AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Texas Science and Natural History Museum reopens Sept. 23 after a name change and a renovation.

Staff took media on tour of the former Texas Memorial Museum on Wednesday. As part of the tour, they showed off a new centerpiece exhibit featuring a full-size dinosaur fossil.

The museum at 2400 Trinity St. closed in 2022 for what it called “extensive renovations and exhibit updates.”

According to Museum Managing Director Carolyn Connerat, the name change was, “a better way for all of our guests and visitors who want to come to the museum, to know what they’re going to find when they get there.”

The Texas Science and Natural History Museum is the only one of its kind in the Austin area and was originally built in 1936, the museum said.

The museum will hold a free grand opening celebration for the public on Sept. 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.