Do I Need To Reserve My Ticket In Advance
To ensure a comfortable visitor experience, advanced online ticket reservations are highly encouraged. Keep in mind only a limited number of tickets will be available for walk-ups daily. Timed entry for admissions maintains a reduced capacity in the building at all times and helps provide social distancing for everyone. Reservations are available every half hour starting at 10:00 am Tuesday to Saturday. The final reservation of the day is at 4:30 pm.
Indoor Activities At The Children’s Museum Houston
The John P. McGovern Kids Hall is set immediately off of the entrance, and in it, guests will find artwork from across the world. There are also activity tables arranged in the shape of a train that feature a variety of crafts children can partake in.
My toddler and I spent most of our time in Kidtropolis, which is a kid-sized city complete with a police station, newsroom, H-E-B, veterinarians office, art studio, cafe, and more. The stations allow kids to see the ins and outs of each profession, and they can actually earn money as they learn to spend at different shops or to deposit at the bank. Museum employees are stationed at both the entrance and exit of Kidtropolis to monitor the exhibit and ensure that there are never too many kids inside at once.
The Matter Factory helps kids explore the different types of matter.
The next major exhibit at Children’s Museum Houston is Matter Factory, which helps kids explore the different types of matter. We also visited How Does It Work? This science-focused exhibit teaches kids things through interactive activities. For example, how an air current can keep a beach ball floating in mid-air or how to build different ramps with various twists and turns to create a mini-scale roller coaster. After that, we headed through Cyberchase before taking in some science lessons at the Genius Station.
Outdoor water play at FlowWorks.
Is The Museum A Astc Passport Participant
Members of the ASTC Passport Program are eligible for free general admission to museums located more than 90 miles from their affiliated museum. Members may receive free admission for the number of people designated by their corresponding membership level. You will need to present your membership card at the box office to gain admission.
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Frensley/graham Hall Of African Wildlife
After you leave the Cabinet of Curiosities, make your way to the Hall of African Wildlife. Youll find yourself walking through an aisle with glass enclosures that showcase dioramas representing seven different biomes in Africa, from the Congo Basin to the Sahara Desert. The stuffed animal specimens in their replicated natural settings include many rare species like the Giant Forest Hog and Lowland Gorilla. The natural panoramas are interspersed with video films about animals, ecology, and conservation that my older kids thought were interesting.
The Cockrell Butterfly Center
Near the back of the main level of the museum, furthest away from the Ticketing Center, youll see the stunning, three-story glass structure that houses a whole world inside. The Cockrell Butterfly Center is a simulated tropical rainforest filled with pollinator plants and built around a 50-foot waterfall. It houses hundreds of live butterflies that fly around you as you walk down winding stone steps, through a small trail, and towards the area where the waterfall ends in a small pond.
I often have to remind my kids to hang on to the railing for the steps because they will get distracted by all the butterflies flying around them and not look where they are going. Once at the bottom, there is a little trail you can follow through all the flowers and plants.
Walking on the trail inside the Butterfly Center
On the trail, youll find an enclosed beehive where you can see honeybees through glass, and youll definitely see and feel butterflies flapping around you amidst the foliage. Kids can try to find all the spots where butterflies are drinking from bowls of sweet nectar set out for them.
To exit the habitat area, youll actually be entering the Brown Hall of Entomology where you can explore preserved specimens of some of the worlds largest and weirdest insects, enjoy interactive games, and learn about the butterfly world.
Notes:
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My Child Is Anxious Or Stressed: Now What
- Monday 10 AM – 5 PM
- Tuesday 10 AM-5 PM
- Thursday 10 AM-7 PM
- Friday 10 AM-5 PM
Click here for the DeBakey Cell Lab hours.
Holiday Hours
The Museum will be open during regular hours on Mondays through Labor Day.
The Museum is closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day and closes at 3pm on Thanksgiving eve and Christmas eve.
The Museum is open on the following Mondays:
- Presidents Day February 21, 2022
- Spring Break March 14, 2022
- Memorial Day May 30, 2022
- Independence Day July 4, 2022
- Labor Day September 5, 2022
- Columbus Day October 10, 2022
- Thanksgiving Break November 21, 2022
- Christmas Break December 19 & 26, 2022
The Museum is open on all Mondays during the summer, from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Morian Hall Of Paleontology
Dinosaurs! Besides the butterflies, this is what the kids come to see: giant dinosaur bones looming spectacularly over them. They love to see these posed in action with other ancient skeletons to show life as it was: chasing, eating, and escaping. This impressive display leads visitors through a well-organized gallery of prehistoric animal fossils and history.
After the dinosaurs, my kids insist on going to the second floor via the nearby elevators. It takes you to a large balcony area called the Morian Overlook that lets you view the entire Hall of Paleontology from high up. Everyone enjoys seeing the dinosaur displays from this alternate viewpoint.
Dinosaurs! The Morian Hall of Paleontology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science
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More Children’s Museum Houston Information:
- The museum is located in the heart of Houston at 1500 Binz Street.
- Kids under age 1 are free, and admission for all other ages is $15.
- The museum is open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and it stays open until 8 p.m. on Thursdays. It is closed Sundays and Mondays. From 5-8 p.m. on Thursdays, there is free admission for Family Night.
- It is recommended that you buy tickets in advance online. A limited number are available for walk-ups each day.
- There is a dedicated parking garage for the museum across the street, and parking costs $8 for the first hour, $9 for two hours, and $10 for three hours or longer.
- Outside food and drinks are not permitted, but both are available for purchase inside.
All photos courtesy the Children’s Museum of Houston
Houston Museum Of Natural Science
Be sure to set aside a few hours when you visit the Houston Museum of Natural Science. There is so much to see and do that you will want to experience it all. Explore 17 exhibits that offer insight and knowledge about gems, Texas wildlife, Egyptian history, the world of dinosaurs, and the wonders of chemistry. Make a visit even more special by seeing a show about aliens or the lost continent of Atlantis at the museums Burke Baker Planetarium. The Cockrell Butterfly Center is just as exciting with a rainforest walk and hundreds of exotic butterflies and insects.
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Exploring The Children’s Museum Houston
The Childrens Museum Houston has been a staple as one of Houston’s best kid-friendly attractions since 1980 and boasts a wide array of activities to foster learning in a fun, innovative way. There are more than 20 different exhibits to visit with lots of things to do inside the museum, and there is something for any child from toddlers up to 12-year-olds. It’s a good idea to wear comfortable shoes as you will most likely be chasing your kid all over the place!
Looking for a discount on tickets to Children’s Museum Houston? Check out our article on Free Museums and Free Admission Times for the Children’s Museum and other things to do in Houston.
Learning and playing inside the Kidtropolis exhibit.
Things To Know Before You Go To Houstons Museum Of Natural Science
Hours: Monday – Sunday: 9:00am-5:00pmTicket Prices: Adults $25 , Child $16 , Free Free Thursdays: Every Thursday visitors can enjoy the permanent exhibits for Free!Online Box Office: This is a MUST for weekends when the line gets very long at the Ticketing Center. Purchase your tickets online so that you can head straight to the permanent exhibit entrance and show your tickets to staff there.Peak Times: The museum can be crowded on the weekends, especially during holidays. Thursdays will be very busy as well. Also, weekday mornings before lunch are often times when school field trips happen, although many school districts have suspended field trips for the time being due to Covid concerns.Parking: The attached paid parking garage is the best bet if you want ease and proximity. You can also try to find street parking all over the museum district. Make sure you have the ParkHouston App downloaded for easy payment. There are other parking lots in the Museum District including one near the Children’s Museum that you can use, but plan to walk a little further. Exhibits Closed for Renovation: There are two main halls currently still closed for renovation. The John P. McGovern Hall of The Americas which celebrates the diversity and accomplishments of indigenous peoples of the Americas and the Hall of Ancient Egypt, which showcases this ancient civilization with specimens from artifacts to mummies.
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The Woodlands Children’s Museum
Wonderseum provides a secure environment for discovery and learning through play, while supporting our philosophy that play comes first. Recognizing that 4-year-olds need social interaction and cognitive development, our program empowers children with an easier transition to kindergarten and is offered two or three days a week from 9:00am-2:00pm with a class size of only 10 students. With a Reggio Emilia inspired environment and located inside the museum, children are introduced to projects that enhance their fine motor skills and self-expression, while preparing them with kindergarten readiness skills that provide open-ended discussion and a playful approach to learning and discovery.
Children’s Museum Houston Is A Must
If youre looking for a fun, mostly indoor activity spot for your kids and lets be real, summer days in Houston practically beg for indoor activities the Children’s Museum Houston should definitely be on your radar. From a kids perspective, there is no shortage of things to do, so theyll be entertained for hours. I feel like we barely scratched the surface while we were there, and we definitely didnt see all the exhibits.
But because of the museum’s mass appeal, be prepared for crowds. We showed up right at 10 a.m. when it opened, and the first few exhibits we went to were a breeze however, as it got closer to lunchtime, the place started to fill up.
The Jurassic Experience
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Groups And Field Experiences
Experience new worlds and make new discoveries.
Science, math and the arts are featured in 14 galleries with continuously changing exhibitions, innovative workshops and exciting activities. Developed with Texas Essential Knowledge Skills and national education standards, our exhibits inspire and engage kids at a variety of learning levels.
Where can I park?
There are plenty of parking spaces available in our garage conveniently located across from the Museum. Metered and free parking are also available around the neighboring streets. Please do not park in a âno parking zone.â
Farish Hall Of Texas Wildlife
The Hall of African Wildlife leads you to the Farish Hall of Texas Wildlife. Here is where you can play a game of I Spy with the kids. This large, life-sized display houses stuffed replicas of Texas Wildlife in dioramas that span the entire hall. There is a guide in the front of the displays listing all the animals that you might spot within the dioramas.
Visiting the Hall of Texas Wildlife
Challenge kids to find and point out the different animals on the list. They can try to find the elk, whooping crane, or any of the other hundreds of species of animals in their replicated natural environments. We make a game out of it and challenge the little ones to find the bigger animals and the older kids to find the small ones.
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Best Things To Do At The Houston Museum Of Natural Science With Kids
Located in the heart of Houston’s Museum District, the Houston Museum of Natural Science is one of the most visited museums in the country, and a fun, educational trip for kids. This world-class museum consists of five floors of permanent halls full of awe-inspiring exhibits and a steady rotation of traveling special exhibits. Discover the tropical rainforest, reach back in time to when dinosaurs walked the Earth, blast forward to learn about the future of renewable energy, and explore space in the Burke Baker Planetarium. Plus, the Wortham Giant Screen Theatre was Houstons first IMAX theatre offering 3D images, and the Cockrell Butterfly Center is a stunning, living exhibit that showcases hundreds of live butterflies in a naturalistic rainforest setting.
There is so much to see and do at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Take kids on an active learning adventure by visiting exhibits that are more likely to keep children’s attention. Here, weve curated a few of the best things to do at Houstons Museum of Natural Science with kids to help you plan your visit.
Interested in more Houston museums? Check out our article on Free Admission Times and Days at Houston’s Best Museums, Zoos, and Gardens.
Kid’s Choice Museum Pass
Expiration: 60 days after purchase
Save on admission to four of Houston’s top kid-friendly museums! All centrally located in the Museum District, the Children’s Museum, Houston Museum of Natural Science and The Health Museum allow your child to touch, play and learn about a wide range of topics.Then make your way down to the Lone Star Flight Museum at Ellington Field where you can get up close and personal with the finest collection of vintage aircraft in Texas! This pass includes: – Children’s Museum of Houston: General Admission– Houston Museum of Natural Science: Exhibit Hall Entry– Burke Baker Planetarium at HMNS: Admission– The Health Museum: General Admission– The Health Museum Gift Shop: 10% Discount– Lone Star Flight Museum : General Admission– Houston Arboretum & Nature Center: 20% Discount to the Nature Shop
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Outdoor Fun At The Children’s Museum Houston
After seeing what the inside offered, we ended up spending a good chunk of time at FlowWorks, the outdoor water exhibit. Pack a change of clothes and be prepared for your kid to get wet at this one, because the exhibit encourages kids to play in the different water activities. While theres no pool or splash pad, there are a lot of opportunities for your little one to end up soaked. At the crux of the exhibit is an 18-foot cauldron that fills with water, and you better believe it was a definite highlight for my son to watch that giant bowl of water tip over and empty itself out. We also created our own waves, controlled how fast or slow water flowed through a dam, and then floated boats down a water course. It was also easy to locate my son no matter where he was in the exhibit, and since it was outside I wasnt worried about him running from one room to the next without me.
Ecostation is a Certified Wildlife Habitat that features native Texas plants.
Before heading back in, we took some time to dry off on the small playground and visited the EcoStation, a Certified Wildlife Habitat that features native Texas plants to help little ones learn about the environment. While there, kiddos can make leaf rubbings, spot turtles in the pond, identify animal footprints, and more.
About Childrens Museum Of Houston
While many children learn by performing hands-on tasks, school systems have yet to figure out how to incorporate gardens, imagination workshops, and towering aqueduct mazes into their budgets. With 90,000 square feet of hands-on exhibits, the Children’s Museum of Houston sparks creativity by allowing kids to explore 14 learning stations. Ranked No. 1 among the 10 best children’s museums in the nation by Parents magazine, named one of the 12 best children’s museums in the country by Forbes and one of the 10 best by USA Today, and voted Best Museum in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 by the Houston A-List Poll, the museum has accrued a lot of praise.
Latest accolades include: TripSaavys 2018 Editors Choice Award Best Family Attraction and Experience. AAA 2018 Editors Best Of Things To Do.” TripAdvisors 2018 & 2019 Certificate of Excellence Hall of Fame. Kids Out and About Top 20 Places to Take Kids in Houston.” The Culture Trips Top Museum and Landmark to Visit in Houston.
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