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Expansion Project: The Building
The Museum has embarked on an exciting journey that will bring the joys of nature and science to millions of people. The new Perot Museum of Nature and Science in downtown Dallas will inspire all ages and will serve as a complement to the Museum’s existing Fair Park facility. It will invigorate Dallas by drawing visitors to the region, while providing an opportunity for guests to experience spectacular exhibitions never before seen in North Texas. A new facility is crucial if the Museum is to keep pace with the breathtaking advances in the delivery of informal science education for children and families.
The Location
The 4.7 acre site is located at the NW corner of Woodall Rodgers Freeway and Field Street, adjacent to Victory Park. The Museum will be situated at the crossroads of the future Trinity River Corridor Project, the Arts District, the West End, Uptown, and other popular attractions including the Sixth Floor Museum.
The Architect
After an international search, MNS announced the selection of Morphosis and Thom Mayne as architect for the new Museum in early 2008.
Thom Mayne founded Morphosis in 1972. The Santa Monica, California- based firm currently boasts more than 40 architects and designers.
Distinguished honors include: Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Award (2006) Pritzker Prize Laureate (2005), Rome Prize Fellowship from the American Academy of Design in Rome (1987), and 25 Progressive Architecture Awards, 70 American Institute of Architects Awards and numerous other design recognitions.
Thom Mayne remains committed to developing a critical practice where creative output engages the contemporary discourse of the discipline through both architectural design and writing. With his firm, Mayne has consistently sought new and different design problems to solve and has resisted becoming specialized in any particular building “type.”
The solution to each individual design problem is always approached from a fresh beginning. As a result of this interest and commitment, Mr. Mayne’s work ranges from designs for watches and teapots to designs for large-scale buildings such as Federal Courthouses to innovative urban design and planning schemes that reshape entire cities.
Landscape Design
The landscape design is created by Dallas-based landscape architecture firm, Talley and Associates, and it serves as an extension of the building design. It is thoroughly integrated with the ground floor lobby and café spaces via the plaza areas, and the overall design character will give visitors a feeling of the seamless merger between the natural landscape and man-made environment of the building.
Key features include:
- An acre of rolling roofscape comprised of native drought-resistant grasses which reflect Texas’ indigenous landscape
- A large shady grove of East Texas native canopy trees
- An assortment of native flowering plants surrounding the roofdeck terrace off of the Museum lobby
- Three prominent water features on the plazas
- A planted bioswale that extends the length of the parking lot and which will serve to capture runoff-water for the cistern system
Sustainability
One core value of the new Museum is to demonstrate sustainability. This means a building that will be sustainable both in terms of its design and construction as well as one that is efficient to operate over the longer term.
Environmentally friendly features include but are not limited to:
- Choice of an optimal site: former brownfield, close to public transportion, pedestrian and bike path friendly
- Sustainable podium roof emphasizing native plant materials
- Rainwater collection system (site and roof drainage) filling 50,000-gallon cisterns to supply irrigation system
- Solar-powered hot water heating
- Material choices emphasizing recycled and locally sourced materials
Working with local architecture firm, Good, Fulton & Farrell, as our sustainability consultants, MNS is registered and working on three green building certification programs:
- LEED – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - is the most well known green building accreditation. It rates a project’s site choice and site use, water efficiency, material choices, and energy use. MNS also hopes to earn points for using the building as a demonstration project for our visitors. The Museum’s minimum goal was a LEED Silver rating, but based on current designs and choices, MNS is hopeful it will be able to attain a Gold ranking.
- Green Globes is a newer ranking system and MNS would be one of the first buildings in the DFW area to attain this certification. It focuses to a larger degree on optimizing building consumption over the longer-term.
- Sustainable Sites Initiative – MNS has registered for this pilot program which focuses on green landscape design and ongoing maintenance and operations.
Visitor Amenities
The new Museum is designed with visitor amenities that may be enjoyed by all visitors who come to the Museum, including visitors who may be visiting the area but not necessarily buying a ticket into the Museum gallery spaces.
These visitor amenities include:
- A landscape design featuring three water features on the plazas, a large shady grove of Native Texas trees, and seating areas on the plaza
- A state-of-the-art 3D digital theater which will present a wide array of films as well as serve as a venue for MNS to host speakers and panel discussions
- An interior café and outdoor dining spaces on the plaza serving tasty and healthy fare for Museum visitors and the downtown business lunch crowd
- An exciting and unique Museum store with items ranging from birthday presents that will delight younger children to niche products related to science and nature
- A roof terrace for visitors to examine the Museum’s sustainable roof feature and enjoy the stunning Dallas skyline
- A beautiful glass-walled lobby featuring a Malawisaurus dinosaur – enjoyed by visitors daily and undoubtedly one of Dallas’ premier special event venues in the future
Construction
Balfour BeattyAfter assembling a world-class team, Balfour Beatty Construction was selected as our general contractor to manage the construction of the new museum. To watch the progress, please visit our webcam below!
View The Progress of The Campaign »
The Programs
Exhibits:
River in the City: Children’s Museum
River in the City will be a 4,700 sf exhibit experience for young children ages 0 to 5 and their families. The Children's Museum brings Dallas to life in a way all children may safely exlplore. This exhibit will introduce young audiences and their adult companions to the Museum.
They will:
- Discover our world through dynamic interactions with real objects, scientific phenomena and living things
- Develop early literacy, science and math skills
- Make connections with the urban ecology, urban life and cultural resources in Dallas
- Develop a passion for life-long learning and a love of museums
Exhibit elements:
- Dallas Skyline Climber
- Trinity River Water Play
- Farmers Market and the Plaza
- Great Trinity Forest
- Infant and Toddler Area
- Outdoor Courtyard and Dino Dig
Designed by: Science Museum of Minnesota
Everybody Plays: Sports & Human Performance
Visitors to Everybody Plays will explore the physics, anatomy and physiology of sports. This 4,000 sf gallery will create an engaging, interactive setting that makes these sciences approachable and interesting, inspiring visitors to a greater understanding of themselves, their bodies and the world around them.
In this gallery, visitors of all ages will:
- Try different physical activities
- Learn about the science of their bodies in motion
- Realize that you can learn about your body, and improve your physical performance by observing your body in motion
- Discover the many different careers related to sports and athletics
- Explore current issues and advances in sports science and technology
Exhibit elements:
- Motion Lab: Observe your body in slow motion, a one-of-a-kind full-body experience
- The Coaches' Corner: Explore sports performance in more depth
- Interactive components let you try running, throwing, balancing, and performing other basic movements
- Recent Advances and Current Issues: Explore current issues in sports science and sports and society
Living Systems
Living Systems will be a 3,100 sf exhibition on the second floor of the new Museum. This exhibit experience introduces the emergence and amazing diversity of life on Earth.
Visitors will learn:
- Living things feed, grow, reproduce and respond to their environments
- Living systems are dynamic and constantly seek to maintain balance
- The living world is affected by natural and human-induced events
Exhibit elements:
- Diversity displays of taxidermy specimens
- Family tree and food web interactives
- The Life Bar
- Building blocks of life: cells DNA RNA
Being Alive, Being Human
Being Alive, Being Human will be a 5,500 sf exhibit where visitors explore those characteristics we share and those qualities that set us apart from all other life on Earth. Using a mixture of interactive experiences for visitors seeking action and personal discovery and introspective exhibits for those who prefer to pause and reflect on what they have learned. Exhibit components will appeal to visitors of all ages and backgrounds.
Adults, families, school-aged children, teens and young adults will learn:
- How our bodies perform vital everyday functions, such as eating, breathing, moving, growing and thinking
- How we look at the human body, from biological, anthropological and artistic perspectives
- How humans are unique, yet share common characteristics with each other and other organisms
- How scientific tools and techniques can be used to investigate cells, microbes and DNA
- About cutting-edge biomedical and academic research being conducted in the Dallas area and worldwide
- How the DFW region is a leading medical research area
- That exciting potential careers in the medical sciences are open to young people
Exhibit elements:
- The Human Body: A plastinated human body
- Brain and Thinking: Brain Power and Mind Games
- Walking on Two Feet: Motion Capture and Bipedalism
- Growing and Changing: Aging and Embryo Development
- Body Processes: Body Process Imagery and Personal Exploration
- Bio Lab: DNA, Cheek Cells, Enzymes, Antimicrobials and Giant Chromosomes
- Being Human: What do you think? C. Elegans
- Medical Science Frontiers: Medical Illustration, Brain Imaging, Prosthetics, Limb Lengthening and Scientist Spotlight
Engineering, Technology, and Innovation
Engineering, Technology & Innovation will be a 4,700 sf exhibit experience featuring interactive exhibits about engineering, technology, innovation and the art and science of problem solving. This gallery promises a rich array of layered visitor experiences in the real life world of engineering.
Families with young children, teens and tweens, elementary and middle school groups, and adults will learn that:
- Engineering involves an understanding of physical sciences and mathematics
- Engineers are creative innovators
- Engineers design technology that we use every day
- There are many exciting careers in engineering
- Local companies and universities make engineering innovations daily
Exhibit elements:
- Structures: Seismic Lab, Bridge Builder, Flow Channel
- Mechanisms: Fluid Power Lab, Chain Reaction Table, Wind Tubes
- Controls: MIDI Sound Lab, Mechanical Feedback, Animation Lab
- Robotics: Robot Arena
- Local Technology Showcases
- Engineering Activity Station
Earth Systems
Earth Systems will be a 4,000 sf systems exhibition on the third floor of the new Museum. This immersive experience highlights the materials and systems that make up our planet's dynamic environment.
Visitors will discover:
- Earth is shaped by interactions between atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere and biosphere
- In the solar system, our planet may be uniquely habitable
- There is a dynamic relationship between the physical environment and the biosphere
Exhibit elements:
- Earth materials ID lab
- Cycles Journeys: the rock, water, and carbon cycles
- Building blocks of earth: elements, minerals
- Decision-making: sustainability
- Timeline of Earth History
The Tom Hunt Energy Hall
The Tom Hunt Energy Hall will be a 7,300 sf signature experience in the new Museum. The gallery's rich interactive components will create a dynamic setting in which visitors will explore energy sources found in nature, discover the science and technology people have developed to access energy and learn about careers in the energy industries.
The Energy Hall will become the focal point in Dallas for forums on all energy-related events: conferences, professional society meetings, seminars, and other industry functions.
Exhibit elements:
- What is Energy?
- Geology - energy sources and geophysics
- Drilling - science and technology
- Barnett Shale and the Shale Voyager immersive element
- Electricity and distribution
- 3D visualization
- Alternative energy sources
- Future energy challenges
Universe Systems Gallery
From time immemorial people have been curious about the sky and the origin of our universe. Understanding the space-time matrix gives us a context for understanding nature and the other principal systems: earth and life. Universe Systems will be a 2,200 sf image and artifact-based exhibit experience on the top floor of the Museum.
Visitors will discover:
- The universe is the greatest physical system in nature
- The universe system is populated by phenomena reaching across all scales of size, from the macro scale of clusters of galaxies all the way down to the micro scale of subatomic physics
- Our planet is part of systems, a larger solar system, a larger galaxy, the greater universe
Exhibit elements:
- Curiosity over time
- Astro-training
- Ellipse theater
- Building blocks of the universe: elements, physics phenomena
- Fundamentals of astronomy
- Pan-STARRS training center
Life Then & Now
Life Then and Now will be a 14,000 sf exhibition showcasing the Museum's paleontological research collections, mounted animals, highly regarded chronological book collection, The Mudge Library.
Visitors will learn:
- Life has changed through time
- There is a dynamic relationship between the physical environment and the biosphere, a relationship that sometimes is in balance and sometimes not
- Understanding past and present ecologies informs the future
Exhibit elements:
- Hands-on fossil lab
- Dinosaurs
- Taxidermy specimens from the Museum's collections
- Bird evolution and collection
- Mudge Library
Education Programs
Our approach to educating visitors is based on five foundational beliefs:
- We are surrounded by science and ideas that are based on scientific understanding; revealing and generating a passion for the infrastructure is our primary role
- Science is not simply a collection of facts, theories and hypotheses, but a process and a means to discovery; without action, science is incomplete
- While content is an important part of the learning experience, we also allow visitors to develop their scientific skills and work towards improving their understanding of science
- Visitors should participate in learning science through active, fun, hands-on experiences
- After attending a Museum program, visitors should have a better understanding of how to make science a consistent presence in their lives
The Education Department focuses on:
- School Programs Division: MNS provides informal learning opportunities to more than 250,000 children each year through exhibitions and structured classroom programs. They target Pre-K through 12th grade students across the full spectrum of science disciplines. These programs are designed to provide supplemental instruction to students through hands-on exploration of science concepts and processes.
- Public Programs Division: Public Programs involve early childhood, youth, family and adult programs. Earl( Childhood programs include Little Explorers (ages 6 months - 4 years) and Hand-in-Hand 9ages 6 months – 2 years). Other programs include sleepovers, birthday parties, scouting adventures, Discovery Camp, weekend Festivals, six Discovery Days and approximately three lectures per year.
Featured in the 2008-2009 PBS NOVA season premier, “Arctic Dinosaurs,” Dr. Anthony R. Fiorillo is curator of paleontology at the Museum of Nature and Science. He has led many expeditions in western North America, including Texas, Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado, and conducted fieldwork in Asia, Australia and South America. His research specialy is dinosaur ecology, on which he has published more than 100 scienific and popular papers. He’s also involved in science education, having served as chair and co-chair of the Education Committee of the Society for Vertebrate Paleontology. The museum’s current research involves prospecting for dinosaur remains throughout Alaska, including north of the Arctic Circle on he Colville River and in Denali National Park, in a joint program with the National Park Service, University of Alaska, University of Kansas, and Hokkaido University in Japan. These studies of Alaskan dinosaurs could provide insights into Texas dinosaurs, where previous museum expeditions excavated Alamosaurus fossils in Big Bend National Park. Some Alaskan dinosaurs are different than those in West Texas, while others are the same. By studying the rocks containing bones in both places this work will bring new insights into the how and shy of dinosaurs scattered across the continent millions of years ago.
