To say the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History started small might be an understatement. When it opened in 1945, the museum occupied all of two rooms inside De Zavala Elementary. Some six decades later, the museum now serves as Cowtown’s foremost source for scientific and historical exhibits, all while having made a bit of history itself: it opened the region’s first public planetarium in 1955 and the Southwest’s first IMAX dome theater in 1983. But it’s the museum’s newest addition—a brand new, $80 million facility unveiled in 2009—that truly proves this Fort Worth institution has serious staying power.
Drop by DinoLabs, where you can find skeletons of a paluxysaurus, tenontosaurus, and other prehistoric beasts, or head to the excavation site and uncover authentic local fossils in the outdoor DinoDig® exhibit. Energy Blast tells the story of North Texas’ energy sources and explores alternative sources such as geothermal, solar, hydroelectricity, and wind energy. Guests can also check out relics from the continent’s original cultures in the Native American Gallery, wrangle virtual steer inside the Cattle Raiser’s Museum, and explore the five separate galleries that make up Innovations Studios. If you’ve got tots in tow, the Fort Worth Children’s Museum offers a chance to get off your feet while the kids ages 8 and under run through an array of interactive exhibits. Of course, the museum also houses the 90-seat Noble Planetarium, offering up-close views of more than 7,000 stars, as well as the Omni Theater, where IMAX® experiences play out on an eight-story domed screen.