The Houston Museum of Natural Science-Sugar Land will look a little different starting this fall.

Museum Director Adrienne Barker said a redesign project that coincides with the museum’s 10th anniversary should be complete by early November. The redesign will add an outdoor learning center and butterfly garden as well as new chemistry, energy, salt and geology exhibits.

Barker said the new exhibits have been in the works for three years. After considering the science, technology, engineering and mathematics objectives applied to education in Texas, she said a chemistry hall was one of the first ideas for the project.

“Most people aren’t exposed to chemistry until they’re in high school, maybe middle school, so ours is going to give kids a very basic introduction to chemistry,” Barker said. “That will set us apart.”

Funding for the roughly $282,000 project comes from various donations as well as a $100,000 investment from the city of Sugar Land. The funds were approved during a June 4 City Council meeting and stipulated the project be complete by Dec. 1, Sugar Land Compliance Manager Catherine Turner said.

“It’s vital for these destination venues to remain up to date and refreshed so they maintain their relevance within their region’s market,” Turner said during the City Council meeting.

Barker said she anticipates no closure for the museum as the project work takes place.

A lot of the indoor space will be designated to the science of salt exhibit, complete with a simulated ride to the bottom of a salt dome—a structure found in sedimentary rocks where a large salt mass has been forced upward, creating traps for oil and natural gas.

“Salt fits into everything, technically,” Barker said. “It’s a huge part of chemistry and a huge part of the energy industry. It’s obviously a geological formation, so it fits into geology. It’s very underappreciated. We wouldn’t be living if we didn’t have the correct salt balance in our bodies.”

Additionally, the energy hall will take a look at alternative energy sources, such as water, wind, nuclear and solar power, Barker said. The hall will also touch on fossil fuels, which is a highly relied on energy source, she said.

“Most energy halls are very pro-fossil fuel and very negative alternative [energy], so we’re going to try to balance that a little bit,” she said.

Lastly, the outdoor learning center will complement the existing life sciences exhibits with a butterfly area and a native plant identification system.

Barker said work on the inside of the museum will be done more quickly, so the outdoor learning center could be completed later in November.

The museum sees over 100,000 visitors annually, and Barker anticipates boosting this number to 125,000-130,000 with the renovations.

“To really see a big jump, you’ve got to do something different,” she said.