"Named for Dallas-based billionaire entrepreneur (and sometime politician) Ross Perot and his wife, Marjorie, this engaging center is actually split into two campuses: one on the grounds of Fair Park in East Dallas, and the other in Victory Park, near the Dallas Arts District. It’s the latter that garners the most attention—perhaps thanks to the 35-foot Malawisaurus fossil that greets you in the lobby. Earning immediate raves when it opened in 2012, the center woos kids of all ages with its cutting-edge ways of celebrating topics like engineering, conservation, and technology. Past that lobby figure, find five floors of galleries (including 11 permanent exhibit halls) filled with interactive kiosks, games, and lifelike simulations; there’s also an education wing and children's museum. In addition to all the content, the museum has garnered worldwide attention for its ecoconscious design. Under the direction of Pritzker Prize–winning architect Thom Mayne, the 180,000-square-foot building features touches like a 54-foot continuous-flow escalator, solar-powered water heating, LED lighting, and a rainwater collection system."