Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary

Founded in 1967, the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary is located in McKinney, Texas, United States. With a 289-acre wildlife sanctuary, five miles of hiking trails, about fifty acres of wetlands, a two-acre native plant garden, a butterfly house, live animals, indoor and outdoor exhibits, the Heard welcomes over 100,000 visitors annually.[1] The Heard is one of the most important attractions in the City of McKinney.[2]

Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary
LocationMckinney, Collin County, Texas, United States
Coordinates33.1584°N 96.6153°W / 33.1584; -96.6153
Area289 acres (117 ha)
Established1967
Websitewww.heardmuseum.org

History
Bessie Heard and McKinney Mayor Tom Perkins (left), March 26, 1966

The Heard is the result of one woman’s vision for the future and her commitment to the community and North Texas. Miss Bessie Heard (1886–1988) was 80 years old when she saw the need to preserve a place where future generations could visit to experience nature. The museum opened October 1, 1967 and now serves more than 100,000 visitors annually.[3]

In keeping with Miss Heard’s vision, the Heard’s purpose is threefold: education, conservation, and preservation. Through education, particularly for young people, the Heard emphasizes an appreciation of nature and its conservation.[4]

Main attractions
A Prairie at the Heard

Within the 289-acre wildlife sanctuary, visitors can explore trails, sit in on educational programs, and get their hands dirty with conservation projects. The Heard sanctuary has five habitats including Blackland prairie, wetlands, bottomland forest, upland forest and white rock escarpment. The Heard has been awarded The Audubon Society's designation as an important birding area. Texas has preeminence as a bird-watching area due to its placement on major migratory paths. However, The Heard offers special opportunities for bird-watching by providing a unique resource in a large metropolitan area.[5]

Also, the Heard's Pioneer Village features eight buildings in miniature scale that emulate structures that would have been typical in prairie settlements in the late 1800s.[6]

Outdoor exhibits
  • Animals of the World Exhibit
  • Native Plant Garden
  • Butterfly Garden
  • Native Texas Butterfly House (active in summer)
  • Dinosaurs Live! Life-Size Animatronic Dinosaurs (September- January)
  • Pioneer Village[7]
  • Pioneer Village
  • Butterfly House and Garden
  • Animals of the World

Indoor exhibits
Indoor Exhibits
  • Native Texas Snakes
  • Mosasaur Exhibit
  • Living Lab (some dioramas of the major ecosystems found at The Heard, a working observation bee hive, native fish, etc.)
  • Marine Shell Room
  • Project Passenger Pigeon

Programs and activities
Heard Bird Banding Station
  • Hiking on six nature trails; more than 5 miles
  • EcoAdventure Days; Canoeing at the Heard Wetlands
  • Ropes course
  • Scouting Workshops
  • Second Saturday Bird Walk
  • Night Hikes
  • Bird Banding Station; established in 1978 and is the oldest bird banding station in the state of Texas
  • Education programs
  • Field trips
  • Summer Camps
  • Programs for Kids
  • Volunteer programs
  • Ropes Course at the Heard
  • Canoeing at the Heard
  • Board Walk on the Wood Duck Trail

Important events and festivals
Christmas Holiday Trail of Lights
Halloween with Dinosaurs

The annual Holiday Trail of Lights, in December, is one of the most unusual holiday lighting displays in all of North Texas. Visitors can support the Heard Museum at this holiday fundraiser and have fun with the whole family. This family-friendly event includes thousands of lights synchronized to holiday music, holiday décor along a half-mile Heard nature trail and live music by local performers in the outdoor Heard amphitheater.[8]

Halloween at the Heard

The annual Halloween at the Heard is a family-friendly Halloween event. Kids will trick-or-treat on the Dinosaurs Live! watch a family-friendly movie under the stars in the amphitheater, and stroll through the "Haunted Forest," and participate in a kids costume contest.[9]

Date Night at the Heard
An event at the Heard

Date Night at the Heard is a fun, outdoor fundraising event featuring live music, dancing, a cash bar and food trucks.[10] The event is for guests ages 21+.[11]

Annual Heard Nature Photography Contest

The Heard Nature Photographers Club was established in 1981 and has served the nature photography enthusiast ever since. The Heard Nature Photographers Club meets the 2nd Saturday of each month at the Heard Natural Science Museum.[12]

Annual Spring Plant Sale

When nature wakes from its winter slumber, the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary celebrates this beautiful season with the annual Spring Plant Sale and Texas Heritage Day.[13] For more than 20 years, veteran and novice gardeners alike have anticipated this rare opportunity to purchase plants from a huge selection of native plants, hard-to-find herbs and well-adapted plants at Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary’s annual Spring Plant Sale.[14]

See also

References
  1. Dallas Fort Worth and beyond website | http://www.dfwandbeyond.com/tours/back-to-nature/destinations/the-heard-natural-science-museum-wildlife-sanctuary, reviewed: April 24, 2015
  2. Trip advisor | http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g56260-d270867-Reviews-Heard_Natural_Science_Museum_Wildlife_Sanctuary-McKinney_Texas, reviewed: April 24, 2015
  3. "History". Heard Natural Science Museum. Heard. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  4. "History". Heard Natural Science Museum. Heard. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  5. "Birding". Birding- Heard Museum. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  6. Eden, Stiffman (21 April 2014). "Heard museum celebrates Heritage Day, new Pioneer Village". The Dalls Morning News. The Dalls Morning News. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  7. "Programs". Heard Natural Science Museum. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  8. Mia, Edwards. "Holiday Trail of Lights". NBC. NBC DFW. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  9. "Halloween at the Heard". Heard Museum. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  10. "Date Night at the Heard". Observer. Observer. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  11. "Date Night at the Heard Museum". planoprofile. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  12. "Heard Nature Photographers". Heard Nature Photographers. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  13. "Heard Museum to host Spring Plant Sale and Heritage Day in April". McKinney Online. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  14. Michael A Gibson Jr and Stephanie Jennings. "Spring Plant Sale 2015 Sells Out". NBC DFW. NBC. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
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