Forecasters predict the holidays to be a flurry of fun at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science with the extraordinary Creatures of Light: Nature’s Bioluminescence exhibition taking center stage, plus brilliant 3D films, family fun Discovery Days, a Late Night featuring renowned Jerusalem 3D filmmaker Daniel Ferguson,a “New Year’s” sleepover, an array of gifts for all ages, extended hours, special activities throughout the Thanksgiving and winter breaks, and more.
It’s also an exciting season as “Ellie May,” the nearly intact and pristine Columbian mammoth discovered in an Ellis County gravel pit in May 2014, makes her much-anticipated debut at the Perot Museum on Level 3. To celebrate her homecoming, Meet Your Mammoth Day on Saturday, Nov. 21, will feature mammoth-themed activities and demos, bookworm readings, science trivia, and Q&A with Perot Museum paleontologist Dr. Ron Tykoski.
“This is a wonderful time to bring your family and friends to the museum for dazzling holiday fun,” noted Colleen Walker, Eugene McDermott CEO. “Come marvel at our new traveling exhibition, Creatures of Light, and meet our newest family member, ‘Ellie May,’ a Columbian mammoth who was discovered last year outside of Italy, Texas. We’re also thrilled to offer four new National Geographic films, including one that spotlights one of the world’s most intriguing cities, Jerusalem.”
For a roadmap to navigate through the array of Perot Museum’s holiday happenings, visitors are encouraged to start from the bottom and move their way to the top. On the Lower Level, Creatures of Light: Nature’s Bioluminescence offers a captivating journey through the world of “living light” to explore larger-than-life replicas of glowing mushrooms, vampire squid, flickering fireflies, fluorescent corals and even live flashlight fish. Up on Level 1, film lovers and science enthusiasts can snag a seat in The Hoglund Foundation Theater, a National Geographic Experience for an exciting look at dinosaurs, wild weather and some of the world’s most intriguing places. Next door in the Café, guests can enjoy delectable dishes prepared by Wolfgang Puck. And in celebration of the Perot Museum’s 3rd birthday, anyone who purchases a dessert from Dec. 1-31 will receive a free hot cocoa.
From there, the glass-enclosed escalator makes for a fun trip to the top where a skull cast of the newly discovered Nanuqsaurus hoglundi, a pint-sized cousin of the ferocious Tyrannosaurus rex, is on display amid other impressive towering dinosaurs in the T. Boone Pickens Life Then and Now Hall on Level 4. And in the Expanding Universe Hall, a new “hands on” interactive game about the asteroid belt, developed by University of Texas at Dallas students, will debut in December. On Level 3, a brilliant crystallized gold collection made its sparkly debut in October in the Lyda Hill Gems and Mineral Hall. And on Level 2, the Early Man section has been refreshed in the Being Human Hall.
Jam-packed with activities galore, it’s all the more reason to become a member – or give the gift of membership –with perks including free general admission, exclusive hours and activities, plus discounts on traveling exhibitions, parking, and Museum Shop and Café purchases, to name a few.
As always, the Museum will offer extended hours at select times beginning Thanksgiving weekend through Jan. 2, 2016 (details below). Visitors, including members, are strongly encouraged to purchase/reserve tickets in advance at perotmuseum.org to avoid waiting in line.