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| Houston Highlights |
The John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science, also known as the Health Museum, is Houston’s most interactive science learning center and a member institution of the world-renowned Texas Medical Center. The museum’s main event is the Jim Hickox Amazing Body Pavilion, a larger-than-life walking tour through the human body.
The Jung Center of Houston, a nonprofit education institution, houses one of the Southwest's finest collections of work in psychology, spirituality and comparative mythology. Founded in 1958, the Jung Center offers more than 100 courses, programs and conferences every year that address the critical social and spiritual issues of our time, as well as the need for personal growth and development.
Another educational organization, the Houston Center for Photography (HCP) deepens the understanding of the photographic arts. Through exhibitions, publications and educational programming, the center supports emerging and mid-career artists and their audiences. The center provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and promotes the study of photography, both as a medium of expression and as a tool of cultural investigation.
A project of the Weather Research Center, The Weather Museum provides a facility for people of all ages to learn about the weather, its history and public safety. Exhibits include: Weather Wizards Corner; Touch a Tornado; Rain Rain Go Away and What Meteorologists Do. The museum also houses a computer classroom to allow visitors a chance to surf the Internet for past and current weather information, a video room for meetings and weather safety seminars, and the Clayton B. Crooker Library so visitors can research weather information from more than 100 years ago.
The Czech Center Museum Houston celebrates the culture of Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia and Silesia with events and exhibitions. The center features language classes, a museum, archives, genealogy resources, event facilities, library and an ecumenical chapel. Exhibits include Czech crystal, glass, porcelain, pottery, antique furniture, jewelry, folk costumes and fine art.
An exciting live animal adventure set in a 55-acre tropical landscape, the Houston Zoo adds adventure and animal magnetism to the Museum District. A popular feature, the Wildlife Carousel, has 64 hand-carved animals representing endangered species. Make sure to visit Natural Encounters, the highly anticipated $4 million renovation of the Zoo's small mammals building, which reopened in February 2005. Natural Encounters features meerkats, otters and until recently the long awaited return of the Zoo's vampire bats.
Two other unique venues, the Art Car Museum and The Station are sited respectively near the Houston Heights and in the midtown corridor (between the Museum District and downtown). These lively, privately funded museums showcase the adventuresome and the avant-garde. The Art Car Museum is dedicated to the fun, funky and outrageously exuberant Art Car movement (Houston's spring parade is the oldest and largest in the country). It's also the only museum in the country where you'll find vehicular attractions such as Rex the Rabbit or Swamp Mutha. Art Car's sister space, The Station, highlights Texas, national and international artists whose art tackles tough political issues.
A shining example of urban renewal, Project Row Houses is located in the heart of Houston's historic Third Ward, minutes from the Museum District. Its restored, turn-of-the century shotgun-style houses occupy a once blighted inner-city neighborhood. No more. Twice yearly they're transformed into art installations as internationally prominent artists join with Texas and Houston-based talents to create site-specific works that challenge traditional notions about art being confined to elite cultural institutions. The award-winning Project Row Houses has been profiled by The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and CBS Radio and is now a model for similar programs around the nation. In addition, four Project Row Houses artists were featured in the Whitney Biennial.
Learn about early Texas history with a visit to the San Jacinto Museum of History in La Porte, Texas within an hour’s drive from downtown. The Museum’s collection spans more than four centuries of early Texas history, from the beginnings of European activity in the New World through Texas as a state in the United States. While there, experience the San Jacinto Monument, a memorial to all those who fought to win the independence of Texas.
Another fun stop is visiting the folk art environment called the Orange Show Monument, which is a Houston postman's creation that extols the virtues of his favorite fruit. The outdoor 3,000-square-foot monument is maze-like in design and includes an oasis, a wishing well, a pond, a stage, a museum, a gift shop and several upper decks.
Space Center Houston is a place where people can experience space – from its dramatic history and exciting present to its compelling future. Space Center Houston is the only place on earth that gives guests an out-of-this-world journey through human adventures into space. Located approximately 25 miles south of downtown Houston in the NASA/Clear Lake area, Space Center Houston’s unparalleled exhibits, attractions, special presentations and hands-on activities tell the story of NASA’s manned space flight program. It is the only place in the world where visitors can see astronauts train for missions, touch a real moon rock, land a shuttle and take behind-the-scenes tour of NASA.
— Niche and Noteworthy
The following visual arts venues and attractions may be more off-the-beaten path, but are still worth knowing about and exploring. They’re all a part of the region’s rich history.
The Jung Center of Houston, a nonprofit education institution, houses one of the Southwest's finest collections of work in psychology, spirituality and comparative mythology. Founded in 1958, the Jung Center offers more than 100 courses, programs and conferences every year that address the critical social and spiritual issues of our time, as well as the need for personal growth and development.
Another educational organization, the Houston Center for Photography (HCP) deepens the understanding of the photographic arts. Through exhibitions, publications and educational programming, the center supports emerging and mid-career artists and their audiences. The center provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and promotes the study of photography, both as a medium of expression and as a tool of cultural investigation.
A project of the Weather Research Center, The Weather Museum provides a facility for people of all ages to learn about the weather, its history and public safety. Exhibits include: Weather Wizards Corner; Touch a Tornado; Rain Rain Go Away and What Meteorologists Do. The museum also houses a computer classroom to allow visitors a chance to surf the Internet for past and current weather information, a video room for meetings and weather safety seminars, and the Clayton B. Crooker Library so visitors can research weather information from more than 100 years ago.
The Czech Center Museum Houston celebrates the culture of Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia and Silesia with events and exhibitions. The center features language classes, a museum, archives, genealogy resources, event facilities, library and an ecumenical chapel. Exhibits include Czech crystal, glass, porcelain, pottery, antique furniture, jewelry, folk costumes and fine art.
An exciting live animal adventure set in a 55-acre tropical landscape, the Houston Zoo adds adventure and animal magnetism to the Museum District. A popular feature, the Wildlife Carousel, has 64 hand-carved animals representing endangered species. Make sure to visit Natural Encounters, the highly anticipated $4 million renovation of the Zoo's small mammals building, which reopened in February 2005. Natural Encounters features meerkats, otters and until recently the long awaited return of the Zoo's vampire bats.
Two other unique venues, the Art Car Museum and The Station are sited respectively near the Houston Heights and in the midtown corridor (between the Museum District and downtown). These lively, privately funded museums showcase the adventuresome and the avant-garde. The Art Car Museum is dedicated to the fun, funky and outrageously exuberant Art Car movement (Houston's spring parade is the oldest and largest in the country). It's also the only museum in the country where you'll find vehicular attractions such as Rex the Rabbit or Swamp Mutha. Art Car's sister space, The Station, highlights Texas, national and international artists whose art tackles tough political issues.
A shining example of urban renewal, Project Row Houses is located in the heart of Houston's historic Third Ward, minutes from the Museum District. Its restored, turn-of-the century shotgun-style houses occupy a once blighted inner-city neighborhood. No more. Twice yearly they're transformed into art installations as internationally prominent artists join with Texas and Houston-based talents to create site-specific works that challenge traditional notions about art being confined to elite cultural institutions. The award-winning Project Row Houses has been profiled by The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and CBS Radio and is now a model for similar programs around the nation. In addition, four Project Row Houses artists were featured in the Whitney Biennial.
Learn about early Texas history with a visit to the San Jacinto Museum of History in La Porte, Texas within an hour’s drive from downtown. The Museum’s collection spans more than four centuries of early Texas history, from the beginnings of European activity in the New World through Texas as a state in the United States. While there, experience the San Jacinto Monument, a memorial to all those who fought to win the independence of Texas.
Another fun stop is visiting the folk art environment called the Orange Show Monument, which is a Houston postman's creation that extols the virtues of his favorite fruit. The outdoor 3,000-square-foot monument is maze-like in design and includes an oasis, a wishing well, a pond, a stage, a museum, a gift shop and several upper decks.
Space Center Houston is a place where people can experience space – from its dramatic history and exciting present to its compelling future. Space Center Houston is the only place on earth that gives guests an out-of-this-world journey through human adventures into space. Located approximately 25 miles south of downtown Houston in the NASA/Clear Lake area, Space Center Houston’s unparalleled exhibits, attractions, special presentations and hands-on activities tell the story of NASA’s manned space flight program. It is the only place in the world where visitors can see astronauts train for missions, touch a real moon rock, land a shuttle and take behind-the-scenes tour of NASA.
— Niche and Noteworthy
The following visual arts venues and attractions may be more off-the-beaten path, but are still worth knowing about and exploring. They’re all a part of the region’s rich history.
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