Perot Museum of Nature and Science at night - Mark Knight Photography
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Ross Perot Museum brings culture to Big D
After a decade of planning and years of construction, the Perot Museum of Nature and Scienceopenedbrthe doors of its 14-story striated exterior to the general public on Decemberbr1, 2012. Confetti guns, lively music, remarks by dignitaries, and even abr“hip-hip-hooray” led by Ross Perot added to the festivities.
Designed bybr2005 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate Thom Mayne and his firm Morphosis Architects, the Dallas museumbrhas been named in honor of Margot andbrRoss Perot, the result of a $50-million gift made by their adult children. The $185-million fundraising goal –brwhich provided for the site acquisition, exhibition planning and design,brconstruction of the new building, education programs and an endowment – wasbrachieved November 2011, more than a year before the Museum’s scheduled opening.brThe Museum, which was built without incurring any debt or public funding, isbrlocated on a 4.7-acre site at 2201 N. Field St., just north of downtown Dallasbrand in Victory Park.
“The PerotbrMuseum of Nature and Science is a gift to the city of Dallas,” says Mayne. “Itbris a fundamentally public building – a building that opens up, belongs to andbractivates the city. It is a place of exchange. It contains knowledge, preservesbrinformation and transmits ideas; ultimately, the public is as integral to thebrmuseum as the museum is to the city.”
Thebr180,000-square-foot museum features five floors of public space with elevenbrpermanent exhibit halls, including a children's museum complete with outdoorbrplay space and courtyard, and a state-of-the-art hall designed to hostbrworld-class traveling exhibitions.
Some of thebrmust see exhibits include; a 35-foot-long Malawisaurusdinosaur, a child-size, climbable Dallas skyline and toddler park, a 9,000-footbrvirtual journey down a gas well and the motion lab and running wall in the Sports Hall.
Otherbrhighlights include an expansive glass-enclosed lobby and adjacent rooftop deck,bra multi-media, 3D digital cinema with seating for 298, a flexible-spacebrauditorium, a Café, and a Museum Shop.