The Sue & Frank Mayborn Natural Science and Cultural History Museum Complex at Baylor University includes the Harry & Anna Jeanes Discovery Center, the Gov. Bill & Vara Daniel Historic Village (closed for renovations until May 2012), and the Strecker Museum Collection. The Mayborn Museum Complex brings together in one location the resources of hands-on discovery rooms and interactive natural science and cultural history galleries, including outdoor exhibits. This unusually rich combination provides a wide spectrum of engaging learning opportunities for all types of learners and visitors of all ages. The exhibits and education programs encourage families to learn together as they make choices and design their own museum experience.

The multifaceted Museum Complex also serves as a learning laboratory for Baylor University students in the Department of Museum Studies, as well as many other disciplines across campus.

The John K. Strecker Museum is one of the oldest museums in the Southwest. Its origins can be traced back to Independence, Texas in 1856 when the Science Department at Baylor University began a collection of minerals and scientific curiosities to supplement instruction. In 1893, university officials announced that the collections would become a museum. In 1940, the museum was named after John K. Strecker, Jr., who had served as curator from 1903 to 1933 and helped the museum receive national and worldwide recognition. His curatorship was marked by expansion of the museum, a great amount of field work, and the publication of scientific studies by the museum staff.

The Strecker Museum was housed in the Sid Richardson Science Building from 1968 until 2004. Its collections were then moved to the new Mayborn Museum Complex and are now on display as part of the "Waco at the Crossroads of Texas" exhibit. The Harry and Anna Jeanes Discovery Center was first started as the Youth Cultural Center in 1962 by the Waco City Council PTA. It was created to give children "a place to look, think, and learn." The center's name was changed to the Ollie Mae Moen Discovery Center in 1994 in honor of Mrs. Moen who helped found and run the center until 1982. In 2004 the center was closed and its collections were moved to the Mayborn Museum Complex and can now be seen in the discovery rooms.

The Mayborn Museum Complex also includes the Governor Bill and Vara Daniel Historic Village. The 15 wood frame buildings of the village were originally located north of Houston on the Plantation Ranch of Governor Daniel. The buildings and approximately 6,000 artifacts were donated by the family and moved to their present location in 1986. Today, they offer visitors a chance to understand Texas? agricultural heritage and what it was like to live in a cotton-farming community in the late 1800s.