As development of the Telfair community in Sugar Land began to take shape, the Houston Museum of Natural Science in Houston saw the development as an opportunity to expand its presence in the Greater Houston area by opening a Sugar Land campus in 2009.

Adrienne Barker, director of HMNS at Sugar Land, said the

museum not only provides visitors with world-class exhibits but also serves as an educational resource in a suburban market.

As part of the HMNS system, the Sugar Land campus shares its museum collection and exhibits with the main HMNS location at Hermann Park.

“Our collection is their collection, and our pieces are world-class,” Barker said. “We consider [HMNS] a fantastic brand, and it is our brand. It is a name that is very recognizable, [and] the quality is recognizable.”

HMNS at Sugar Land features five permanent exhibit areas: earth science, life science, space, wildlife and paleontology. The museum also features additional space for traveling exhibits from across the nation.

“This gives us an opportunity to rent exhibits that are on the market and bring them in seasonally,” Barker said. “It gives us a chance to bring in something on the market that was developed someplace else and is like an exhibit in a box.”

HMNS at Sugar Land also partners with Fort Bend ISD, Alief ISD and Lamar CISD by offering tutoring programs for students struggling with science courses.

“Those are very time-intensive programs, but there is nothing like seeing these kids become comfortable in the museum,” Barker said.