Interactive museum experience for the whole family
The Perot Museum is a great place for families. There are plenty of interactive exhibits that will keep children entertained for hours! The Leap Frog Forest is a good place to visit after you go through the museum. The water feature is a wonderful place to cool off on a hot summer day. The frogs provide a good place to take some funny photos. The cafe, Leap Frog Forest, and gift shop are accessible without admission.
The lobby is where school groups gather, and occasionally local businesses set up tables to share how they contribute to science. Once inside, I recommend taking the escalator to the fourth floor and working your way down through the museum. The escalator moves past the big window, and provides one of my favorite views of the city.
There are multiple exhibits on each floor, finishing with a temporary exhibit in the lower level. My favorites included the fossil exhibit, minerals and precious gems, and the human body. Each exhibit offers interactive experiences. In the sports exhibit, visitors can try racing a T-Rex, Olympic runners, and even a cheetah! They can also experiment with stop motion photography to see how their body moves in comparison with professional athletes. In the human body exhibit, visitors can put on a lab coat and become real scientists to look at their own cells! Nearby the body exhibit, visitors can try their hand at building and racing robots, play with electrical instruments and try their hand at programming a robot.
The museum has so much more to do and explore. Two adults moving at a moderate pace through the building can make it through in about four hours. If you are going through with kids, I recommend going earlier in the day when it is not as crowded, and plan to spend a full day. The museum has other activities such as group yoga, a birthday party room, and overnight stays for kids aged 6 - 12. Check out the museum website or call for the most current admission rates, or scheduling of special events. They do have temporary exhibits, and 3-D movies. Again, check the website for more details on events and exhibits.
