Perot Museum Makes Learning Fun (For Everyone)
When we got the call about family coming to visit us over Thanksgiving break, everyone was excited. As I hung up the phone, the planning kicked into high gear. How would we keep my nieces, age 3 & 5, entertained while not boring my 9 & 11 year old? Challenge accepted – our first destination was a visit to the Perot Museum.
While we’ve been DFW residents now for the past 3.5 years, we’d only visited the Perot Museum once. When planning our visit during Thanksgiving break, I was warned “the museum will be busier than usual.” Those words of warning might have induced a bit of mild panic. Busier than usual with four kids in tow are how nightmares begin.
We arrived around lunchtime, two hours later than planned. After getting our media tickets (thank you Perot Museum for hosting us) we headed for the stairs. As my nieces entered the Moody Family children’s museum, I immediately thought “we won’t see them again for 2-3 hours”. Deciding to divide and conquer to keep everyone happy, my son and husband disappeared into the Lamar Hunt Family Sports Hall.
Learning With Fun & Games
How did we miss the Sports Hall on our previous visit? Inside kids and adults are able to actively participate on the court, track and field. While it seems like fun and games, you’re learning about the mental and physical demands of sports like football, basketball, track, and more. My 9 year old has started running 5ks and is obsessed with his speed. He chose to race a NFL star with the “Race on the run wall”, he finished one second slower than the professional.
Meanwhile my nieces were busy shopping for produce in the farmers market and building downtown Dallas. I was having so much fun watching them shop and restock produce, I wanted to join the fun. But with so much to see and do, we gathered the gang and entered the Origins: Fossils from the Cradle of Humankind exhibit (open until March 22, 2020). While this exhibit didn’t appeal to the younger kids, all four eagerly participated in the interactive fossil dig at the end.
Everybody Dance Now
However, hunger pains struck all of us and we had to take a lunch break. There is a cafe with a kids menu on site, or you could walk to a nearby restaurant. After lunch we boarded the forty-foot-long escalator with an appetite for exploration. Our first stop, the T. Boone Pickens Life Then and Now Hall. Again my children roamed the exhibit reading the plaques and asking questions, while the younger kids were “building dinosaurs” on the wall. Well, until we discovered we could dance like a dinosaur! I broke out my best dance moves, fortunately without actually breaking anything. This was a big hit with the kids and the grown-ups.
While dinosaurs are fascinating, we left the past and headed to the newly renovated Texas Instruments engineering and innovation hall. Once the kids saw the amazing airways, they were off to explore the interactive tunnels. I think we could have spent almost two hours between the airways and building skyscrapers. This exhibit has so many fun ways to explore, learn, build and exercise your creativity that we didn’t want to leave.
But reality beckoned, and as the clock struck four, I transitioned from having fun to worrying about Dallas rush hour traffic. As we headed towards the exits, I realized there’s too much to see and do at the Perot Museum for one visit. And so I realized, we need to consider a Perot Museum membership. With special events, limited time exhibits, and 180,000 square feet, we can discover something new on every visit.
Everyone in our group of eight enjoyed our visit, and we easily could have spent five hours exploring the exhibits. I know we’re excited about returning soon, and possible registering the kids for one of their camps this summer.
Perot Museum FAQ
How much is admission?
Adult (13-64) General Admission: $20
Senior 65+ General Admission: $18
Youth (2-12): $13
What Are The Museum Hours?
Monday-Saturday 10-5
Sunday 11-5 last exhibit admission is 4 pm
Museum is closed on Christmas Day
Can I leave & return on the same day?
Yes with a general admission ticket, you can leave and return on the same day.
Where do I Park?
General parking and handicap parking is available in the main Museum Parking lot, a
pay-to-exit lot located under Woodall Rodgers Freeway across from the Museum.
