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    Texas Discovery Gardens

    4.2 (91 reviews)
    Closed 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

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    Venue rental

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    Madi M.

    Great place! Parking is on side available at no charge. Nice and polite staff. Butterfly house was the first stop we visited. At noon very knowledgeable and kind man, as I remember his name is John, was showing butterflies and telling stories and quizzing kids. Unfortunately, not many were very into that, but we stayed and interacted for a while. I took bunch of pretty pictures and enjoyed butterflies and flowers. Outside they have a garden, big playground, fountain, snake and turtle house and some other things to go through. It worth the value and time. They offer $1 ice cream too. Nice small gift shop, where kids and not only can find something to take with them for a good memory or use. I will recommend!

    Laura G.

    Staff were very friendly and informative, and the indoor butterfly garden was gorgeous. I loved all of the cool benches and photo ops. So many different places to sit outside in the shade- it would be lovely to have a picnic out there. Outside there are many different gardens and lots of pretty flowers- there's a big fountain as well. It's very affordable to get in, & you can stay all day.

    Kurt V.

    Great Butterfly House! I had never been to anything like this thought I hear and read that many other exist. I was really more into this that I thought I might be! The indoor garden was really neat, where you start at the top of the building and wind your way down what feels to be through a bit of a jungle filled with butterflies. There is also a pretty extensive outdoor garden area that has a lot of kids play areas. It is a great time for the whole family and definitely worth the trip!

    Tiam L.

    Yesterday my daughter and I took a trip down to the Texas Discovery Gardens. It truly is a hidden gem as I had never known this location existed. We had a great time and it was a nice way to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon. Especially before it gets too hot out. The greenhouse was beautiful with all of the different plant life and butterflies flying around. Quite a magical and peaceful greenhouse. We also went outside and walked around. There's a nice playground and a huge fountain. And I agree with a previous reviewer that said the gift shop wasn't so expensive that you couldn't grab a few mementos on your way out. Would love to go back again in the future!

    Laura P.

    A mix of various exhibits, including a butterfly room, reptiles, amphibians, and a large outdoor garden. It's not too big and only takes about an hour to get through everything, but it's definitely fun to spend awhile with the butterflies. If you are still/quiet and wait long enough, they will land near you.

    The lights display for Christmas (I took a daytime tour)
    Jennifer M.

    First time here, mid-December. Because of this season that it is, you won't see many blooms, but I'm sure it's absolutely alive with color in the spring and summer. It smells heavenly and there are many paths for people of all ages to enjoy and it is pretty handicap accessible from what I could see. I was quite sad to see that be snake and reptile habitats were much too small for the animals on exhibit. I'm hoping that they have a much bigger place to rest and play when the gardens are closed. It wasn't terribly crowded which was nice but I feel that the coolest stuff was inside - the butterfly room and insects in the lobby. There was too much noise to be able to just sit anywhere outside and enjoy a garden Ambiance. Will try coming again at a different time of year.

    James W.

    We actually stumbled on this place by accident. This was the address given for an event that was happening for a Native Texas Plant show and sale. Odd bit of marketing, but, it was on their website. I don't hold that against them in the review, they were sponsors I guess, but the show was elsewhere... regardless, they allowed us in for the inconvenience. They were a lot of cool butterflies in the exhibit. Didn't see Monarchs, but there was a lot of others. These were all in the greenhouse area which oddly needs a LOT of work. The spiral walk is a great touch, there area a lot of cool plants inside, sadly there is a lot of brown dead leaves and branches everywhere which is a big turn off. A location that is supposed to be taking care of plants and trees in an ideal environment and they can't take the time to prune and pick up the debris and trash laying everywhere. It was really distracting for me and my wife, as a Landscaper and a Johnson County Master Gardner, they really need to clean the unhealthy vegetation hanging from the living parts of the plants. The outside area as nice and well kept, much better than the greenhouse. The snake exhibit, if you want to call it that, is a small building with about 8-10 small glass containers with a few snakes and frogs. Disappointing.

    Cole C.

    Beautiful spot to spend the morning. Lots of butterflies in the butterfly house, plus MASSIVE moths, and the opportunity to witness all stages of growth, from egg laying to chrystalis to newly hatched butterfly. Very neat! The snake house has 10-15 snakes. The gardens are gorgeous, the playground is open for kids, and there are plenty of picnic tables if you want to bring in your own lunch. We did not see any hummingbirds in the hummingbird garden, but perhaps you'll have better luck. Wednesday's are "community days", which I thought meant admission was free... but actually means admission is "pay what you want." You name the price and they ring up the tickets for whatever you say. Honestly I found that to be a little awkward. I didn't want to be cheap, and I know they depend on ticket sales to maintain the garden, but I also came on Wednesday specifically because we can't afford to buy 7 regular admission tickets on a weekend (or don't want to, anyway). A more comfortable arrangement would be to make Wednesday's free admission and then ask for donations (they could even offer a suggested donation to guide us). Anyway, take it for what you will: Wednesday's are "pay what you want." The gardens are partially shaded, but still pretty hot. I think it was 85-90 degrees this morning and we only lasted a little over an hour outside. Of course I'm 8 months pregnant, so my tolerance might be a tad lower than usual. I would plan on spending 2 hours total here, with some of that being inside the butterfly garden, but more if you pack a lunch and/or if it's cooler. The entire place is stroller friendly, but it's not large, so you probably don't need one unless you have a non-walker. My 2 year old was able to walk the entire thing. Getting there was quite confusing for me - the iPhone maps app led me to a closed gate. I just circled the area until I found a gate that was open. People who have visited the state fair before will probably find this process less complicated. In any case, a great morning in a beautiful place. Do go see it!

    This flower looked like origami
    Bobbi S.

    Came to the butterfly garden with an 18 month old who enjoyed what an 18 month old would enjoy & the rest of us older folks were happy to get out of the incessant Dallas heat, see the butterflies (not too many varieties, from what we saw) & walk along the winding path that loops from top to bottom. There are also resident quails here, which act as "guards" for the butterflies & call to each other every so often. There is a gift shop on the first floor as well as tanks holding frogs & other reptiles situated in the hallway that leads to the outdoors gardens, a senior citizens rate, & a very nicely maintained garden with walking paths just outside the butterfly house with signage telling you about the plants. Our grandson enjoyed his meander on the paths. Parking is convenient & plentiful.

    Alexis B.

    I visited the Texas Discovery Gardens with my brother a week or so ago when we were visiting Fair Park for a few hours. We had never been before - I'm not even sure we knew it was here until I found it on a map of Fair Park. Admission is $10 for adults, which was a little steep considering the state of the gardens. It was fall - but fall in Dallas was still 70 degrees, so it wasn't full winter frost-y weather or anything. We visited the butterfly house, which was okay. We did see some butterflies, but not a ton. But really what struck me about the butterfly house is that the plants were not doing well. We also wandered around the gardens for a bit, which were nice, but not as large as at the typical botanical gardens I have visited. Overall, I think it has the potential to be really great but feels a bit like it's fallen on tough times. I considered our admission (which we paid even though we couldn't stay long) a donation to the gardens. I hope to visit again and see the plants and butterflies flying. Definitely consider visiting and supporting them.

    Snake house
    Mae T.

    It's cute for what it is. The butterfly house was my favorite. I went in the winter so everything was dried out hahaha I just needed to get the baby outside for some fresh air. This place is meh. It's not that big. Maybe a tour in the spring time would've made it amazing. But anyways it's off the checklist.

    Stephanie B.

    What a wonderfully delightful wallet-friendly way to enjoy God's beautiful creation on a Sunday afternoon! All 3 of our children experienced butterflies landing in their hand. We were fortunate enough to be there for a Snake Encounter where we saw 2 snakes & 1 lizard up close! The keeper was very knowledgeable about each specimen. Most surprising may have been the reasonable prices found inside the quaint gift shop that offered a nice variety of take home treasures. A lovely way to spend 2 hours with your family.

    Make sure you check out the Butterfly  House when visiting
    Monie H.

    Even in the winter time (well, if you can "truly" call it "winter" in the Deep South. LOL!), these gardens are a pretty and relaxing place to visit. I scored a Groupon deal for the visit and it was well worth it. Due to the season, the grounds were not in bloom, yet still pretty. There are lovely fountains, statues, and picnic tables throughout. We especially liked looking at native bugs (including huge, colorful tarantulas) and Texas native snakes. Thankfully, all insects and snakes were safely tucked away in their cages. The butterfly room is simply beautiful. Countless different types of butterflies were flying around the room during our visit. There are also quail roaming around the butterfly room (they help keep pests in check). It was way cool to also catch close up glimpses of these birds. I look forward to visiting again during the Spring when the gardens are in full bloom.

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    Review Highlights - Texas Discovery Gardens

    The grounds are huge, gorgeous greenery and flowers, and the butterfly house is a unique touch to a wedding!

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    Automotive Building - Photo from Wikipedia

    Automotive Building

    (5 reviews)

    Fair Park

    As someone who has been visiting the State Fair of Texas for decades, the Automobile Building holds…read morea special place in my heart. Every year since I was a kid, the trip to Fair Park has included a pilgrimage to see the new cars. I never paid the building much mind, it was about getting inside and seeing the new cars! As an adult, I appreciate the art-deco design that this building possesses and how it has remained timeless since the 1940s when it was built. It is truly a reassure of Dallas architecture!

    Cool Building! Over the over half century I've been coming to this building, it still makes me…read moresmile be it new cars to see during the fair, exhibits in other times of the year, or shopping during the Hot Chocolate run each year. My most favorite memory was sometime in the late 1960's when Clayton Moore, the Lone Ranger, was signing autographs. His manager was telling him his contracted time was up to sign autographs. He refused to leave saying he wasn't leaving until the last kid in line had their autograph and to keep the line open! I've always used the car show to try on cars for fit. There are a lot I don't fit within! It is also a great place during the car show to seek out the automaker marketing team to provide feedback on cars for future design changes and ideas. As for the building, almost 2 decades ago, they updated fair park. Not much changed on the insides, but the cool fresco outside was redone.

    Texas Discovery Gardens - gardens - Updated May 2026

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