Houston Museum Of Natural Science At 5555 Hermann Park Dr.

[Jax]

[CHiPs]

Any activity in the Museum District? Tread has been quiet.

[Simbha]

Here's some information on the progress of the Duncan Family Wing, which is expected to open next summer. This was all posted on the official HMNS blog, by blogger Susana (http://blog.hmns.org/?tag=susanna) who provides updates on the wing's construction.

The wing topped out (at about 74 feet) in March.

Here's an image of the state of the construction as of May 2011, posted by Susana on June 8, 2011:

And, here's a time-lapse video of the wing's construction between September 2010 and May 2011:

I didn't see this mentioned anywhere else, so I'll say that I just read that this wing is supposed to house one of the (if not the) largest collection of T-Rexes in the world. The entire paleontology hall is supposed to be nearly 35,000 square feet. For comparison, the LA Natural History Museum's new paleontology wing - which will open on July 16 - is about 14,000 square feet.

[sifuwong]

Any activity in the Museum District? Tread has been quiet.

All museums are free tomorrow from what i was told. Question is, since parking is an issue, i've decided to park in my employers private parking garage. My question though is what would be what rail should i take to the museum district and how much is it? Thanks.

[ChrisPHous]

All museums are free tomorrow from what i was told. Question is, since parking is an issue, i've decided to park in my employers private parking garage. My question though is what would be what rail should i take to the museum district and how much is it? Thanks.

Take THE rail

[kdog08]

Pics I took while on a bike ride today:

IMAG0127 by dv1033, on Flickr

IMAG0128 by dv1033, on Flickr

IMAG0129 by dv1033, on Flickr

IMAG0130 by dv1033, on Flickr

IMAG0135 by dv1033, on Flickr

IMAG0136 by dv1033, on Flickr

It's not groundbreaking or interesting by any means but it really "fits" in.

Edited February 11, 2012 by kdog08

[bachanon]

i guess such a limited/narrow floorplate required a utilitarian design. nice that it fits in!

[kdog08]

i guess such a limited/narrow floorplate required a utilitarian design. nice that it fits in!

I ride my bike around here quite a bit and utilitarian is a good word to describe it. Once this thing is complete, unless you knew the expansion happened, you would probably assume the HMNS has always been this big.

[Highway6]

( I thought we had an existing thread of the HMNS expansion, but I couldn't find it )

AP put out a story this morning on our new dino exhibit and it's been picked up by NPR, Washington Post, Bloomberg, etc.

http://www.washingto...ALhU_story.html

I've mostly been dissapointed with HMNS and their seasonal/traveling exhibits the past decade. They've all seemed kinda of bush-league and put together on a shoe string budget. The content itself, whether is the mummy, bodyworlds, whatever has been great, but I've always felt like HMNS hasn't been up to the task of displaying these exhibits in a manner worthy of the content.

Sound like $85 million has done the trick. This exhibit is now being hailed in some places as the the best in the country and has artifacts no place else has.. such as triceratops skin. Looking forward to the opening in a few weeks.

Edited May 22, 2012 by Highway6

[IronTiger]

I was wondering if the HMNS expansion is open yet. All the things online say "Summer 2012", but I can't find anything on any "grand opening" events or whatever, so its either to be announced shortly or delayed indefinitely. If it is the latter, too bad--would've made a great day trip.

Anyone know for certain?

[sonic0boom]

I think the postcard i got said June 1. That may have been for member previews, though, but it should certainly be in the upcoming weeks.

[rsb320]

I think the postcard i got said June 1. That may have been for member previews, though, but it should certainly be in the upcoming weeks.

We're putting the final touches on our world-class paleontology hall - the length of a football field, it's one of the most dynamic paleo halls in the world. It's a whole new HMNS: 30,000 square feet of pure paleontological wonder will be baring its fangs on June 2.

[arche_757]

Since no one else has commented:  This is a world class exhibit!  And the new Egyptian Hall is also world class - though one hopes that the Boston Museum of Fine Arts doesn't come calling for the pieces on loan to the museum any time soon.  To have such a phenomenal display of prehistoric fossils is wonderful, and the sheer amount of them is mind boggling.  Props to HMNS and the Duncan family.

 

Architecturally it isn't a world renowned design.  It works, though the entry through and around the existing exhibit hall is clunky and a tad confusing.  I hope that the HMNS works hard to establish a more coherant plan through their old exhibits and eventually renovate the main exhibit hall (where the dinosaur's were housed before).

Edited October 16, 2013 by arche_757

[august948]

I agree, the new hall of paleontology is fantastic. And the museum is free on Thursday afternoons.

[brian0123]

I finally was able to check out the new halls the other week and was blown away. The Egyptian hall is insane (I wasn't expecting so many mummies) and the paleontology hall also blew my mind. I loved the evolution part where it shows our family tree. I always liked the HMNS, but the new exhibits are definitely "tourist worthy" and put the HMNS on a whole new level.

[august948]

If you go, take the elevator to the second floor when you get though the paleontological exhibit and look at it again from the balcony overlooking the exhibit.

[IronTiger]

I always kind of liked the third (I think it's the third?) level with the early American stuff, but mostly because it was pretty quiet (at least compared to the more hectic lower levels). When visiting, it's never been very busy (if not completely deserted) due to its semi-isolated location. I picked up a map of the newly expanded museum this last past August but didn't go in (I wanted to see the tunnels downtown, and as much as some of you despise them, I had a blast)

Still had fun tooling in and around the entryway hall (gift shop, the marble globe outside, the preview for the planetarium, etc.) though!

[mkultra25]

I went to the museum last week and saw the new paleontology and Egyptian exhibits for the first time. The paleontology hall in particular is incredible - I remember it was a really big deal when they originally installed the diplodocus years ago, now in addition to that, they've got *three* T. Rexes and a superlative triceratops. Also a really impressive array of trilobites that were apparently amassed over a number of years by a private collector and then donated. 

 

When I was a kid I was fascinated with paleontology to the point of wanting to be a paleontologist when I grew up; if something like this had been around back then, I would have thought I'd died and gone to heaven. 

 

The Chemistry Hall on the lower level is due to reopen in the next week or so after a renovation. Be interesting to see what they've done down there. 

[Lara]

I recently read about the Cabinet of Curiosities housed at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences. These sort of things really evoke my intrigue and I was wondering if anyone here has seen it.

[harementire]

I have not been to the place but I have read something about it. Actually, Cabinet of Curiosities is not the only work of arts that will make you really interested to see. You will be able to explore and discover arts across time periods and cultures. I guess, there are 65,000 beautiful work of arts there.

[werdserf 99]

Sounds world class. It also sounds like you're not going to see everything in 1 day. I'm picturing homeschooling groups on field trips to learn art.

[Sugar Land Art]

Thanks for the info didn't know about it

 

 

Sugar Land Art

Edited February 10, 2017 by Sugar Land Art

[txtiger]

File this under 'Interior Buildouts,' I suppose...

 

Some great overviews of the forthcoming Wiess Energy Hall at HMNS can be found over on Vimeo.  Latest, here:  

 

 

 

 

 

(HMNS' page, with other updates:  https://vimeo.com/user39050446 )

 

[ArtNsf]

This is so fascinating and fun !  So, where is HMNS located (and what does it stand for) ?  There was nothing in the description to indicate so far. 

[Naviguessor]

Houston Museum of Natural Science.  It's located in Houston.  Museum District. 

[bobruss]

Just watching the video got me wanting to go see this new exhibit. Quite a production and the exhibition hall looks stunning. This is a fabulous improvement to the petroleum exhibition space. Can't wait.

[bobruss]

Its also one of the top 5 museums in the United States in attendance.

[ArtNsf]

1 hour ago, Naviguessor said:

Houston Museum of Natural Science.  It's located in Houston.  Museum District. 

Thanks for clarifying that for me !  I've been there so many times as a kid.  I'll have to go back and visit when I'm in town.  I know there is tons to see that has changed in the last few decades.

[txtiger]

This whole document here is an interesting look-through, if you're into museums and themed entertainment as I am:  http://www.teaconnect.org/images/files/TEA_160_611852_160525.pdf

 

(In particular, see pages 72-73 for Houston Museum of Natural Science standing, as of the end of 2015.)

[bobruss]

interesting report. Thanks for sharing. It looks like it slipped down to 9th. They were up in the top five a couple of years ago. 

Its really a nice little jewel, and I especially enjoy the mineral collection. I could look at them all day.