The National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDSci) was a privately financed research organization based in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, USA, and operated from 1995 to 2004. It was founded in 1995 by real-estate developer

Robert Bigelow Robert Thomas Bigelow (born May 12, 1944) is an American businessman. He owns the hotel chain Budget Suites of America and is the founder of Bigelow Aerospace. In 2011, ''Forbes'' estimated his net worth to be $700 million. Bigelow has provi ...

, who set it up to research and advance serious study of various

fringe science Fringe science refers to ideas whose attributes include being highly speculative or relying on premises already refuted. Fringe science theories are often advanced by persons who have no traditional academic science background, or by researchers ...

and

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...

topics, most notably

ufology Ufology ( ) is the investigation of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by people who believe that they may be of extraordinary origins (most frequently of extraterrestrial alien visitors). While there are instances of government, private, and f ...

.Nevada Millionaire Buys ‘UFO Ranch’ in Utah
''

Las Vegas Sun The ''Las Vegas Sun'' is one of the Las Vegas Valley's two daily Subscription business model, subscription newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group. The paper published afternoons on weekdays ...

'', October 23, 1996. Retrieved June 17, 2021Dorio Mark (2005) "Ufology: A Very Short Introduction", Trafford Publishing, Deputy Administrator Colm Kelleher was quoted as saying the organization was not designed to study UFOs only. "We don't study aliens, we study anomalies. They're the same thing in a lot of people's minds, but not in our minds." NIDSci was disbanded in October 2004.

History

The National Institute for Discovery Science, known also as NIDS, was founded by Robert Bigelow serving as a way to channel funds into the scientific study of paranormal phenomena. The NIDS performed research in the area of

cattle mutilation Cattle mutilation (also known as bovine excision and unexplained livestock death, or animal mutilation) is the killing and mutilation of cattle under unusual, usually bloodless circumstances. This phenomenon has been observed among wild animals ...

and

black triangle Black triangle may refer to one of the following: * Black triangle (badge), a Nazi concentration camp badge worn by inmates deemed "asocial" ** LGBT symbols#Triangle badges of Nazi Germany, Lesbian or feminist symbol reclaimed from the Nazi use * A ...

reports. The NIDSci bought

Skinwalker Ranch Skinwalker Ranch, also known as Sherman Ranch, is a property of approximately , located southeast of Ballard, Utah, that is reputed to be the site of paranormal and UFO-related activities. Its name is taken from the skin-walker of Navajo legend ...

after journalist George Knapp first wrote about it in 1996, and Deputy Administrator Colm Kelleher led the investigation for a number of years. A hotline was established in 1999 to receive reports of odd occurrences. Over 5,000 calls and e-mails were received by the organization. Officials say many were explained as missile test launches and meteors.

References

External links

Snapshot of NIDSci site at the Internet Archive
(archived October 7, 2007)

nbsp;— a collection of news articles about the NIDS' early days

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/19981205022642/http://www.parascope.com/nb/articles/bigelow.htm Where the Steers and the Aliens Playan article by Sean Castel in

Fate Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

, August, 1998
The End of the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS)Bigelow’s Aerospace and Saucer Emporium
''

Skeptical Inquirer ''Skeptical Inquirer'' is a bimonthly American general-audience magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) with the subtitle: ''The Magazine for Science and Reason''. Mission statement and goals Daniel Loxton, writing in ...

'' 33.4, July/August 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:National Institute For Discovery Science UFO organizations Scientific organizations based in the United States Pseudoscience UFO culture in the United States Organizations based in Nevada

History

See also

References

External links