Perot Museum Officials Unveil New Logo, Opening Date

DALLAS (1080 KRLD) – Good weather and an accelerated construction schedule have pushed up the opening date for the new Perot Museum of Nature and Science downtown, officials said Thursday.

Organizers have long said they're aiming to open the museum sometime in the first quarter of 2013. During a press conference, a spokeswoman for the foundation building the museum said seven of the 11 exhibition halls are already complete and the museum will open to the public in January.

The foundation also unveiled the museum's new logo: The Perot name features a red-bracketed globe rather than the "O."

"The museum's mission fits Mom and Dad's backgrounds," said Carolyn Perot Rathjen. "Mom started off as an elementary school teacher, Dad as an engineer."

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said he thinks the museum will give tourists another reason to visit the city.

He notes it alongside the new Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, designed by famed Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava; the expanded Arts District; and the Woodall Rogers Park, which is located on a deck built above the highway not far from the new museum.

"When it's done right, it brings people from all over the nation to come visit, especially those in the region," Rawlings said. "We will have a great science museum for the city of Dallas. I'm excited about it."

The logo was unveiled amid fanfare and confetti.

Museum spokeswoman Beth Hook said the globe represented "a symbol of many things, the magnitude of science and how awesome that it is."