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Museum of Natural Science
Mississippi Museum of Natural Science
2148 Riverside Drive, 601-354-7303
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Overview
The Museum’s expanses of glass and octagonal skylight invite visitors to share their time between the indoor exhibits and the outdoor environment. Life-size habitat displays, in this 73,000-square foot building, reveal the rich diversity of Mississippi’s living heritage.
— A 100,000-gallon aquarium system houses over 200 species of native
fishes, reptiles, amphibians, and aquatic invertebrates.
— A 1,700-square foot greenhouse containing a 20,000-gallon
aquarium provides a home for alligators, turtles, fish, and a
lush native plant garden.
— An open-air amphitheater and over 2.5 miles of walking trails wind
through the 300-acre natural area. The outdoor trails meander
through wooded bluffs, river bottoms, lakes, and scenic swamplands,
offering opportunities for nature walks, photography, and the study
of living things in their environment.
— Plus, a 2500 square foot space allows the Museum to showcase
special changing exhibits.
Mission
The Museum’s mission is to promote understanding and appreciation of Mississippi’s biological diversity through collections, research, scientific databases, education, and exhibits; and to inspire the people of our state to respect the environment and to preserve natural Mississippi. Nearly 60 employees ranging from an education coordinator, librarian and gift shop manager to an aquatic biologist, ichthyologist, and an ornithologist carry out this mission with the help of a dedicated team of volunteers.
Awards
Since the 1930’s, the Museum has been a leader in protecting our natural heritage while establishing a distinguished national and international reputation. The Museum is fortunate to have received the following awards recently:
— “State/Federal Government Recycler of the Year” by the
Mississippi Recycling Coalition
— “Mississippi’s Travel Attraction of the Year” by the
Mississippi Tourism Association
— “Best Museum” by the readers of the Jackson Free Press
— “Best Museum” by the readers of Mississippi Magazine
— “Family Favorite - Best Museum for Kids” by the readers of
Jackson’s Parents & Kids Magazine.
Education
Education Coordinator Georgia Spencer explains that, “The members of the Museum staff, drawing from their individual backgrounds in education and research, derive great personal satisfaction from sharing the museum’s resources with the people of Mississippi.” For schools across the state, they distribute instructional materials and present hands on, interactive educational programs and teacher training workshops. They also contribute professionally to museum publications and fill hundreds of requests for literature and information.
The Museum’s hands-on Preschool Room is designed especially for children ages three through pre-kindergarten five.
Research
“The Museum is responsible for studying, preserving, and enhancing Mississippi’s living natural resources,” explains the museum’s research coordinator Charles Knight. The staff includes 18 research and associate biologists who are chiefly concerned with protecting our state’s rare and endangered species. The research staff also administer grants and federal research as well as maintain the Mississippi Natural Heritage Database, a computerized information bank containing some 5,000 individual files. The state biological collections consist of more than 700,000 scientific specimens.
Library
A collection of more than 15,000 volumes concerning Mississippi’s natural history support the Museum’s various programs and research efforts. The library started as a donation of materials by Miss Fannye A. Cook in 1965. The mission of the Library is to provide high quality information services on natural history subjects. The library meets our clientele’s information needs through a variety of services utilizing the Library and Archival collections, resource sharing with other libraries, and accessing information available electronically.
The Dragonfly Shoppe
Tucked just inside the lobby of the Museum is the Dragonfly Shoppe. This shop is a special place to purchase nature related gifts for adults and children. Featuring items from books to butterfly houses, our unique store offers something for everyone.
Volunteer and Membership Information
Volunteering at the Museum is an opportunity to share, learn, serve, meet people, teach, and experience the stimulating environment of Mississippi’s natural resources. All kinds of people volunteer - teens, college students, professionals, and retirees. Training is provided and the number of hours is flexible. Also, Museum memberships through the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation help make it possible for the Museum to continue and expand its work into the future and provide benefits to members such as free admission and a quarterly newsletter.
General Information
Museum Hours
Monday-Friday — 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Saturday — 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Sunday — 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Admission
Adults — $5
Children ages 3-18 — $3
Senior Citizens 60 and over— $4
Children under 3 — FREE
Members — FREE
School Teachers with classes — Call for Group Information
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BEST OF JACKSON WRITE-UPS
Here’s a museum tip: Buy a membership. I’m not sure what Mr. Steam Jeans and I would do without our family pass to the Museum of Natural Science. When the in-laws are in town, a trip to LeFleur’s maintains our stress levels. The kids love the big-a** catfish, the men love to look at the topographical maps and lie about the one that got away. The women love to catch up on gossip on the walking trail. Also, with a membership, the family gets invites to sneak previews of special exhibits.
--Emily Braden
(Best of Jackson, Best Museum 2007)
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You’re never too old for a field trip to a local museum. One Jackson museum in particular has attracted a crowd: the Museum of Natural Science. Where else can you go to see life-size depictions of giant sloths and T-Rex? The Museum of Natural Science serves both as a locale for family fun and even a memorable date. If showcases of aquariums, snakes and alligators are not enough to impress you, you can explore the museums—numerous nature walks. Strolling through the backwoods of the museum, you can hardly believe you are in a metropolitan area. Through December, you can enjoy the excellent Hunters of the Sky Exhibit.
--Catherine Schmidt
(Best of Jackson, Best Museum 2006)
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Once again, humans fall short in their long-standing rivalry with nature, as the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science devours the competition. It’s not a tremendous shock, considering the impressive facilities: a 73,000 square-foot building containing a gigantic octagonal sunroom and--oh, yes--300 ACRES of nature! If you ask me, it wasn’t a fair fight. Who wouldn’t rather explore the wonders of creation in the bosom of Mother Nature herself than drudge through a stuffy old asbestos-filled (comment not based on any scientific evidence whatsoever) building to stare at collections by those who would attempt with human hand (however brilliant) to mimic the divine?
OK, I admit it. The Mississippi Museum of Art is exquisite, diverse and enlightening. And, the Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center is certainly worth a visit, for the art as well as substantive African-American history. But, I ask you, do either of these facilities contain 20,000-gallon aquariums or ALLIGATORS?!? Binoculars and microscopes and fossils and touch-screen computers? Will they let you smash your face up against the exhibit to see if you can elicit a reaction from the exhibit, itself? I think not.
--Jerusha Bosarge
(Best of Jackson, Best Museum 2004)
