Perot Museum Announces Four-Acre Campus Transformation Featuring An Innovative Outdoor Museum Expansion

Visitors to the new outdoor expansion will discover and experience the forces of nature through immersive installations, large-scale experiments and living landscapes. Alongside these science experiences, the capital project includes a reimagined Museum entrance and lobby; enhanced educational, dining and event spaces; an on-site parking garage; and infrastructure improvements. 

In total, the approximately four-acre transformation is expected to welcome 400,000 additional guests each year, increasing access to the Perot Museum’s informal science learning opportunities for children, families and educators. The Museum plans to break ground on the project in early 2027 and open to the public in late 2028.  

The project is being funded through the Museum’s $185 million Curiosity Unbound campaign, which will also support the Museum’s endowment and funding for programs and community engagement. 

The reimagining comes at a time of urgent national dialogue about science learning and rapid growth in Texas STEM jobs, which are expanding at twice the national rate. It represents the next chapter in the Perot Museum’s history of inspiring interest in science among visitors of all ages. 

“This transformative project builds on the Perot Museum’s essential work by enhancing our presentation of the natural world and redefining how people engage with science,” said Dr. Linda Silver, Eugene McDermott chief executive officer of the Perot Museum. “By creating new opportunities to explore and interact with the forces of nature, we aim to make science education more immediate, more welcoming and more consequential to people’s lives. Our goal is to build curiosity and confidence, and to help people feel that science is for them – whether that inspires a future career in STEM or a lifelong curiosity about the world and how it works.” 

The Transformation 

Designed as a living laboratory in the heart of Dallas, the outdoor museum expansion will bring nature in all its forms more fully into the Perot Museum’s program, offering innovative new ways for visitors to explore and understand the natural world through immersive, hands-on experiences that are impossible to recreate indoors at this scale. Guests will experience the forces that shape our world – from earth, water, air and weather to energy, biodiversity and the interconnected systems that sustain life. 

“This project represents an opportunity to rethink how and where people experience science,” said Mike Spiewak, vice president of exhibitions at the Perot Museum. “By moving beyond the physical limits of the building, our goal is to create an environment where discovery feels unexpected and alive, inspiring curiosity and opening new ways for people to connect with the awesome power of nature.” 

The new outdoor experience will unfold through interconnected zones across 60,000 square feet, featuring approximately 25 large-scale exhibits and 40 learning touchpoints that will blend physical exploration, observation and live science demonstrations. Visitors will be able to feel powerful wind gusts, build water pressure to send a geyser skyward, investigate how moving water shapes a landscape, and witness a fire tornado spiraling over a story high. Other experiences include a cloud maze, a lightning and thunder pavilion and a giant water vortex – with more experiences and details to be announced.  

The landscape itself will serve as part of the science experience. Extensive shade trees, native plantings, a pollinator habitat and water features will demonstrate biodiversity and ecological systems – while replacing surface parking with new green space in the center of Dallas. The Museum is recording local air temperatures and monitoring air quality, establishing a baseline for assessing the transformation’s impact on the local environment. 

The project also represents a significant investment in the future of downtown Dallas. New green space and a reimagined campus entrance will strengthen connections among the Museum, Victory Park, Klyde Warren Park, the Dallas Arts District and the broader downtown corridor. Together with other recent announcements involving public spaces, new development and corporate investment, the expansion adds momentum to efforts to make downtown Dallas a more connected, walkable and active destination for residents, workers and visitors. 

The Future of STEM 

Since opening in 2012, the Perot Museum has welcomed more than 14 million visitors and now serves more than 1 million people annually, including close to 300,000 schoolchildren. The expansion is designed to meet growing demand while strengthening the Museum’s role as a bridge between classroom learning, informal science education and the region’s future workforce needs. By sparking curiosity early, the Museum aims to build scientific literacy and help children see new possibilities for their future. 

STEM jobs in Texas are growing at twice the national rate, making access to hands-on science education increasingly important to creating economic opportunities for young people and DFW’s future workforce. By building more capacity and new ways to engage with science, the Museum aims to reach more families, educators and students, including communities that have historically had less access to STEM learning and career pathways. 

“Our family’s vision for the Museum has always been for it to serve as both a critical part of Dallas’ civic fabric and a bridge between science education and workforce opportunities shaping our region,” said Suzanne Perot McGee, co-chair of the Curiosity Unbound campaign. “As demand for STEM talent continues to grow, this expansion will allow us to equip and empower more innovators, problem-solvers and leaders, which North Texas needs.” 

The Curiosity Unbound Campaign 

The $185 million Curiosity Unbound campaign has already secured $135 million – more than 73% of its goal – reflecting strong support for the Museum’s vision and impact. 

“Reaching $135 million is an extraordinary milestone and a powerful vote of confidence in this vision, but there is still important work ahead,” said Nancy Best, Perot Museum Board of Trustees chair and co-chair of the Curiosity Unbound campaign. “We are deeply grateful to the early supporters of this transformative initiative, but we also know that completing this catalytic investment in the future of North Texas will require additional philanthropic resources. We invite our community to join us in this visionary project that will become a change-making resource for generations of families to come.” 

The Curiosity Unbound campaign is led by Co-Chairs Nancy Best, Nancy Carlson, David Corrigan, Dr. Joan Buchanan Hill, Karen Katz and Suzanne Perot McGee. The project team includes design architect Morphosis; landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates; architect of record The Beck Group; outdoor exhibit designers NorthernLight and Bruns; general contractor Balfour Beatty; and development manager Hillwood Urban.  

About the Perot Museum of Nature and Science:
Located in the heart of Dallas, Texas, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science is a nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to inspiring minds through nature and science. Visitors will find everything from dinosaurs to diamonds and space to sports, packed into five levels of hands-on discovery and adventure. Through its state-of-the-art exhibits, educational programming and community outreach, the Museum offers exciting and innovative experiences for learners of all ages. To learn more, please visit perotmuseum.org. 

Media Contact:
Kimberly Daniell | Perot Museum of Nature and Science | 214.756.5811 | kimberly.daniell@perotmuseum.org

Brunswick Arts | perotmuseum@brunswickgroup.com  

Angela Lang | Tony Fay PR | 214.548.0827 | angela@tonyfaypr.com