MDWFP Museum of Natural Science

Plan your visit

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.

See Visitor Education

Museum Highlights

Displays of Mississippi's diverse habitats including a spectacular exhibit of white-tailed deer and soaring waterfowl
An entire wall of fossil specimens, Zygorhiza, Mosasaurus, and a giant Sloth
A 100,000-gallon aquarium network housing over 200 living species
"The Swamp": a 1,700-square foot greenhouse
The Preschool Discovery Room features colorful murals and an iconic, giant treehouse with a slide
The Dinosaur Trail
The Dragonfly gift shop
The LeFleur's Bluff Playground
Classroom space and the 200-seat Rotwein Theater
A safe storage environment for the museum's biological archives - a vast collection accessed regularly by scientists around the world!

Each year, more than 100,000 visitors are inspired by the natural world showcased in the Museum's permanent and special exhibits. We encourage you to share your time between the indoor exhibits and the outdoor environment, moving between informative indoor models and their reality in a natural Mississippi setting.

A range of nature trails meander through wooded bluffs, river bottoms, lakes, and scenic swamplands, offering ample and diverse opportunities for nature walks, photography, and the study of living things in their natural landscape.

The museum also hosts numerous award-winning annual events including NatureFEST, Family Fun Science Night, Fossil Road Show, Snake Day, Park After Dark, and more. Click here for the events calendar.

Our education team provides special programs for scouts and teachers and also coordinates the museum's popular summer camps.

Scientific Study and Conservation

Scientific study is a key component of the purpose and function of the Museum of Natural Science. Though the Museum's popular exhibits are one of Mississippi's leading local and tourist attractions, for more than eighty years a primary objective of the museum has been to document and research Mississippi's biological resources.

Today, much of this effort falls upon the Museum's Conservation Biology Section, which is comprised of three broad, overlapping programs: the Natural Heritage Program, Biological Collections, and Research. These programs are staffed by approximately twenty research biologists and technicians whose chief directive is to document, monitor, and conserve our state's native biodiversity.

History

Established in 1932, the Museum was essentially born out of its founder Fannye Cook's passion for collecting and studying Mississippi's natural world and has continued to grow under the direction of strong leadership through the years. The museum's history has always been inextricably linked to a devotion to studying and preserving the state's natural resources. The efforts of over 80 years of study are assembled in the museum's vast scientific collections, housed in a safe-storage environment in order to better preserve the specimens. Our collections currently consist of more than 1,000,000 specimens, representing the largest single reference for Mississippi vertebrate animals and freshwater mussels in existence!

Accreditation

Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and a member of the Association of Science - Technology Centers, the MDWFP Museum of Natural Science is a credible learning institution and a recognized attraction offering membership benefits.

Awards

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