For 90 years, Texas Discovery Gardens has been helping children and adults discover the natural world in the heart of Dallas. As we celebrate our 90th anniversary this year, we’re looking ahead to the future while honoring the legacy that has made Texas Discovery Gardens a beloved part of the Dallas community.
Located in Fair Park, Texas Discovery Gardens is a 7.5-acre native garden and 501(c)(3) nonprofit that, in partnership with the City of Dallas, has served the Dallas and North Texas community since 1936. With native gardens, fountains, ponds, a two-story indoor butterfly house and insectarium, a snake and reptile house, a huge axolotl tank, an outdoor playscape, and even garden trains, there is something for everyone to discover.
In the Sammons Butterfly House, visitors wind their way through tropical foliage as hundreds of colorful butterflies from around the world fly around them. Children can discover the natural world through classes, tours, interactive talks, summer camps and hands-on programs. Whether they see a giant Atlas Moth up close during a daily butterfly release, attend a class or spend a week at summer camp, these experiences can create memories that last a lifetime.
Can you remember the first time you touched a snake and felt its cool, dry scales? Or the first time you saw a butterfly flying close enough to touch?
At Texas Discovery Gardens, we create those moments every day.
COME DISCOVER TEXAS DISCOVERY GARDENS
There is truly something for everyone at Texas Discovery Gardens. Also, free, convenient parking is available year-round, except during the State Fair of Texas!
Ready to explore? Bring your lunch and enjoy a picnic in one of our gardens. Explore the Butterfly House. Visit the reptiles and axolotl. Let the kids play. Attend a class or tour. Shop our native plants. Celebrate a birthday or host a wedding or corporate event.
Become a Texas Discovery Gardens member to enjoy visits throughout the year, plus free State Fair passes included with your membership.
YOUR GIFT HELPS BRING NATURE TO LIFE
Texas Discovery Gardens relies on admissions, memberships, plant sales, events, donations, and community support to keep our urban oasis thriving and accessible to the community.
Our greenhouse and nursery specialize in native Texas and pollinator-friendly plants, with 4-6 plant sales held each year. The plants we grow help support the butterflies and other wildlife throughout the Gardens, while proceeds from plant sales help support our general operations.
Your generosity also helps provide the everyday essentials that keep Texas Discovery Gardens running, from food for our animals and materials for our greenhouse to the ongoing care and maintenance of our facilities.
Just as importantly, your support helps us connect children with the natural world. We partner with public, private, charter, and homeschool communities throughout North Texas to expand learning opportunities and give every child the chance to experience nature firsthand.
Your gift can help provide scholarships for Title 1 schools and nonprofits, expand educational programs, create new children's programs and summer camp opportunities, and provide supplies for hands-on homeschool programming. It also helps support the 80+ volunteers who generously give their time to Texas Discovery Gardens each week.
Together, we can help ensure that every visit inspires curiosity, creates lasting memories, and connects people with the natural world.
SUPPORT TEXAS DISCOVERY GARDENS
This NTX Giving Day, please help us grow our educational programs, care for our gardens and facilities, support our animals and butterflies, and continue creating experiences that children and adults will remember for years to come.
In honor of our 90th anniversary, please consider a gift of 9, whether it’s $90, $900, $9,000, or something even more special!
Every donation helps our community discover nature, explore the beauty of the world around us, and experience the magic of the natural world. Visit txdg.org to learn more, plan your visit, and support Texas Discovery Gardens.
Texas Discovery Gardens is where children and adults discover and learn how to sustain the natural world.
Our vision is to provide a safe, natural oasis where the Dallas community and visitors can have fun while they Discover, Explore, Experience, Entertain, and Educate themselves.
There is something for everyone at Texas Discovery Gardens. You may come for the exotic butterflies at the world-famous Sammons Butterfly House and Insectarium, but end up having a picnic in our meadow area. The axolotls in our 450-gallon lobby tank are super cute, but the native free-flying butterflies and hummingbirds might also catch your eye. The history of the 1936 Pan-American Exposition from the Texas Centennial World's Fair might pique your historical interest, while the Snake and Retile House may be something you never expected to find.
If you're of the younger set, the rock-climbing wall in our outdoor playscape might test your skills. Or maybe you'll simply enjoy watching the garden trains chug past a model of the Alamo. And don't forget about the variety of learning opportunities covering plants, bugs, solar power, water conservation and more.
Yes, there truly is something for everyone, at every age.
This NTX Giving Day, your support will help Texas Discovery Gardens continue teaching children and adults how to sustain the natural world while caring for the gardens, facilities, animals and educational programs that make those experiences possible.
Our immediate fundraising priorities include:
$20,000 — EXPAND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS: Help us increase educational opportunities, including scholarships for Title 1 schools and nonprofits, new children's programs, summer camp opportunities, and adult workshops.
$30,000 — GREENHOUSE MAINTENANCE & REPAIRS: Support repairs and maintenance to the greenhouse and nursery facilities where we grow the native Texas plants found throughout the Gardens.
$25,000 — BUTTERFLY HOUSE UPDATES & REPAIRS: Help maintain and improve the Butterfly House so visitors can continue experiencing hundreds of colorful butterflies from around the world.
$5,000 — MONTHLY HOMESCHOOL PROGRAM SUPPLIES: Provide the materials needed for hands-on learning opportunities for homeschool students.
$500 — 100 NEW BUTTERFLIES: Help bring 100 new butterflies to Texas Discovery Gardens.
$500 — ONE MONTH OF FOOD FOR OUR ANIMALS: Help provide a month of food for the animals that call Texas Discovery Gardens home. Your gift helps ensure they receive the care and nourishment they need year-round.
$1,000,000 — REPLACE HVAC FOR THE BUTTERFLY HOUSE: Help Texas Discovery Gardens replace the Butterfly House HVAC system, a critical investment in maintaining the environment our butterflies need to thrive and ensuring visitors can continue enjoying this unique experience.
Donations beyond our specific fundraising goals will support general operations, helping Texas Discovery Gardens care for its gardens, facilities, animals, staff, volunteers and programs throughout the year. Every generous gift makes a difference.
Texas Discovery Gardens is committed to creating a welcoming, inclusive and accessible environment where everyone has the opportunity to discover, explore and learn from the natural world. We strive to make our gardens, programs and educational experiences accessible to children, families, and adults throughout our diverse North Texas community. Every visitor deserves the opportunity to connect with nature, learn something new and feel that they belong at Texas Discovery Gardens.
Organization name
Texas Discovery Gardens
Tax id (EIN)
75-0974342
Causes
Environment & Conservation
Operating Budget
$1,000,000 - $2,999,999
Counties Served
Wise, Tarrant, Somervell, Rockwall, Parker, Palo Pinto, Navarro, Montague, Kaufman, Johnson, Hunt, Hood, Grayson, Fannin, Erath, Ellis, Denton, Dallas, Cooke, Collin
BIPOC Serving
Other, Native American, Hispanic or Latinx, Asian/Pacific Islander, Black or African American
Address
3601 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd