This state-of-the-art museum complex was opened in 2012, but it has a history that spans over 75 years. The Perot Museum of Nature and Science is the culmination of three of the longest running museums in Dallas: the Dallas Museum of Natural History, the Dallas Health and Science Museum and the Dallas Children’s Museum, now the Family Children’s Museum.
Explore the combined attractions in Victory Park and in Fair Park. The main building in Victory Park offers 180,000 square feet (55,000 square meters) of exhibition space over five floors. Thom Mayne, one of America’s highly regarded contemporary architects, designed it. Explore the 11 permanent exhibition halls and temporary exhibitions.
Perot Museum prides itself on its engaging interactive exhibits. Toddlers will love the Family Children’s Museum, where they can climb through a playground based on the Dallas landscape or watch as staff feed the snakes and spiders that live within the museum. The remaining ten exhibition halls are accessible for all ages but mainly directed at older children and adults.
Head to the Sports hall on the lower level to race members of the Dallas Cowboys football team and a 3D Tyrannosaurus Rex in a 55-foot (17-meter) video exhibit called Sports Run. Make your own music in the Texas Instruments Engineering and Innovation exhibition, or see one of the largest gold nuggets in the world in the Lyda Hill Gems and Minerals exhibition.
Don’t miss the Fair Park campus of the museum, where you can go to see historical dioramas and a range of temporary exhibitions.
Perot Museum of Nature and Science’s main campus is located within downtown Dallas’ Victory Park. It can be reached on foot or bike from most areas of downtown Dallas, or by using the Victory metro station. Metered street parking and commercial garages are available in the area. The Fair Park campus of the museum is approximately 4 miles (6.5 kilometers) east of Victory Park and is serviced by public transport. An admission fee applies for both museums.