Fact Sheet - Mayborn Museum Complex
Opening to the public on Saturday, May 22, the new Harry and Anna Jeanes Discovery Center brings together the many resources of the Sue and Frank Mayborn Natural Science and Cultural History Museum Complex at Baylor University. The Mayborn Museum Complex is located at 1300 S. University Parks Dr. in Waco, Texas.
Here are some interesting facts about the Mayborn Museum Complex:
A ceremonial groundbreaking for the complex was held on Jan. 31, 2001. Construction began in January 2002.
The $23.1-million, 143,000-square-foot Jeanes Discovery Center was completed in September 2003. However, the task of installing the various exhibits continued from September through May 2004.
The attendance of the three previously separate entities that will be included in the new museum - the Strecker Museum, Ollie Mae Moen Discovery Center and the Gov. Bill and Vara Daniel Historic Village - averaged about 50,000 visitors per year. It is anticipated the new museum will attract 80-100,000 visitors in its first year.
In addition to the exhibits, the Jeanes Discovery Center includes the department of museum studies, faculty and administration offices, and collections storage and preparation areas.
Baylor is one of only a few U.S. universities that offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees in museum studies.
Designed for visitors of all ages, the Mayborn Museum is a fun place to visit again and again. With a variety of hands-on, interactive exhibits under one roof, everyone in the family will find something of interest within the museum. Here's what's inside:
The Natural History Exhibits will house favorites from the former Strecker Museum, such as the tree-slice timeline and the humpback whale skull.
Within the "Waco at the Crossroads of Texas" Natural History Exhibits are three walk-in dioramas (Limestone Cave, Texas Forest, and Waco Mammoth Experience) and four exploration stations (Geology, Paleontology, Natural History, and Archaeology).
The 15 wood-frame buildings that make up the 13-acre Gov. Bill and Vara Daniel Historic Village will become an outdoor exhibit that follows the "Crossroads of Texas" theme, giving visitors an accurate view of life in Texas from the latter part of the 19th century into the early 20th century.
The 5,000-square-foot Anding Traveling Exhibit Area will accommodate a wide range of traveling exhibitions.
Upon arrival, visitors will be able to custom design their visit by using the AT&T Orientation Station, a touch-screen computer system.
There are 17 themed Discovery Rooms for hands-on, interactive learning. The rooms include:
o Vertebrates
o Invertebrates
o Transportation
o Mrs. Moen's Neighborhood
o TV News and Weather
o Communication
o Health
o Native Americans
o Water and Bubbles
o Energy
o Experimental
o Simple Machines
o Pioneers
o Recycling
o People of the World
o Optics
o Sound
The multiple-use SBC Theater has 185 tiered seats that offer unobstructed views of the screen.
For more information, contact Sarah Levine, director of marketing for the Mayborn Museum Complex, at (254) 710-2517 or Sarah_Levine@baylor.edu, or visit Mayborn Museum.