It might not have Austin’s hipster cred or Houston’s sheer numbers, but Dallas boasts outsize Texas attitude, and personality to spare. No wonder I love it!
In preparation for our new Mad Science Scavenger Hunt at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science and to spice up our Dallas Museum of Art Mania Hunt, I jumped at the opportunity to revisit some of my favorite things about this incredible metropolis. Maybe not surprisingly, they involve museums and food.
Native American Art at the DMA
With a collection of more than 24,000 works and four floors of gorgeous exhibition space, the Dallas Museum of Art is a world-class institution. It’s almost impossible to pick a favorite among their Ancient Mediterranean, Texan, European, South Asian, American, African, and Decorative Art collections—heck, the Dallas Museum of Art Hunt hits every one of ’em.
But when you roll on up to the fourth floor, you’re met with a truly fantastic spread of Native American Art. Maybe it’s not as iconic as a Rothko or as explosive as the museum’s numerous odes to Pompeii (seriously, next time you go, count how many times you run into Mount Vesuvius), but it’s important stuff that rarely grabs the attention it deserves. Plus, how cute is this guy??
Modern Marvels at the Perot
Dinosaurs are sexy. Jet engines are cool. One-and-a-half-ton amethyst geodes are beautiful. And with six floors packed with exhibits, the Perot Museum shows off plenty of that stuff. But the museum named for a man worth $4 billion puts on a heck of a show besides.
Learn to fly like a bird with a huge-screen, motion-controlled flight simulator. Design your own scientifically dubious mega-monsters and challenge other’s creations in cartoony combat. Just try to stay upright as you experience the increasingly turbulent effects of the massive earthquake machine. Race a T-Rex on an interactive video track—I dare ya.
In case you can’t tell, I dig this sleek, super-cool museum. Our new scavenger hunt there is basically a love letter to the place!
Cultured Cuisine
Hunting makes me hungry, and Dallas has got us all covered. Look, whether you’re Uptown, Downtown, in the Arts District, wherever, you’ll find somewhere solid to grab some grub. But in my recent trips to both museums, I stopped into a few places you should totally taste.
Just across North Field Street from the Perot is El Fenix, a hoppin’ Metroplex Mexican chain. After your hunt, pop in for their award-winning margaritas, fresh guacamole, and maybe some fajitas. Oh, and the chicken soup is outta sight (and unexpectedly filling).
Meanwhile, across the way from the DMA is Klyde Warren Park, with a whole host of munching options. Most obvious is the string of food trucks hawking everything from Greek to pizza to ice cream sandwiches. (May I humbly suggest the brats from The Butcher’s Son?) And then there’s Savor: by day a hip lunch spot dubbed Relish, by night an even hipper gastropub. You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu, but make sure you save room for the chef’s unpredictable, inventive, and always delicious rotation of house-made ice creams.
Contact us to learn more about hunts at the Perot Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, as well as Grab ’n’ Go scavenger hunts anywhere. They’re perfect for corporate team-building events and private groups for all occasions.