Ladies first showcase.

Women's Museum celebrates mothers of innovation

With $1.50 and a dream, Madam C.J. Walker developed a "hair grower"-pomade and the infamous pressing comb, establishing herself as the first known black female millionaire. Decades later, Cathy Bonner entered the offices of the Southwestern Bell Communications Foundation with a vision and departed with the initial $10 million she needed to create the Women's Museum: An Institute for the Future, honoring trailblazing women like Walker and others who helped shape America. Opened in September, the Dallas-based museum is the nation's first to offer such a comprehensive look at women's accomplishments. The museum celebrates a culturally and professionally diverse roster of pioneers, including National Council of Negro Women founder Mary McLeod Bethune, Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Jacqueline "Moms" Mabley, Lucille Ball, Wanda Sykes-Hall, Maya Angelou, Sylvia Rhone, and others. Visit the Women's Museum, 3800 Parry Ave. in Dallas' Fair Park. Open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m. Admission: $5 (adults), $4 (students ages 12-18 and senior citizens), $3 (students ages 5-12) and under 5 free (214-915-0860 or 877-915-0860; www.thewomensmuseum.org).