Donate to the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary

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Our sanctuary is home to five unique habitats and each one requires special care. This year, donations we received helped us to hold our first prescribed burn in over a decade for our endangered Blackland Prairie habitat as well as helped provide native seed for restoration efforts.
– $500 covers the cost of a prescribed burn
– $1000 re-seeds 2 acres of native habitat

The Heard is home to 67 rescued animals that rely on humans for care. Each animal came to us as a pet who was no longer cared for or a wild animal who was deemed non-releasable to the wild by the state.
– $500 covers the cost of food for one of our animals
– $1000 covers the veterinary care for one of our animals

Each year the Heard welcomes approximately 18,000 students who come to learn and experience nature. To keep field trips affordable, the Heard charges a fee that is less than the cost of providing field trip programing, this gap in funding is only covered by generous donations.
– $500 covers the cost of supplies for summer camp
– $1000 bridges the field trip funding gap for 200 students

Our 6 trails travel through each of our unique habitats and provide access to nature for approximately 100,000 visitors every year, making them a vital part of mission. Each trail requires regular care to keep them clean, safe, and enjoyable for all who visit the sanctuary.

– $500 covers the cost of materials for one mile of trail
– $1000 moves us closer to the goal of providing better trail accessibility for all

The Heard welcomes tens of thousands of students through our doors every year, however, we know that not every group is able to travel to our facilities. Our outreach program aims to bring the Heard to groups wherever they are!
– $500 Provides a 2 hour outreach table at community events
– $1000 helps to cover the cost of developing new curriculum to bring to schools

The Heard is home to a diverse collection of museum artifacts including artwork, fossils, minerals, and biological specimens, and more – many of which are not currently on display.
– $500 covers the cost of materials needed to preserve our collections
– $1000 moves us toward our goal of digitizing our museum collection

The Heard is proud to be a private, independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. As we welcome more visitors each year our daily building care has increased greatly. Unlike many educational and cultural institutions that are included in municipal, county or even state budgets, we rely on contributions from individuals like you.
– This year alone we spent / on average we spend __ annually on building repairs
– To provide the best visitor experience custodial care for the duration our open hours is critical.
The expense of these efforts is roughly 3500 each month
– Compared to other similar non-profit organizations who spend roughly 20% on maintenance annually, the Heard works hard to keep most of our work in house and in-budget spending
approximately ____ annually on repairs and maintenance.

Our Native Gardens serve as an important resource, demonstrating to visitors how they can foster wildlife in their own yards. They also showcase the beauty of plants that thrive and benefit wildlife right here in North Texas.
– $500 aids in the yearly maintenance of the butterfly house and facilitates the arrival of new butterflies.
– $1000 helps to support the care and maintenance of our native gardens for one month

The Heard Museum’s indoor exhibit gallery has served as a space for visitors to discover the incredible pieces from the museum’s collection and gain insights about the world through these collections. Our hope in the coming year is to refresh our beloved gallery to better tell the story of the Heard and the Sanctuary.
– $500 aids in covering the costs of a refurbishments to the museum exhibit gallery
– $1000 supports the development of new exhibits for our galleries

The Heard Museum is proud to offer a variety of internships across numerous departments, including education, sanctuary management, animal care, museum collections, and administration. Additionally, the museum welcomes graduate students and college classes to conduct research on the sanctuary grounds while also carrying out its own studies. Notably, the Heard’s research features the state’s longest-running bird banding station, which has been collecting data for over 50 years.
– $500 pays for two years of mapping software used by staff for data collection
– $1000 purchases supplies needed to collect data and conduct research on-site