What a day!  We played in the Klyde Warren Park, ate at the gourmet food trucks, and then spent an afternoon at the new Perot Museum of Nature and Science.

Bottom line – GO!  Sweet Mother of Pearl.  It is beyond wonderful. Do not feel obligated to take a child with you.  All ages can enjoy and experience this museum.

Even in the courtyard there are exhibits.  A cascading stream with a variety of tracks of Texas animals in the concrete was the first thing we saw.  In warm weather you can wade in these waters.

The musical forest is a group of instruments tuned to pentatonic (five note) scales.  The children were having so much fun making music.

As you enter the museum, you come face to face with a thirty-five foot skeleton of a Malawisarus.  Wow!  This was just the first of many dinosaur skeletons you will see.

Then it was up the escalator – this is the escalator you can see from the outside the building.  The views are fantastic.  (Don’t tell me the Museum Tower is not too reflective.)

When you reach the top of the fourth floor, you encounter the only complete Alamosaurus skeleton in the world.

It is two school buses high and two school buses long.  This was one big dino.  See how the mastodon appears like a dwarf next to the Alamosaurus.

There are plenty of skeletons to see.  Loved the turtle.

In the Tom Hunt Energy Hall, the drill bits are just the beginning of explaining and exploring our energy.  (As an oil field girl, I found these drill bits interesting.)  Nearly every exhibit incorporates interactive learning.

In the Lyda Hill Gems and Minerals Hall, you turn a wheel to open this large – giant – humongous geode.  Be still my heart.  It was so big I wondered if it was real.  Inside the geode is “grape jelly” amethyst crystals.  Unbelievable.  The brochure said this was the first exhibit installed in the Perot Museum.  I guess they had to build the museum around it.

There were so many cases filled with rare and valuable gems and minerals.  The large crystal on the left is quartz.  In the upper right hand corner is one of the largest pieces of gold in the world.  Number One Son said he heard someone from the museum talking, and they said it was worth well over a million dollars.

The florescent minerals were amazing with their bright and electrifying colors.

Hot Rod and Mikel tried the Earthquake Shake.  Different magnitudes of earthquakes gave them the feeling of what it would be like to experience an earthquake.

Then there was a tornado and other weather exhibits.  

The animal exhibits were impressive.  How good is that?

In The Hegland Foundation Theater, you can watch 2D and 3D movies.

There is a gift shop filled with amazing “science stuff”, and there is also a restaurant called Cafe.

We did join the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, and am I ever glad we did.  ($160.00 – yearly admission for three adults and unlimited children, six guest vouchers, 4 movie passes, and one parking pass plus other discounts and perks.  With less than two family visits, it will pay for itself.)  We did not see everything – or rather I guess I should say, we did not see so many things.  I completely missed Hot Rods favorite exhibit – the Texas Insturments Engineering and Inovation Hall. He tells me I must see it because it is “so cool”.  Ever-Lovin’ suggested that when we go back, (which I want to do soon) we might want to explore one floor a visit. Sounds like a good plan to me.  With special programs, a kid’s club, and new exhibits coming to the museum, it promises to always be a new experience.

Blessings to you and yours,

FYI:

Parking for the Perot Museum is under the Woodall Rogers Freeway.  During busy times (like during the holidays), there are other lots available to accommodate the crowds.  You can also take DART to the area.

It is best to order your tickets online.  The tickets are issued for specific times each day.

You are allowed to take photographs for personal use.  All this information and more is on the Perot Museum website.