While the Heard is usually closed on Mondays, on February 19, the Heard will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please note that guests may not be granted entry after 4 p.m. on these dates.

Join Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary in McKinney for an evening featuring exhilarating live music, delicious cuisine, and a relaxed atmosphere at the entertaining Night Out fundraising event. This special adults-only gathering invites you to unwind and enjoy the simple pleasures under the stars, including dancing, food trucks, and a cash bar.

Let the lively music set the mood, and have a blast on the dance floor. Savor a variety of dishes from the enticing food trucks. Raise a glass and toast to good times with a selection of beverages from the cash bar. With the serene beauty of the Heard Wildlife Sanctuary as the backdrop, you’ll find yourself immersed in an evening of relaxation and fun. Connect with friends or that special someone and make new memories. Revel in good music, great food, and an ambiance that embraces the beauty of nature.

The event is for guests ages 21+. Get tickets now for an evening of casual sophistication and entertainment.

Join Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary in McKinney for an evening featuring exhilarating live music, delicious cuisine, and a relaxed atmosphere at the entertaining Night Out fundraising event. This special adults-only gathering invites you to unwind and enjoy the simple pleasures under the stars, including dancing, food trucks, and a cash bar.

Let the lively music set the mood, and have a blast on the dance floor. Savor a variety of dishes from the enticing food trucks. Raise a glass and toast to good times with a selection of beverages from the cash bar. With the serene beauty of the Heard Wildlife Sanctuary as the backdrop, you’ll find yourself immersed in an evening of relaxation and fun. Connect with friends or that special someone and make new memories. Revel in good music, great food, and an ambiance that embraces the beauty of nature.

The event is for guests ages 21+. Get tickets now for an evening of casual sophistication and entertainment.

Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to bringing nature and people together to discover, enjoy, experience, restore and preserve our priceless environment. Your support through financial contributions will help ensure that the Heard, including a 289-acre nature preserve, will be sustained.

Thank you for your consideration and support!

Donations can be made through www.northtexasgivingday.org/organization/heardmuseum or at our website. Please consider helping if you can. If you’re not able to help financially, please consider sharing! That is also very helpful.

More About Us

Founded in 1967, the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary in McKinney Texas consists of a natural science museum, indoor and outdoor exhibits, over six miles of nature trails, an outdoor amphitheater and a 289 acre wildlife sanctuary. The Heard hosts more than 100,000 visitors each year, drawing families, educators, researchers, environmentalists, and more. Visitors hike the trails year round (self-guided or interpreted by Heard volunteers and staff, by reservation) and have the opportunity encounter many species of flora and fauna. Programs offered by the Heard include exhibits, school field trips, outreach programs, homeschool natural science programs, preschool natural science programs, summer nature camps, birthday parties, scouting initiatives, environmental research programs, team-building initiatives, night hikes and community events.

Protected for its biological importance and for scientific and educational use, this nature preserve is part of the less than 1% of the Blackland Prairie (the most endangered ecosystem in North America) that remains. The Heard Wildlife Sanctuary is a nature preserve rather than a park because of the special character of this area and the rarity of some of its plants and animals. Preserving these natural resources depends on our collective stewardship. Because the Heard does not receive regular tax funding, improvements to our facility and conservation of these resources are made possible with the support of individuals like you through donations, admissions and volunteering.

The Heard was founded in 1967 by Bessie Heard at the age of 80. In a time when the rate of expansion of the Metroplex was slower than today, she foresaw the need to preserve a place where future generations could experience nature. The Heard’s mission of bringing nature and people together is largely fulfilled through onsite educational programs, which emphasizes an appreciation of nature and its conservation and utilizes the natural resources available within our 289-acre nature preserve.

The Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary located in McKinney, TX also manages roughly 60 combined acres of Blackland Prairie restoration sites. The Blackland Prairie ecoregion once covered over 19,000 square miles in Texas, which began at the Red River, north of Dallas, and extended south to present-day San Antonio. Now, less than 1% of this ecologically critical ecosystem remains.

Please note: the button labeled “register” below will take you to our North Texas Giving Day donation page.

Schedule

Food and Beverage Schedule

• 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. – The Speedy Bean Honeylu’s Coffee
• 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Kona Ice
• 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Texas Roadhouse

Activity Schedule

• 9:30 a.m. – Heard Bird Walk
• 10:30 a.m. – Solar Eclipses in History Talk
• 11:30 a.m. – The Celestial Mechanics of a Total Solar Eclipse Talk
• 12:24 p.m. – Approximate Eclipse Start Time
• 1:41 p.m. – Approximate Totality Start Time
• 1:43 p.m. – Approximate Maximum Eclipse Time
• 1:45 p.m. – Approximate Totality End Time
• 3:03 p.m. – Approximate Eclipse End Time
• 5:00 p.m. – The Heard will close our gates to the public. Feel free to explore until then! Be sure to leave time to make it back to your vehicle by this time.

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*The Heard Member rate is valid only for persons covered by a Heard membership. Want Heard Member pricing? Join Now.

After our Holidays at the Heard event dates, enjoy a peaceful winter walking tour of one of our nature trails accented with holiday lights and decor. Our half-mile lighted trail will lead you through a beautiful forest and prairie.  Learn More

After our Holidays at the Heard event dates, enjoy a peaceful winter walking tour of one of our nature trails accented with holiday lights and decor. Our half-mile lighted trail will lead you through a beautiful forest and prairie.  Learn More

After our Holidays at the Heard event dates, enjoy a peaceful winter walking tour of one of our nature trails accented with holiday lights and decor. Our half-mile lighted trail will lead you through a beautiful forest and prairie.  Learn More

After our Holidays at the Heard event dates, enjoy a peaceful winter walking tour of one of our nature trails accented with holiday lights and decor. Our half-mile lighted trail will lead you through a beautiful forest and prairie.  Learn More

After our Holidays at the Heard event dates, enjoy a peaceful winter walking tour of one of our nature trails accented with holiday lights and decor. Our half-mile lighted trail will lead you through a beautiful forest and prairie.  Learn More