The Ultimate Dig

The Perot Museum of Nature & Science recently broke ground on its $185M Victory Park location. Museum leadership committee chairman Forrest Hoglund and Ross Perot, Jr., at the podium, address the crowd from the front of a 30' x 11' Rube-Goldberg-inspired contraption incorporating elements of the museum from T-Rex to geodes to planets. Ross is not only the leader of Victory Park’s parent company, Hillwood, but he and his siblings gave $50M toward construction in honor or their parents—H. Ross & Margot Perot. Completion is expected by early 2013.

The museum’s goal, says CEO Nicole Small, is to inspire children to become the next generation of scientists, physicians, engineers, mathematicians, and technology pioneers. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne, it will be built by Balfour Beatty. The project team includes: Good, Fulton & Farrell  as local architect and sustainability consultant; JAMA and Datum as the structural engineers; BuroHappold for mechanical, electrical and plumbing; OVI for lighting; URS (formerly Dallas-based Lopez Garcia Group) for civil engineering; Hillwood Development Company as development manager, TalleyAssociates as landscape architect,Terracon  to handle geotech; and DeShazo Tang to handle traffic design and management. The exhibit designers are Ralph Applebaum Associates; Paul Bernhard Exhibit Design & Consulting of Austin; and the Science Museum of Minnesota. And if you’ve made it through that list in one sitting, you too belong in a museum.