Background

The Museum of Nature and Science is formerly the Dallas Museum of Natural History and the Science Place. Both institutions merged in 2006 and continue to bring life-learning to the community.

The Museum’s mission is to inspire minds through nature and science!

Dallas Museum of Natural History

HISTORY OF MUSEUM

• DMNH was founded in 1936 as part of the Texas Centennial and was one of the first natural history museums in the region. It is now included in the National Register of Historic Places and is the only public collections-based, research driven, Natural History Museum in the region.
• It has contributed to major discoveries including the validation of the Monte Verde findings and the excavation and transport of Sauropod dinosaur fossils from Big Bend.
• DMNH earned Smithsonian Institution Affiliate Museum status in 1999.

EDUCATION

• Goals of the program include: encouraging children to pursue careers as scientists, educators, researchers and engineers, contributing to a skilled and qualified work force for the future, and  educating consumers to be aware of and responsible for environmental issues.
• Programs are aimed at improving science literacy, science process skills, and awareness of natural processes.
• All educational programs conform to statewide curriculum standards and TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) requirements.

RESEARCH & COLLECTIONS

• DMNH’s holdings include over 200,000 items including artifacts, ecofacts, entomology, vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology, malacology, ichthyology, herpetology, ornithology, and mammalogy specimens.
• The collections cover approximately 1.7 billion years of earth history, maintains an extremely large and almost complete collection of mounted Texas birds, and includes a collection of some 300 trophy and full mount game specimens.
• The DMNH is the leading scientific institution in polar dinosaur research.

EXHIBITS

• Four diorama halls which include fifty dioramas of Texas wildlife, each using real specimens from the Museum’s collections, including all major biotic provinces of Texas.
• Other permanent halls include: Ocean Dallas, Ice Age Dallas, Paleo Prep Lab, Live Animal Room, Texas Dinosaurs Hall; Verizon Technology Center; Science Bulletins.
• The Museum also has a traveling exhibits program which brings a new exhibit every 3-4 months covering a wide range of topics.

The Science Place

HISTORY

The Science Place was founded in 1946 as the Dallas Health Museum and is one of the oldest science museums in the nation, accredited by both the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) and the American Association of Museums (AAM).  It was the first museum in Dallas to receive AAM accreditation and is one of seven museums that founded ASTC.  TSP will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2006.

A LEARNING CENTER

We are committed to science and technology education for all ages.  The Science Place:

• Hosts nearly 150,000 students each year through school programs
• Takes “hands-on” science to 30,000 students each year through 57 different programs and other events
• Teaches participatory learning techniques to approximately 200 educators each year as a certified Texas Education Association Program Provider for teacher training, impacting 125 schools and 6,000 students
• Hosts more than 7,000 students in camp-ins and workshops annually
• Has a bilingual (Spanish/English) science school program to include Pre-K3 through 2nd grade
• Is the site for Head Start school
• Offers camp-ins to groups including Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Camp-Fire children, and Dallas Boys and Girls Clubs

PHYSICAL FACILITIES AND ASSETS

TSP occupies two buildings with a total of 150,000 square feet.  The two buildings are listed in the National Historic Registry.  These city-owned facilities are within the 277 acre Fair Park campus located 2 miles east of downtown Dallas, Texas. 
TSP has more than 200 permanent hands-on exhibits on physics, astronomy, health, robotics, nature, and special young children’s venues.  Over one-million dollars in notable additional exhibit/gallery launches were recently completed.  This includes NetWorks! digital communications, The Dental Gallery, and The Little Urban Farm.  The Sports Lab is currently in the process of being developed.
The Science Place is home to Dallas’ only public planetarium and a key resource for Dallas schools.  Through a generous grant from The Crystal Charity Ball, a new Digistar 3 System has been installed and new planetarium programs offered.

The TI Founders IMAX® Theatre was opened in 1996 with a 323 seat auditorium that provides an immersion educational experience with a 79-foot domed screen and 12,000 watts of surround and overhead sound.