The Museum of Nature and Science hosted an open house today to show off the progress of their new facility that will be located on Broom St. adjacent the Woodall Rodgers Freeway and announce that they have raised $135 million of the total $185 million needed to fully pay for the new facility.

The open house took place in the temporary visitors’ center, which houses a 3D model of the new building as well as details about planned exhibition spaces. A public open house will be held August 28, from 1 to 3 p.m.

The architecture and engineering of the building is ambitious. The site will include underground exhibit halls, sloping roof gardens, and a sophisticated rain capture system that will provide water for site irrigation and toilets. During the presentation, Walt Zartmen, Senior Vice President of Devleopment for Hillwood Development, who is assisting with the construction of the facility, said that the timing of the construction has been fortuitous. Given the state of the construction industry, they have been able to acquire materials cheaply and construction talent has been plentiful, he said.