History of the Museum

On May 21, 1941, a charter establishing the Fort Worth Children’s Museum was filed with the State of Texas. The charter outlined an ambitious mission: to maintain geological, biological, and zoological collections; increase and share knowledge and appreciation of history, art, and science; preserve objects of historic, artistic, and scientific significance; and provide opportunities for education and aesthetic enjoyment.

The Museum’s story actually began two years earlier. In 1939, the local Council of Administrative Women in Education launched a study of children’s museums with the goal of creating one in Fort Worth. Although the charter was filed in 1941, it would be nearly four years before the Museum found its first home. With the support of the Fort Worth Independent School District, the Museum opened in early 1945 in two rooms at De Zavala Elementary School.

As interest and attendance grew, the Museum relocated in 1947 to the R.E. Harding House at 1306 Summit Avenue. During this period, two important organizations were established: the Ladies Auxiliary of the Fort Worth Children’s Museum, now known as the Museum Guild, and the Frisky and Blossom Club, the predecessor of today’s Museum School®. The Museum’s rapid growth soon made a larger facility necessary. Groundbreaking for a new building took place in 1952, and on January 25, 1954, the Museum opened its doors at 1501 Montgomery Street. The following year, the Charlie Mary Noble Planetarium opened as the first public planetarium in the region.

In 1968, the institution adopted a new name, the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, to better reflect its broad appeal to visitors of all ages. Today, more than half of the Museum’s visitors are adults. This expanded audience was fueled in part by the opening of the Omni Theater in 1983. As the first IMAX® dome theater in the Southwest, the Omni quickly became one of the most successful theaters of its kind in the world.

Throughout its first four decades, the Museum provided a place for visitors to explore the past, contemplate the future, and discover the wonders of science and history. Over the years, partnerships with museums and science centers around the world brought major traveling exhibitions to Fort Worth, introducing generations of visitors to new ideas and experiences.

In May 2006, the Museum unveiled plans for a transformative new facility, an innovative architectural design that would strengthen connections to neighboring cultural institutions and create a vibrant campus-like environment in the heart of Fort Worth’s Cultural District. Construction was completed in 2009, and the Museum reopened in its current 166,000-square-foot home, designed by the internationally renowned architectural firm Legorreta + Legorreta of Mexico City.

Today, the Museum features engaging experiences including DinoLabs and DinoDig, Innovation Studios, the TCU Children's Gallery, Energy Blast, and the Cattle Raisers Museum. The Havener Gallery hosts changing exhibitions throughout the year, helping attract more than 270,000 visitors annually.

In Fall 2024, the Omni Theater underwent a groundbreaking transformation with the installation of an 8K digital LED dome, the first theater of its type and scale in the world. Reimagined as the Jane & John Justin Foundation Omni Theater, this extraordinary innovation once again places Fort Worth at the forefront of science, technology, and immersive storytelling.

While its name, location, size, and offerings have evolved dramatically since 1941, the Museum’s purpose remains unchanged: to provide an extraordinary learning environment that inspires curiosity, discovery, and lifelong learning for all.