I had the good fortune to tour the new Morphosis designed Perot Museum of Science and Nature last week – two weeks before it opens to the public. As an architect I can appreciate the design ideas behind what is essentially a large cube floating over a landscape plinth… but as exciting as it is for Dallas to add another amazing building designed by a Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate, it is the inside of the building and the exhibits that have me most excited. I am really looking forward to bringing my family to the museum … repeatedly.
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“The Perot Museum of Nature and Science is a gift to the City of Dallas. It is a fundamentally public building – a building that opens up, belongs to and activates the city.
Thom Mayne – 2005 Prtizker Architecture Prize Laureate
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Because its mission is to “inspire minds through nature and science,” the Perot Museum fully embraces the natural world and the manmade world, focusing on earth and space sciences, life and natural sciences, chemistry, physical sciences and engineering. The new building itself becomes an active tool for science education. By integrating architecture, nature, and technology, the building demonstrates scientific principles and will be used as a teaching tool that provides “living” examples of engineering, sustainability and technology at work. Building on the Museum’s commitment to resource conservation, the new building integrates a variety of sustainable strategies including a rainwater collection system that will capture run-of water from the roof and parking lot, satisfying 74% of the Museum’s non-potable water needs and 100% of it’s irrigation needs.
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The 180,000-square-foot museum will feature 5 floors of public space with 11 permanent exhibit halls, including a children’s museum complete with outdoor plat space/courtyard, and a state-of-the-art hall designed to host world-class traveling exhibitions. Other highlights include an expansive glass-enclosed lobby and adjacent rooftop deck; a multi-media, 3D digital cinema with seating for 298; a flexible-space auditorium ; a cafe; and a Museum shop.
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I have included the maps to the building that you can access by clicking on the following link:
Perot Museum of Science and Nature Levels Maps
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Hours:
The Perot Museum will operate year round Monday through Saturday from 10:00a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sundays from noon until 5:00 p.m.
Ticket Prices:
General admission to the exhibit halls will be $15 for adults (18-64), $12 for students (12-17) and seniors (65+), and $10 for children (2-11). Admmision to the theater will be $8 for adults, students, seniors and children.
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So what do your think? Interested in coming to Dallas and making a day of it? I promise that you will enjoy yourself.
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