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Special Exhibit: Prepare to let you imagination soar as Ascent…When Dreams Defy Gravity, the newest exhibition at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, takes you up, up and away, beginning May 28, 2011.

This locally-focused aviation exhibition that presents 8,500 square feet of exciting, interactive and educational content celebrating the science and technology of flight in a way the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex has never seen.

Ascent tells the story of North Texas’s proud aviation heritage, retracing the steps of the pioneering aviators, scientists and engineers who made the region one of the world’s premiere aerospace hubs. With hands-on activities and an exclusive feature video, the exhibition explores the evolution of aircraft design and manufacturing and offers a glimpse into the future of aerospace technology.

Museum Elements

1st Floor

DinoLabs:
This exhibition features life-sized articulations of dinosaurs found in North Texas, including the Texas State Dinosaur, the Paluxysaurus jonesi. Each dinosaur is articulated as much as possible from actual fossils, rather than total reproductions of them. Guests to DinoLabs will use scientific processes to discover dinosaur fossils at field sites, analyze fossils at dinosaur biology labs, and create images of what dinosaurs looked like.

DinoDig®:
This is a large, outdoor recreation of the Jones Ranch dinosaur field site in Texas (where the Paluxysaurus jonesi was found) where guests can learn how paleontologists find fossils, document their location, carefully dig them up, and securely pack them for transportation to the lab. Guests become a “paleontologist for a day” by digging up fossils, documenting their location, and removing the fossils from the ground.

Energy Blast:
The cutting-edge, 10,000-square-foot Energy exhibition gives guests every sense of the energy story of Fort Worth and northern Texas. Rather than just tell the historical story of energy, the exhibition also tells the scientific story – the story of physics and technology.

Through state-of-the-art technologies – including a 4-D theater – and real-world experiences, school children and guests of all ages will not only see, but also hear, and feel the story of energy. The exhibition was conceived through a collaboration of top scholars, scientists, and leading exhibit and special effects designers. Energy Blast uses hands-on activities, stunning visuals, and real tools of the energy industry to create a journey through time from the first energy, to modern exploration and production technologies used today. The exhibition also looks into the future, with activities focusing on the energy challenges ahead of us.

Fort Worth Children’s Museum:
By naming this interactive gallery space the Fort Worth Children’s Museum, the Museum of Science and History pays homage to its legacy – the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History was chartered as the Children’s Museum in 1941. The entry into the new space is designed after the entryway of the original Museum – a dragon head with the mouth being the doorway. The Children’s Museum targets young children, age birth through eight and the people who care for them. Its purpose is to encourage opportunities for children to play, knowing that, at this age level, children are learning through play.

Innovation Studios/Gallery:
As a focal point of the Museum, Innovation Studios (7,600 sq. ft.) and the Innovation Gallery (4,886 sq. ft.) are located in the center of the first floor – surrounded by glass so that visitors can observe the investigative learning occurring inside. Innovation Studios comprise five interactive, illuminated spaces where guests will learn about science and history topics as they happen – from nanotechnology research to space travel. These developmentally appropriate spaces reach out to audiences age eight and older – tweens, teens, and adults.

Shop Too!:
The Museum store, Shop Too!, will be an extension of the Museum experience for our guests.

Merchandise created specifically for Shop Too! will have a direct correlation to an exhibit or program in the Museum – merchandise will change as exhibitions change. The Museum of Science and History has created our own in-house labeling system or seal of approval – the Fort Worth Museum Building Blocks and the Fort Worth Museum Learning Lantern. The “Building Blocks” is an award system for products that are geared toward young learners. The “Learning Lantern” seal is the seal for everyone else – ages eight and older.

Store merchandise includes books and DVDs, toys and games, activity kits and experiments, and much, much more!

Omni Theater – an IMAX® Dome:
The Museum of Science and History’s Omni Theater is the only structure that was saved from the previous museum. It is attached to the new building through the “Link” so guests can enter the theater directly from the Museum. This theater features the latest releases of films specially created for large format films.

The Omni Theater embodies a revolutionary concept in film presentation, which combines the drama of oversized film, state-of-the-art projection equipment, innovative tilt-domed theater architecture, and the most sophisticated production techniques to create unique cinematic experiences.

Museum School:
Since 1949, Museum School has provided unique educational experiences for nearly a quarter of million preschool and school-age children in Fort Worth. Classes offer discovery-based learning in natural history, physical science and art in settings that encourage exploration and creative expression. The new building enables the museum to continue this treasured community service in new, state-of-the-art classrooms that will meet the learning styles of future generations.

The Museum School Courtyard features a delightful sculpture titled The Happy Family, by Barrett DeBusk.

Urban Lantern:
As a beacon of learning, and as the anchor of the new building, the Urban Lantern is the structure’s iconic feature. At a height of 76 feet, the Urban Lantern serves as the main entrance to the 166,000-square foot Museum. It comprises 97, 500-pound glass panels measuring 5’7” x 5’7” each. The Lantern is illuminated using LED (light-emitting-diode) fixtures and compact fluorescent lights. The primary light color will be clear; however, the color can be changed by the Museum. There is 2,247 square feet of open space under the lantern, which can hold up to 274 individuals.

Heritage Courtyard:
Located just outside the Oak Room, the Museum’s Heritage courtyard features a beautiful Heritage Live Oak tree with a 40-foot canopy and an innovative water element. The 3,647-square-foot area, the walls of which are colored a beautiful jacaranda, also will include sitting areas.

Oak Room:
The Museum’s special event space, the Oak Room, is an elegant, contemporary 3,748-square-foot room designed to house a variety of events ranging from an educational program, awards ceremony, or fund-raising luncheon to a wedding or birthday celebration. Named for the beautiful Heritage Live Oak in the courtyard, the room is fitted with state-of-the-art equipment including a sound system, projector, and hidden screen. The room can be sized using sliding walls, to accommodate small groups or larger gatherings of up to 350 people.

Stars Café:
The new Museum features a family-friendly food court restaurant with indoor and outdoor terrace seating overlooking the Western Heritage Plaza. It will be the perfect place to take a mid-day break for lunch, discuss what’s been experienced so far, and plan out the rest of your Museum visit. Stars Café will offer five food stations including handmade sandwiches, TexMex and barbecue, Italian selections, a grill, and a station featuring pre-made items.

2nd Floor

Fort Worth History Gallery:
This 3,000 square-foot-gallery space features a changing stream of stories about the region.

Special Exhibitions Gallery:
The Museum’s 10,000 square-foot Special Exhibitions Gallery allows increased flexibility in the types of exhibitions the Museum can present. Exhibitions change approximately every three months.

Cattle Raisers Museum:
The Cattle Raisers Museum – a unique “museum within a museum” – immerses guests in the dynamic history and science of the cattle and ranching industry. It is a cooperative venture between the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History and the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Foundation. This 10,000-square-foot exhibition space is dedicated to telling the story of the Cattle Raisers Association and the history of that industry within our geographic area – Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma through fun, interactive exhibits.

Noble Planetarium:
Named for Charlie Mary Noble, the Planetarium’s live, interactive program will distinguish the Noble from all others. Audience members can ask questions while visiting the Milky Way galaxy – our home – and traveling up to 13.7 billion light years away. In addition to viewing the constellations and stars visible in the sky, guests can view the most current astronomical events of the day.

The Noble Planetarium features the first Zeiss-manufactured hybrid planetarium system – an immersive all-dome video combined with fiber optic dual-hemisphere star balls to see more than 7,000 stars. The Zeiss SKYMASTER ZKP 4 star projector projects thousands more stars more clearly than ever before. Two (2) star balls within the 40-foot dome cover the entire sky – both the northern and southern hemispheres. New software – Sciss UniView – flies Planetarium visitors to the edge of the universe and back. This live-action software will allow real-time visits to any location in the known universe.