7 Cool Things To Do At Museums In Houston

I can’t imagine paying good money to be bored, when there are so many cool things you can do at museums in Houston. That’s right I said museums!

Throughout history museums were the places where people went, in droves, to catch an up close glimpse of fascinating curiosities like two-headed calves and eight-legged frogs on display.

Today’s family of museums are motivated by a different impulse.

They are managed by modern curators, who combine the latest technology and history to implant in our memories the powerful stories, authentic images and diverse life forms of our past preserved through sculptures, specimens and scientific collections.

MFA-Houston

It almost goes without saying that in in order to preserve important items from antiquity for future visitors touching is not allowed. But what you can do that is take pictures.

MFA-Houston is one of the few museums in the world where its cool to capture snapshots of your visit on film. A picture along side of a national treasures is way more memorable than the stock photos in a brochure.

Houston Museum of Natural Science

MUFON (mutual ufo network) rates Texas as a 3, ranking it in the top 10 along with California for the frequency of UFO sightings making it a great place to try your hand at distinguishing planets from an actual UFO.

Saturday evenings throughout the year visitors to the George observatory can have the chance to “see the heavens” through the 36” telescope. You may spot the next UFO on a visit to the Lone Star state.

Childrens Museum

The CM-Houston is the go-to place, if you’re at your wit’s end with a child who brings home failing grades or straight C’s that you want to motivate to be more successful in school. The slogan “A mind is a terrible thing to waste” , drives home the fact that inspiring a child to travel the path to become lifelong learners is important.

CM-Houston houses a plethora of state-of-the-art exhibits focused on the needs and desires of children 0 to 12 years to be infotained.

A trip to the museum creatively imparts knowledge to kids using games and exhibits about common subjects like waves, rapids and specialized topics.

Participating in museum events might just be the trick to get them motivated, once they experience the social and emotional benefits of learning new things, outside of the academics and grades arena.

Health Museum

Stir up your family’s awareness about the importance of health with visits to the health museum. One of the must-see exhibits is the challenge gallery.

The gallery house several interactive games including a fascinating one called mind ball. The object is to relax your mind in order to move a ball to your opponents side of the table.

1940 Air Terminal Museum

Only at 1940 Air Terminal Museum, can you step back into aviation time through experiencing the collection of airplanes and related memorabilia in the Houston’s former air terminal. Many of the things you would take for granted about flying on early airlines are on display.

You’ll see everything aviation at the 1940 Air Terminal Museum. The collection includes planes and equipment even examples of early uniforms worn by jet-setting stewardess.

Buffalo Soldiers National Museum

Museums are places that require constant updating and can go through multi-million dollar budgets in the blink of an eye. Take your family to the Buffalo Soldier Museum where you can learn the story about a part of history that is seldom told, the Black soldiers that served in U.S. mounted cavalry.

Best of all you can leave something behind to help the efforts to preserve the artifacts for future generations. It’s as simple as buying a brick.

It will enable the Buffalo Soldier Museum to disseminate the fact from fiction about the history of the Buffalo Soldiers and their service in the defense and development of America’s expansion to the West.

Houston Museum of African American Culture

Discover world cinema, featuring up and coming directors and actors from across the globe in the narratives and voices that transcend the Black experience.

These world-class films are seldom seen on television. Many are contemporary films displaying the echoes, enigmas and experiences that can be heard in the tapestry of the African Diaspora.

We often forget that although the themes are the same from culture to culture, viewing them under a different light reveals a richer experience. Individual, separate, but an equally potent rays of color that are all a part of the tapestry of “God’s children."

There are so many more cool things you can do at museums in Houston. For instance museums are good places to donate your time, treasure and talent. These are a just a sampling of the local museums and some very simple things you can do to liven up a boring day, that I wanted to share with you.

If I didn't mention your favorite museum, don’t get upset. There are far too many to tell about all of them at one time. If your experience at these any of these places was different than mine and you want to share your opinion leave a comment below.

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Traveling In Houston

Here’s some fresh information to help you while you travel in Houston so that you can get around in the city, get your party on and get you geared up to have a funky good time in the nation’s 4th largest city.

Houston seems to grow by leaps and bounds in just a few years. It wasn’t that long ago when I returned home to Houston from college after having been away for over a year and was unable to get to my house without help. The city had changed drastically, familiar streets were replaced with new sections of an expressways.

When traveling, everyone likes to get a sense of the lifestyle, find some leisure activities and let their hair down. For this city that means trips to downtown, the museum district and local attractions. These are some of the key places we will help you how to find and throw in a few tips on some of the other fun things to do around them.

Houston Museum District

Located between downtown Houston and the world famous Texas Medical Center, the Museum District is home to over 17 museums. Each year they get together an hold whats called Museum Day. They throw open the doors at all of the museums to give visitors a chance to see some of the latest exhibits, improvements and installations.

The normal admission charged at most of them is reasonably priced and on Thursdays The Museum of Fine Arts and Children’s museum are free. Here's a few that are always free.

* Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum
* Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
* Holocaust Museum Houston
* Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
* Houston Center for Photography
* The Jung Center of Houston
* Lawndale Art Center
* The Menil Collection
* Rice University Art Gallery
* Rothko Chapel

Getting To The Museum District & Parking Info

If you plan a morning visit you can usually find a spot close to your museum of choice. Other options are to pay to park your car in a lot near downtown and hitch a ride on the Metrorail train.

(NOTE)
When you are traveling in Houston's Museum District the best parking are the lots located on Hermann Dr, Cambridge and Hermann Loop which runs past the Houston Botanical Garden Center and Hermann Park, a limited number of spaces are available on the street.

It can take a couple of trips circling around and around the area before you find a suitable parking spot in the museum district later in the day.

Houston Center for Contemporary Craft

This unique Houston attraction is where the beautiful works of art are fused into skillfully created handicraft. The center's eclectic exhibits are curated from the works of 21st Century artisans whose skills run the gambit from modern to neo-classical crafts.

In addition to viewing the exhibits on display visitors can engage in dialogues with artists-in-residence, busy their own hands by attending workshops where they can create their own craft objects and purchase select objects from the quaint gift shop in Asher Gallery.

Their hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10 AM - 5 PM; Sunday 12 - 5 PM


Anyone whose traveled to other cities will agree that Houston has some of the top notch attractions in the nation. Most of them are within walking distance of two or more museums. There are plenty of action-packed things to keep you entertained in the museum district. Their staff works hard to present new innovate ways for people to experience art and show them it can be a funtastic multi-sensory experience.

Make sure any trip you make to the city includes a visit to them in your schedule. It's one way to turn a boring day into one that’s the bomb. You will discover why they are always mentioned as some of the best places to visit in Houston.

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10 Fun Things To Do In Houston

You can stop wondering which attractions in Houston are open this weekend?. If you are in search of couple-friendly places to visit with your spouse, date or significant other we have just the things for you to do. We went through a long list of places that are popular with tourist and locals to get the latest accurate information about their hours of operation. So you won’t be disappointed, waste valuable time and be met with locked doors on your Saturday or Sunday afternoon excursion.

Unless you are planning to go with a group of people and would like a personal guided tour couples and individuals don’t need reservations to many of the city's top attractions. You are welcome to roam about at your leisure and enjoy their displays. Here's our must see list of museums, shops and parks we like to visit.

Blaffer Art Museum
Tue - Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. (closed Sundays)
Menil Collection
Wed – Sun 11:00 a.m – 7:00 p.m.
Heritage Society
Sat 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sun 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Memorial Park
Westheimer Thrift Stores and Antique Shops
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
Sat 10AM - 5PM Sun 12PM -5PM
Bayou Bend
Self-Guided Tours Friday–Sunday 1– 5 pm
Family Days (Third Sunday of each month, from September through May}
Orange Show - Closed til the end of May 2011
(regular hours) Sat - Sun 12:00 – 5pm
Weather Museum
Mon – Sat 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Printing Museum
Tue- Sat 10:00 A.M.-5:00 P.M.(closed Sun)

more about attractions in Houston

There are a few side notes to the scheduled times that bear mentioning about some of our favorite attractions in Houston. Here's a link to discounts to some Houston attractions. Read on for some other important stuff we noted below.

Thrift Stores and Antique Shops In Houston

Montrose may own the city's nightlife. But, in the daytime the action is on lower Westheimer. It’s one of the places hip Houston couples go on shopping excursion when they want to find that one of a kind item for their wardrobe or home. When is the last time you been to a thrift store or antique shops on Westheimer? Well grab your partner an head on down there, because that's too long.

It could take the entire weekend to properly browse through each place to find the really valuable hidden treasures. You’ll find that the antique stores are open the all weekend. While most of the Thrift shops close around 4 p.m. and are closed on Sundays.

Museum Of Printing History

To see an eclectic collection of printing memorabilia that will give you a real sense of appreciation of how printing was the Internet technology of it’s era. Visit the Museum Of Printing History in Midtown Houston.
The printing press made knowledge accessible to the masses and changed the world. It’s best enjoyed by getting a guided tour during the weekdays. The exhibits are not open Sun - Mon.

Memorial Park

For fitness buffs and sightseers one the things to do on weekends in Houston is visit Memorial Park. It is also home to the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center.

The tennis courts, weight room and pool operating hours are different from the rest of the park. Everything that is outside of the fenced in area, the hike and bike trails, jogging path and some picnic areas, generally remains available for use dusk till dawn.

The hours for the tennis courts at Houston’s Memorial park on weekends are: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sat - Sun. The weight room hours are Sat 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sun 1 p.m. to 4 p. m.

Weather Museum

(Closed Sun)
One Houston museum that is really unique is the Weather Museum. Houston is known as a leader in the aeronautics field. But our local meteorologist provide thought leadership in weather predicting. It is a is critical part of the offshore oil industry, construction and other disciplines that can be adversely impacted by hurricanes, tropical storms and other inclement weather.

FYI Tips

There are always some exciting activities happening at these Houston attractions on weekends when most couples and families have downtime to visit them.
These are not the stuffy old archives, landmarks and attractions that your grandfathers visited. The new exhibits at these exciting places are well designed, relevant and interesting. They detail everything from American home life to the latest avant-garde art installations.

Most of them have souvenir shops stocked with trinkets other than the usual T-shirt and cup that are so fascinating they will elicit a few oohs and aahs during your Monday morning show and tell.

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