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Inspiring minds through nature and science. Come and explore. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Museum Expansion Project
Overview of The Museum of Nature & Science
(updated January 8, 2008)
Current Institution at Dallas’ Fair Park
Boilerplate
The Museum of Nature & Science, formerly the Dallas Museum of Natural History, The Science Place and the Dallas Children’s Museum, is a non-profit educational organization located in Dallas’ Fair Park. In support of its mission to inspire minds through nature and science, the Museum delivers exciting, engaging and innovative visitor experiences through its education, exhibition, and research and collections programming for students, teachers, families and life-long learners. The facility also includes the TI Founders IMAX® Theater and a cutting-edge digital planetarium. The Museum of Nature & Science is supported in part by funds from the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs and the Texas Commission on the Arts. To learn more about the Museum of Nature & Science, please visit www.natureandscience.org.
Overall
In 2007, the Museum served over 975,000 constituents through its education, exhibition, and research programs. According to the Office of Cultural Affairs, the Museum of Nature & Science was the most visited museum in Dallas in 2007.
Mergers
The Museum of Nature & Science is the result of a 2006 merger, unlike any in the nation, of three cultural institutions – the Dallas Museum of Natural History (est. 1936), The Science Place (est. 1946) and the Dallas Children’s Museum (est. 1995). The merger of the Dallas Museum of Natural History and the Science Place was completed in June of 2006. The Children’s Museum merger was completed the following October. These mergers have resulted in an exciting family destination, which is able to better serve the community and steward its investment in the institution.
Operations
The Museum of Nature & Science closed its fiscal year in September 2007 having made major reinvestments in its facility and “rainy day” funds. The stellar financial results of Body Worlds allowed the Museum to reinvest in its permanent exhibits, programs, infrastructure, and completely redesigned Children’s Museum wing.
Organization
The Museum of Nature & Science has built a strong and diverse team through mergers and new hires over the past two years, moving it one step closer to easy transition into the new facility. The Museum continues to aspire to build its human capital in order to deliver the best educational experience to the community. Recently, the Museum hired senior staff with experience at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, The Field Museum, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. In 2007, the Museum was the recipient of the Stanford Financial Achievement in the Arts Award as an acknowledgement of its strong financial management.
Exhibitions
Permanent
The Museum of Nature & Science has completed a revised exhibition and facilities plan for Fair Park with the help of Good Fulton and Farrell and Ralph Appelbaum Associates. Based upon these plans, the Museum has begun the process to update and rebuild the following areas over the next three years: Early Childhood, Dinosaurs and Medical and Life Sciences. New exhibition halls opened in summer and fall 2007 include Texas Dinosaurs – Fossil Dig, Texas Dinosaurs – Science at Work and Hands-On Physics. The new early childhood galleries, which are called Come and Explore Your World, include Explore Your Town, Explore My House and Explore Your Backyard. The Medical and Life Sciences galleries are in planning stages and expected to open this year.
Traveling
In 2006-2007, the Museum of Nature & Science displayed the acclaimed Body Worlds exhibition and saw over 411,000 visitors. In September 2007, the Museum opened the Cooperstown National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s famous exhibition: Baseball As America.
Education
The Museum of Nature & Science continues to provide a strong curriculum focusing on science, technology, engineering, math, and the environment. The Museum served over 327,000 school children in FY 2007 and is on track for similar success in FY 2008. The Museum has a significant need for a new facility, as it frequently continues to hit its capacity on school children. The Museum’s busiest months in March, April and May are continually oversubscribed, forcing the Museum to turn children away or overload the buildings and programs. The Museum continues to provide after-school programming, outreach, and other non-museum programs to the community. It has provided almost $500,000 in scholarships to at risk students in the past five years. The Museum of Nature & Science also serves a highly diverse market: 58% Latino, 34% African American, 1% Asian and 7% Caucasian.
Research and Collections
The Museum of Nature & Science continues its paleontology research in Alaska, Texas and Mongolia. The Museum has been fortunate to receive the National Science Foundation and National Park Service grants in recent years to support this groundbreaking research.
Strategic Partnerships
The Museum of Nature & Science continues to have strong partnerships in its programming with SMU, UTD, UTSW, the World Affairs Council, World Community Grid, Girls Inc., Jeffries Street Learning Center, Boys and Girls Clubs, Children’s Medical Center, the Junior League of Dallas and many other important community organizations.
Website: www.natureandscience.org