Perot Museum of Nature & Science in Dallas Receives $25 Million Gift from The Rees-Jones Foundation

DALLAS, Jan. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Calling it an investment that will deliver world-class educational experiences and entertainment to millions for decades to come, Museum of Nature & Science leaders today announced a second major gift in two years from The Rees-Jones Foundation that brings its total contribution to $25 million – and pushes the Museum's fundraising efforts past the $150-million mark. To commemorate this significant show of support for the $185-million Perot Museum of Nature & Science, Museum leaders will name two major halls in its honor – The Rees-Jones Foundation Dynamic Earth Hall and the Jan and Trevor Rees-Jones Exhibition Hall. The $185-million Dallas museum, designed by Pritzker Prize Laureate Thom Mayne and his firm Morphosis, is scheduled to open early 2013.

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"Today marks an enormous milestone for the Perot Museum of Nature & Science. The Rees-Jones Foundation, which made an early gift of $10 million in 2009, stepped up AGAIN with today's momentous $15-million gift for a total contribution of $25 million," said Peggy Allison, chair of the Museum of Nature & Science board of directors. "Their significant investment in the Perot Museum will enrich the lives of so many. In particular, it will ignite the curiosity of children and inspire a passion for science that will pay off in big ways down the road."

The Rees-Jones Foundation Dynamic Earth Hall will be located on the third level of the Perot Museum. The 4,000 square-foot-hall will include three major galleries – air, water and land – focusing on the cycles and processes spanning Earth's climate, geology, and hydrology that change dynamically to support life over time.

The Jan and Trevor Rees-Jones Exhibition Hall will allow the Perot Museum to bring in blockbuster exhibitions from around the globe as well as special temporary exhibitions curated by Perot Museum staff or drawn from the Museum's vast collections. The 7,500-square-foot hall will be located on the lower level directly next to the Sports Hall, whose components can be removed to provide an additional 4,000 square feet of space.

"We made this second gift to the Perot Museum's capital campaign to underscore the importance of this project to our community," said Jan and Trevor Rees-Jones. "Having this world class museum in our city will inspire generations of youth to pursue education in science and nature which is so important not only to improving the lives of these young people but also to enabling our city, state and country to continue to make advances which will improve the lives of all of our citizens. We hope this additional gift will encourage everyone to contribute to this important project."

To date, the Museum has raised $153 million of its $185-million campaign goal. Museum leaders intend to complete the fundraising campaign by the end of 2011.

The 180,000-square-foot Perot Museum of Nature & Science is under construction on a 4.7-acre site located at 1155 Broom St. in Victory Park adjacent to downtown Dallas. The facility's interior will include five floors of public space featuring 10 permanent exhibition halls, including a children's museum and outdoor playspace/courtyard; a glass-enclosed lobby and adjacent outdoor terrace with a downtown view; state-of-the art exhibition hall designed to host world-class traveling exhibitions; an education wing equipped with six learning labs; a large-format, multi-media digital cinema with seating for 300; auditorium; public cafe; retail store; visible exhibit workshops; and offices.

To learn more about the Museum of Nature & Science and the expansion campaign, please go to natureandscience.org.

SOURCE Museum of Nature & Science