The Perot Museum of Nature and Science is planning a $185 million expansion that will bring large outdoor science exhibits and gardens and a new parking garage to a site currently used for surface parking.
The Dallas museum expects to break ground in January and open the new space in late 2028, according to Linda Silver, the museum’s Eugene McDermott CEO.
The expansion will occupy about four acres of the museum’s property next to the existing building, near SkyHouse Dallas. Plans include a five-story parking garage, a new arrival pavilion, a dedicated area for school bus drop-offs, a pollinator garden and a paleontology garden. This will double the amount of square footage that the museum has dedicated to exhibits, but now outside the building.
“We’re really excited,” Silver said. “Overall, what this campus expansion is going to let us do is claim the nature part of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in what we do.”
The expansion will feature about 25 new large exhibits, along with roughly 40 smaller exhibits and interactive experiences.
The new construction will also provide space for large-scale science demonstrations that are difficult to accommodate inside the existing museum due to low ceiling height.
“Think of a 30-foot-tall fire tornado,” she said. “Think of a thunder and lightning pavilion where we harness static electricity using a Tesla coil and a Faraday cage and create lightning over your head.”
The museum has raised $135 million so far, leaving $50 million to reach its goal, which includes an endowment. The campaign has been funded entirely through private contributions, Silver said.
The museum first began exploring possibilities for the four-acre site in 2019. After a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, the planning process resumed and a more intensive design process began two years ago.
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