Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary, Natural science museum and wildlife sanctuary in McKinney, US.

The Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary is a natural science museum and protected land in McKinney, Texas, featuring hiking trails, wetland areas, a native plant garden, and a butterfly house. Indoor exhibits and outdoor spaces sit side by side, giving visitors both a traditional museum experience and direct access to natural habitats.

Bessie Heard, born in McKinney in 1886, opened the museum on October 1, 1967, when she was 80, after showing her bird and flower prints in a "sun-porch museum" at her home. The original building was designed by Pat Y. Spillman, with Howard E. Laughlin as first director. The museum gained 8,000 square feet in 1991, the year a wetland was created by Wilson Creek.

The Heard's bird banding station, established in 1978, is the oldest in Texas. The Prairie and Timbers Audubon Society meets on site, and the spring native plant sale has run since 1989. Pioneer Village holds eight miniature buildings modeled on late-1800s prairie settlements.

The outdoor trails are best explored in the morning when wildlife tends to be most active on the grounds. Comfortable walking shoes and water are a good idea for the longer paths through the natural areas.

One of the exhibits features a fossil of an ancient marine predator found in the region, nicknamed Texas Nessie as a nod to the famous Scottish lake legend. Its presence here is a reminder that this part of north Texas was once covered by a shallow inland sea.