After in depth renovations, the Texas Memorial Museum modified its identify to the Texas Science and Pure Historical past Museum on July 7 in preparation for its fall reopening.
“The constructing is all the time going to be Texas Memorial Museum as a result of it’s proper there within the limestone, however what’s taking place, the actions and the engagement, is de facto going to give attention to the pure sciences and on the pure historical past, and that additionally consists of the historical past of the museum itself,” affiliate director Pamela Owen mentioned. “We felt that this was the right time for the rename.”
Owen mentioned the museum’s identify was modified to extra precisely signify its contents.
“A number of occasions, of us that weren’t aware of the UT campus didn’t affiliate the identify Texas Memorial Museum with a pure historical past or a pure science museum,” Owen mentioned. “A number of of us have been beneath the impression that the museum was extra about honoring World Conflict II veterans … Making these associations, quite a lot of of us have been misled and thought that this have to be one thing to do with historical past, or it’s a memorial to one thing.”
Managing director Carolyn Connerat mentioned the identify change is only one of many renovations to the museum. Along with new reveals and facilities, the constructing’s limestone is being extensively cleaned, and a partnership with the Girl Chook Johnson Wildflower Middle will assist set up pollinator gardens across the museum’s exterior.
“That is the primary time we’ve had any sort of main renovations on the constructing in 86 years,” Connerat mentioned. “It’s actually from high to backside to do an outline of a lot of these fundamental constructing upkeep issues that wanted to occur.”
Connerat mentioned the renovations will assist make the museum extra accessible since it’s a distinctive group useful resource.
“That is the one science and pure historical past museum of its sort within the higher Austin space that gives a location for folks to return and truly see fossils which are a whole lot of thousands and thousands of years previous, in addition to to be taught concerning the science of pure historical past,” Connerat mentioned. “We’re not only a museum. We’re a part of the College of Texas at Austin as a museum and are capable of share the analysis that’s taking place concerning the science that impacts the pure world.”