Mississippi Museum of Natural Science

About Mississippi Museum of Natural Science

The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science is located in Jackson, Mississippi, within LeFleur's Bluff State Park. It is operated by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, which describes the museum as the state's non-game and endangered species program. The museum is a natural history museum with live animal exhibits rather than a traditional zoo, and it is not accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

According to the department's About the Museum page, the building has vast expanses of glass that overlook a 300-acre natural landscape, an open-air amphitheater and 2.5 miles of nature trails. Inside, the page states that visitors can meet more than 200 living species in a 100,000-gallon aquarium network and explore 73,000 square feet of permanent and temporary exhibits, including deer, waterfowl, fossils and Mississippi's endangered species.

History

The department's page on scientific collections states that the museum's biological collections originated in 1936 and now consist of more than 2,000,000 specimens. Wikipedia describes the museum as founded in the early 1930s by Francis A. Cook as part of the Mississippi Game and Fish Commission, with Cook as its first director. Wikipedia credits Cook with leading a drive in the 1920s to found the commission, including traveling educational exhibits at local and state fairs.

The Exhibits and Features page says the Bird Flight exhibit was created in memory of B. E. Gandy, who served as the museum's director and curator from 1958 to 1987.

A related state program is housed at the museum. The Mississippi Natural Heritage Program was established in 1976 as a cooperative agreement between The Nature Conservancy and the Mississippi Parks Commission. The department states that it assumed full administration of the program in 1978.

Exhibits and habitats

The museum's Exhibits and Features page lists the following highlights, and the About the Museum page repeats most of them.

• Displays of Mississippi's habitats, including an exhibit of white-tailed deer and soaring waterfowl.
• A wall of fossil specimens that includes Zygorhiza, Mosasaurus and a giant sloth.
• A 100,000-gallon aquarium network housing more than 200 living species.
• The Swamp, a 1,700-square-foot greenhouse.
• Bird Flight, a permanent exhibit where visitors learn how birds fly, measure their wingspan and see a murmuration.
• The Preschool Discovery Room, described as a hands-on space with murals and a giant treehouse with a slide, for children ages 3 through pre-kindergarten 5, where children can climb a tree, play with puppets, visit animal habitats and listen to stories.
• The Dinosaur Trail, a gift shop called the Dragonfly Gift Shop, and the LeFleur's Bluff Playground.
• Classroom space and the 200-seat Rotwein Theater.
• A 2,500-square-foot temporary exhibit area for special exhibits.

The museum's website also states that SCUBA divers feed the fish in the aquarium network on Tuesdays and Fridays at 10 a.m. and on Sundays at 2 p.m.

Outdoors, the museum's website lists nature trails that it says meander through wooded bluffs, river bottoms, lakes and scenic swamplands. The field trip page allows up to an hour and a half for the trails and at least one hour for a self-guided tour of the exhibits.

The museum also hosts a seasonal exhibit. According to the department's page, Animal Super Powers, a LEGO art and science exhibit by Sean Kenney produced by Imagine Exhibitions, runs from September 26, 2026 to May 2, 2027. The page states that it is included with museum admission or a Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation membership.

Conservation and programs

The museum's role in state conservation goes beyond the exhibit floor. The department's science, research and collections page lists several programs.

• The Mississippi Natural Heritage Program, which identifies and maps in a database the localities of the state's rarest plants, animals, natural communities and special geological features.
• Museum research, which the page says generally targets plants, plant communities and nongame wildlife in Mississippi.
• State Wildlife Action Plan work. The page notes that fish and wildlife agencies in each state must update their plans every ten years.
• Mississippi endangered species information.
• Permitting. The page states that the museum acts as the state permitting authority for wildlife rehabilitation facilities, scientific collecting and handling of wildlife, and propagation facilities for non-game species.
• The Scenic Streams Stewardship Program, along with the Natural Areas Registry, which the heritage program describes as encouraging landowners to protect special habitats voluntarily.

On the education side, the museum's website lists field trips, group tours, birthday parties, scout programs, summer and spring break camps and volunteer opportunities. Hands-on programs for grades K through 12 are offered for groups, according to the field trip page. The teacher and student resources page describes Wild About Mississippi, a resource for children in grades 2 to 6, and outreach educators who present hands-on programs and teacher training workshops for schools across the state. The About the Museum page states that the museum is committed to promoting understanding and appreciation of Mississippi's biological diversity.

Planning your visit

The Visitor Information page gives the address as 2148 Riverside Drive, Jackson, MS 39202, and describes the museum as off Lakeland Drive at Interstate 55 in northeast Jackson. As listed on the museum's website, hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The museum and the LeFleur's Bluff Playground are listed as closed on New Year's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, the Friday after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Ticket prices, membership options and facility rental details are on the museum's website. The museum's phone number is listed as 601-576-6000.

For school and group visits, the field trip page states that hands-on programs run 30 to 45 minutes and that groups should arrive 15 minutes before their program time. Groups arriving more than 30 minutes late forfeit their scheduled program. Reservations are accepted for self-guided tours and trails.