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October 5, 2022
Today in Texas History
By Bandera Spirits of Texas
On this day in 1946, the Dallas Health Museum opened its first exhibit to the public. The museum was founded by a group of doctors, dentists and lay people "to provide a common channel of enthusiastic effort for all the forces of health in Dallas and the Southwest." Dallas doctors Oscar Marchman and Milford Rouse were among the founders.
The museum, which was the first to be devoted entirely to health in the Southwest and the second of its type in the nation, held its first exhibit at the State Fair of Texas. The Dallas Park Department supplied the building for this first exhibit, which borrowed items from area organizations and museums throughout the nation.
During this first exhibition, held on Oct. 5-20, 1946, 40,000 visitors attended the displays. On Feb. 1, 1947, the museum opened full-time in a 10,000-square-foot space leased from the Dallas Park Department at Fair Park.
In 1981 the museum was renamed the Science Place, and in 2006 it merged with the Dallas Museum of Natural History and the Dallas Children's Museum to form the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science. In 2012 a new primary campus, named in honor of philanthropists Ross and Margot Perot, opened in Victory Park. The original Fair Park location was consolidated and retained as a secondary campus.
The museum, which was the first to be devoted entirely to health in the Southwest and the second of its type in the nation, held its first exhibit at the State Fair of Texas. The Dallas Park Department supplied the building for this first exhibit, which borrowed items from area organizations and museums throughout the nation.
During this first exhibition, held on Oct. 5-20, 1946, 40,000 visitors attended the displays. On Feb. 1, 1947, the museum opened full-time in a 10,000-square-foot space leased from the Dallas Park Department at Fair Park.
In 1981 the museum was renamed the Science Place, and in 2006 it merged with the Dallas Museum of Natural History and the Dallas Children's Museum to form the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science. In 2012 a new primary campus, named in honor of philanthropists Ross and Margot Perot, opened in Victory Park. The original Fair Park location was consolidated and retained as a secondary campus.