Discover unique features
and hidden treasures
Smilodon Sculpture
At the museum’s entrance, visitors are welcomed by a striking bronze sculpture of a Smilodon, or saber-toothed cat, created by artist and exhibit designer John Maisano. This imposing statue, measuring about 7 feet in length and 1.25 times the size of an actual Smilodon fatalis, features 7-inch canine teeth cast from genuine fossils housed at UT’s Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory. Maisano’s design captures the awe-inspiring power of this prehistoric predator, blending insights from modern cats with expertise from paleontologists. With its lifelike pose and meticulous details, the sculpture brings Texas’ ancient wildlife to vivid life. The statue was generously gifted by Sarah and Ernest Butler.
Pollinator Garden
The museum’s Pollinator Garden features native plant species — such as coneflowers, lantanas, sages and milkweeds — that provide year-round food, habitat and breeding grounds for butterflies and other pollinators. The garden was designed and installed in collaboration with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and The University of Texas at Austin Landscape Services Department and supported by a Green Fund Award from the UT Office of Sustainability.
Dinosaur Trackways
The museum is thrilled to move forward with the renovation of the historic Dinosaur Trackways Building and meticulous restoration of a remarkable series of 113-million-year-old dinosaur tracks left by two types of dinosaurs — a sauropod and a theropod. Discovered in a limestone bed in the Paluxy River bed near Glen Rose, Texas, the trackways were excavated and moved to this location in 1940 as part of a Work Projects Administration (WPA) project supervised by the American Museum of Natural History and Texas Memorial Museum. The building currently housing them was constructed by a WPA crew during the same year.
We are now undertaking crucial planning studies to rebuild the structure, restore these invaluable dinosaur tracks, and create a state-of-the-art facility that preserves these ancient footprints while offering an engaging experience for visitors.
Decimation Proclamation
“Decimation Proclamation” is a beautiful artwork featuring hundreds of colorful butterflies. It was created by former UT BFA student and multidisciplinary artist Daneida Castillo, who incorporated 650 butterflies that had been donated to The University of Texas Insect Collection. The installation is inspired by the shape of a tree, with themes of life and biodiversity.
Visualizing Science
The colorful Visualizing Science display includes images from the College of Natural Sciences’ annual contest that celebrates the extraordinary beauty of science and the scientific process.
Outdoor Classroom
Made possible through a generous donation from Sarah and Ernest Butler, these seats are scaled-up models of a vertebra from a mosasaur, a large marine reptile that lived during the Cretaceous Period.
“Seven Mustangs” Sculpture
The iconic “Seven Mustangs” sculpture by Alexander Phimister Proctor was unveiled in 1948 and inspired by wild Spanish horses on the San Antonio Viejo Ranch.
Art Deco Features
Commissioned in 1936 as part of the Texas Centennial celebration, the museum blends stunning Art Deco aesthetics with functional design. The Great Hall features 40-foot walls with Pyrenees marble with brass inlay below and Central Texas limestone above, and original Art Deco glass-block windows. The “Pioneer Doors” and bas-relief on the west side of the building were created by artist William Mozart McVey while teaching sculpture at UT in the late 1930s. From the light fixtures to the stair railings to the doors, step back in time and explore some of the intricate details that make our museum a visual masterpiece.