Each setting has clear glassware and there is an orange, white, and green centerpiece of tropical flowers. In the background, a projected backdrop of a seated stone statue of a human-bird hybrid man, resting in front of a stone wall carved with symbols.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
The view from above a dinner party with dozens of tables and chairs, with guests in black tie apparel sitting and mingling. On the left, a large wall is projected with satellite images of green hills and louds, and a wall carved with symbols.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
Seven dancers stand on a stage in a line; three on the left wear blue and green Cambodian attire, four on the right wear red and yellow Cambodian attire. They all have green face paint around their eyes and mouths. Behind them is a projected backdrop of an Angkor building with a columned entrance.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
The Disney Science Court bridge, decorated with gobo lighting in a leaf pattern in green, purple, and white, projected on the ceiling and floor. From the ceiling, string lights and white paper lanterns are strung. On the left side of the bridge, a rustic wagon food station with a framed menu and a backdrop of a Cambodian interior scene. On the right, a bamboo umbrella and a cocktail table.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
In the foreground, a table with a framed pink menu that reads "Donut Princess" and lists donut options. To the left, two pink boxes filled with donuts brightly frosted in blue and white, with blue and white sprinkles. Behind the table is a gold metal shelf with three levels, each covered in sealed pink donut boxes.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
An aerial view of a large dinner party with dozens of round tables, each with guests seated around the. On the left, a huge projection of the Ankor Wat temple at night, under a starry sky and full moon. On the ceiling, a gobo projection in a green palm leaf pattern.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography

23rd Annual Discovery Ball featuring Angkor: The Lost Empire of Cambodia

White lounge furniture a circular bar sit under the belly of the suspended Endeavour Space Shuttle.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
Eight community volunteers in Cambodian dress stand in a line, each holding a stack of folded colorful silk scarves. They stand in front of a backdrop of a Cambodian town.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
Three community volunteers, in Cambodian dress, receive a guest in a tuxedo. They place a colorful scarf around his neck.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
A large dinner party with guests seated at round tables. On the right side is a small stage with 5 dancers in Cambodian dress and musicians. On the back wall, an enormous projection of the Angkor Wat temple at sunset fills the entire wall.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
In the foreground, a round table with a shiny green linen, clear glassware, brown charger plates, and a centerpiece with orange and green tropical flowers. In the background, there are small potted palm trees, and a bamboo bar with several bottles of liquor sitting on it.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
In the foreground, a round table with 9 gold bamboo chairs. The table has a green linen with gold napkins and white plates, each with a colorful appetizer. Each setting has clear glassware and there is an orange, white, and green centerpiece of tropical flowers. In the background, a projected backdrop of a seated stone statue of a human-bird hybrid man, resting in front of a stone wall carved with symbols.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
The view from above a dinner party with dozens of tables and chairs, with guests in black tie apparel sitting and mingling. On the left, a large wall is projected with satellite images of green hills and louds, and a wall carved with symbols.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
Seven dancers stand on a stage in a line; three on the left wear blue and green Cambodian attire, four on the right wear red and yellow Cambodian attire. They all have green face paint around their eyes and mouths. Behind them is a projected backdrop of an Angkor building with a columned entrance.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
The Disney Science Court bridge, decorated with gobo lighting in a leaf pattern in green, purple, and white, projected on the ceiling and floor. From the ceiling, string lights and white paper lanterns are strung. On the left side of the bridge, a rustic wagon food station with a framed menu and a backdrop of a Cambodian interior scene. On the right, a bamboo umbrella and a cocktail table.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
In the foreground, a table with a framed pink menu that reads "Donut Princess" and lists donut options. To the left, two pink boxes filled with donuts brightly frosted in blue and white, with blue and white sprinkles. Behind the table is a gold metal shelf with three levels, each covered in sealed pink donut boxes.
Image attribution
Nadine Froger Photography
Slider info
Aerial view of carnival themed cocktail party in the Ahmanson Building with purple and amber lighting at dusk
Image attribution
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Young kids wait in line to fly their kites near a large fan while at Hands-On Science Camp
Image attribution
Nathan Alexander