Things to do in
Dallas
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Frontiers of Flight

Frontiers of Flight
museum, located in Dallas, is an aerospace museum started in 1988 by
Bill Cooper, a veteran flyer and enthusiast; Kay Bailey Hutchinson,
senior senator from Texas and Jan Collmer. Occupying a 100,000
square foot building on the Dallas Love airfield, George Haddaway
was instrumental in getting the museum started and donated his
extensive collection of aviation achives, books, journals and
photographs to the University of Texas at Dallas, which is one of
the best aviation collections of its kind in the world. The museum
showcases an awesome collection of aviation history artifacts,
planes, items and other memorabilia that depict the many years of
aviation and space exploration, especially in the Dallas/Fort Worth
area. One of the most magnificent relics is the World War I Sopwith
Pup biplane, relics from the German Hindenburg, other airships and
over 200 World War II aircraft models. Also in the building is a
200 seat theater and education center, engines, missiles, helmets
and the command module of the Apollo 7 flight.
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Dallas World Aquarium and Zoo
The Dallas World Aquarium and zoo is in the north end of the
historic district in downtown, and assists in the education and
conservation of endangered animals from around the world, by housing
them. There are 10 main tanks that contain fish, anemones,
jellyfish and coral from around the world; but are broken up into;
Japan, Solomon Islands; Fiji; Indonesia; Palau; Sri Lanka; British
Columbia; Southern Australia; Bahamas and Lord Howe Island. They
have a huge tank that contains a tunnel going through it, with
sharks and manta rays swimming around in it. And a big vivarium
that contains scarlet ibis; manatees; giant catfish and arapaima.
The zoo showcases a number of exotic plants, birds and animals like;
bats, jaguars, monkeys, frogs, snakes and tarantulas. One of the
best features of the zoo, is the three-toed sloth and it is the only
one publicly viewed in the nation. With 3 restaurants and 2 gift
shops, the venue is one of the finest in the world. What makes this
even more special, in terms of the city and the school system
within, is the joint initiative between local companies,
corporations and the Dallas public school district. Many of the
employees are full time students at a local high school, and it is
all part of the initiative that is bringing real world business
techniques to the students.
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Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden
The garden is located in east Dallas and
occupies 66 acres of pristine land on the southeast shore of White
Rock Lake. With wonderful views of the gardens, fountains and
downtown Dallas, it was the former estate of geophysicist Everett
DeGoyler and wife Nell; who loved tending to her flower gardens.
The DeGoyler home is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places, and the grounds have been part of the botanical gardens
since 1976. The DeGoyler estate was 44 acres, and the additional 22
acres were from the Camp estate next to it. The 21,000 square foot
house is a Spanish style built in 1939, with a garden cafe in the
back that overlooks the lake and is a beautiful setting for parties
or get togethers. There is a outdoor concert stage, child size
structures that replicate the early dwellings of the prairie life of
the Texas pioneers.
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