As the first children’s museum in Texas, this institution has served as a cultural icon for the City of Fort Worth since 1941. The museum had aging infrastructure, a need for expansion, and the desire for a cutting edge facility. A native planting design responds to the history of the existing site and ensured the preservation of two very large historic trees. Other design elements include decomposed granite plazas, outdoor children’s exhibit spaces, large specimen Live Oaks, and fields of native prairie grasses. Irrigation needs are primarily met using a large underground cistern that carefully captures rainwater for use on the campus grounds. Experience of Tary Arterburn while at mesa.