I'm so excited that the Perot Museum of Nature and Science has generously provided me with a family four-pack of tickets to the museum to giveaway here on Savor the Days! These tickets are good through January 8, 2016 so you can have fun with your family over the holidays. Even if you are already a member of the Perot, consider entering to win anyway and gifting another family with the tickets.
To enter to win the four-pack of tickets, just fill out one or more of the entry options at the bottom of this post. The winner will be chosen by random drawing on December 9, 2016 at midnight CST.
The Perot Museum of Nature and Science hosted a fun Family Blogger event so we could help them get the word out about the the exciting new exhibits and fun holiday plans at the museum.
My kids especially enjoyed the adorable Mammoth cookies in honor of Ellie May, the nearly intact and pristine Columbian Mammoth discovered near here in Ellis County last summer and just opened on display at the museum. I can't wait to show you the pictures!
We are amateur fossil hunters so I was pretty excited to get the opportunity to see Ellie May. And here she is! This Columbian Mammoth skeleton is displayed on her side in the same position in which she was discovered as she laid in the sand and gravel pit on the McEwen family property.
There are some great video clips about her recovery on the Perot Museum website.
We got an amazing opportunity to meet and ask questions of Dr. Ron Tykoski, a paleontologists who spent countless hours working on the the excavation and recovery of this amazing specimen.
At the signage about the discovery of Ellie May, there is an interactive camera that you can control to move around and zoom in on Ellie May's bones! What an amazing feature to have on this exhibit.
Next we visited the special exhibit, Creatures of Light: Nature's Bioluminescence. It is a dark exhibit that taught us all about creatures that glow. My kids love glow sticks and any kind of toy that lights up so this was their favorite exhibit at the Perot.....of all time!
We learned about fireflies and even got to play with an interactive exhibit that showed how they use different patterns of flashing light to communicate with each other.
We learned that Bioluminescense is light generated by a living organism through a chemical reaction and got to see pictures of some amazing creatures that have this cool feature.
We learned about Glow Worms which glow a greenish-yellow and Railroad Worms which have an additional red glow on their heads.
I was excited to see the exhibit taught the kids about dinoflagellates which are bioluminescent marine plankton. Stuart and I have seen these little "balls of fire" in person many years ago on a trip to the beach. At night, they glow and seem to ride the waves as they crashed ashore. It was an unforgettable sight.
Rachel spent a lot of time learning at the interactive exhibit that taught her about fluorescence on a coral reef.
In contrast to bioluminescense, fluorescence occurs when molecules become excited and glow under ultraviolet light. There is no chemical reaction occurring to make the object glow.
Nicholas was the most engaged I have ever seen him at a museum. He usually reads some of the informational plaques and does some of the activities then he's ready to move on. But today he read everything he saw. He was excited and engaged and kept asking me to come see what he had learned.
The Ponyfish flashes to communicate with females but the source of its light is intriguing. There is a donut-shaped structure around its neck that contains a colony of bioluminescent bacteria. They share a symbiotic relationship which means they both benefit by working together.
One of my kids' favorite creatures to learn about in the exhibit was the Loose Jaw fish. He's just really creepy looking to me! My son also liked the Vampire Squid.
We watched two 2D films while we were at the museum. Nicholas wouldn't smile because he said that would ruin his "cool" look. (*smirk*)
Rachel chose for us to see Wonders of the Arctic 3D while Nicholas picked Walking with Dinosaurs: Prehistoric Planet 3D. I was hoping we could also watch Jerusalem 3D but we just ran out of time.
So much to see, so little time!
Speaking of so much to see, I can't describe all of the incredible exhibits at the Perot Museum in one post but here are some highlights of other exhibits you will find there:
The Perot Museum has done a great job of putting together a collection of Educational Resources and Scavenger Hunts for teachers and students that correspond with the exhibits you'll find at the museum.
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HOURS. General hours of operation for the Perot Museum and Creatures of Light: Nature’s Bioluminescence are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. On the first Thursday of the month, the Museum will stay open until 9 p.m. for its First Thursday Late Night public events.
Holiday and other special hours. The Perot Museum will close Dec. 25 (Christmas). The Museum will offer extended hours until 7 p.m. Dec. 26-Jan. 2, except for Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve) when the Museum will close at 3 p.m. and Dec. 31 (New Year’s Eve), when the Museum will close at 4 p.m.
Member mornings. From 8:30-10 a.m. every Saturday and 10 a.m.-noon every Sunday, members can enjoy exclusive access to the Perot Museum and Creatures of Light. Additionally, members will enjoy exclusive access from 8:30-10 a.m. Dec. 28-Jan. 1.
TICKETS. Museum general admission ticket prices are $19 for adults (18-64), $12 for youth (2-17), $13 for seniors (65+), and free for children under 2. Museum general admission is always free for members. Admission to the theater is $6 for a short film (20 minutes) and $8 for a long film (40 minutes) for adults, seniors and youth. For members, admission to the theater is $5 (short film) and $6 (long film). All children under 2 are free.
Creatures of Light: Nature’s Bioluminescence requires a surcharge along with purchase of Museum general admission for non-members for a total admission cost of $26 for adults (18-64), $18 for youth (2-17), $19 for seniors (65+), and free for children under 2. Member tickets are $5 for adults (18-64) and $4 for youth (2-17) and seniors (65+).
Skip the ticket sales line! During the holiday season, visitors, including members, are strongly encouraged to purchase/reserve tickets directly from their smart phones or computers in advance.
PARKING. 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. Limited additional handicap and Hybrid/electric vehicle parking is available in the Special Permit lot, located directly west of the Museum. Pricing is $8 per car. Museum members pay $3 when purchased at the Box Office inside the museum. The Perot Museum is located at 2201 N. Field Street in Dallas, Texas. For more information, visit perotmuseum.org or call 214-428-5555.
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