More Free or almost Free Places to See in Houston

Now that we've seen the museums in the Houston Museum District, it's time to go to places that are outside the Museum District:

The Miller Outdoor Theater is open from March through November. The live performances include music, ballet, dance, film, Shakespeare and much, much more.

Discovery Green Park always has something happening. There are local musicians in the amphitheater and fresh local produce at the Green Market on Sundays.

The Art Car Museum is in a one of a kind. Visit it and you’ll see why it was the Garage Mahal.

The Lee and Joe Jamail Skatepark is where I “lost” the kids for most of a day. It is close to downtown near the Eleanor Tinsley Park.

The Houston Arboretum and Nature Center is where the family lost me for a whole day. It is on the west side of Memorial park. Walk the center's five miles of trails and visit the sanctuary's interactive exhibits free of charge.

Be sure and take the 90-minute boat tour at the Port of Houston. It is free and a great way to learn about Houston’s history as a seaport. Watching the ocean freighters and barges navigating the 50 mile channel was really interesting. The tour is free, but reservations are required.

The Heritage Society Museum is Houston’s only interactive, outdoor museum and is inside the Sam Houston Park downtown.

This covers the museums that I have gone to in Houston. Tomorrow let’s talk about food and night life. And there is plenty of both in Houston.

More Museums in Houston

Are you ready for more museums? I enjoyed these as well. There is so much to see and do in Houston.

10.  The Houston Museum of Natural Science, one of the most heavily attended museums in the U.S., features the Wortham IMAX Theatre, Burke Baker Planetarium, Cockrell Butterfly Center, permanent exhibit halls and traveling exhibitions. Permanent exhibits include the Cockrell Butterfly Center (breathtakingly beautiful); the Hall of Paleontology; the Weiss Energy Hall (which includes The Energy Explorations Theater, Formation, Geology, Geography, Exploration, In Drilling, Geovator, Reservoir and Production, Processes and Products, Transportation and Distribution and Alternative Energy Sources.); Welch Chemistry Hall (wish high school chemistry had been this much fun!); the Cullen Hall of Gems and Minerals; the Strake Hall of Malacology (who knew little shells creatures could be this interesting.); the Farish Hall of Texas Wildlife; the Evelyn and Herbert Frensley Hall of African Wildlife; Searching for Eternity: Life and Death in Ancient Egypt (WOW); and the Foucault Pendulum. Don’t go to Houston if you can’t go here!  The museum is free on Tuesdays from 2-6 p.m.

11.   The Houston Zoo is home to more than 4,500 exotic animals representing more than 800 species. The Houston Zoo is  the seventh most visited zoo in the world. It has 17 different habitats which give the visitors views of wildlife that other zoos can only hope to show. It is truly a world class experience.

12.   The Jung Center of Houston displays exhibits featuring local, national, and internationally known artists throughout the year that are open to the public. The Center has also exhibited photos as part of the international Foto Fest held biennially in Houston. It was founded in 1958 to help individuals increase self-awareness through an understanding of Carl Jung's analytic psychology.

13.   The Lawndale Art Center exhibits contemporary art works with a focus on Houston area artists.

14.   The Menil Collection is world renowned. The Menil’s Collection has antique art from the Paleolithic period to pre-Christian eras; Byzantine and Medieval art; Tribal art; Twentieth Century art with a focus on European modernism, Surrealism, and American postwar art; the Cy Twombly Gallery; and Richond Hall. Don’t miss this.

15.   The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has almost 60,000 works of art from antiquity to the present day. The collections included are: MFAH Collections; African Art; The Glassell Collection of African Gold; American Sculpture and Painting; Masterworks by Frederic Remington; The Ancient Egyptian Works; Asian Art; The Glassell Collection of Indonesian Gold; the Bayou Bend Collection; the Adolpho Leirner Collection of Brazilian Constructive Art; The Collection of Modern and Contemporary Decorative Art; The Helen Williams Drutt Collection; European Painting and Sculpture; Impressionism/Post-Impressionism; The Blaffer Foundation Collection; The Beck Collection; Latin American Art; Modern and Contemporary Art; The Art of Texas; Native American Art; Oceanic Art; Photography; Pre-Columbian Art; The Glassell Collection of Pre-Columbian Gold; Prints and Drawings; the Rienzi Collection; and Textiles and Costume. Admission is free all day on Thursdays.

16.   Rice University Gallery is the only university museum in the United States devoted to site-specific installation art. It is very interesting. They have 5 new displays each year.

17.   The Rothko Chapel functions as chapel, a museum and a forum. It is a place where religion, art and architecture intermingle. It was named one of the ten most mind-blowing, energizing, unorthodox and flat-out cool places to experience art in America by GQ (2010). It was listed by Yahoo! Travel as one of the top 10 U.S. places to see before you die (2008). It is on National Geographic's list of the world's "most sacred places." And it is the only ecumenical center of its kind in the world. Think you have enough reasons to stop and see? Yep, you do!

18.   The John C. Freeman Weather Museum is a place for people of all ages to learn about the weather, its history and public safety. Its exhibits include A Weather Studio (ever wanted to be a TV weatherman? Now you can and take home the DVD to show everyone.); Climates of the World; Weather Wizard Corner; Tornadoes; Video Room; Weather History, and the Weather Sphere.  This was fun too!

You'd think we had about run out of free or almost free things to see in Houston. Nope, check my next post!

Travelers get more for their money in America's fourth largest city.

Houston For Free

There are 18 museums in the Museum District of Houston. Ten of them are free to visit all the time.This post covers 9 of them.

1.   The Buffalo Soldiers National Museum is the only museum in the U.S. dedicated primarily to preserving the legacy and honor of the African-American soldier. It houses the largest repository of African-American military history in the world. It is free to the public for groups of less than 15 on Mondays.

2.   The Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum houses two 13th century Byzantine frescoes--the only intact Byzantine frescoes in the Western Hemisphere. If you want to see true Old World craftsmanship, don’t miss this.

3.   The Children’s Museum of Houston is rated the No. 1 children's museum in the U.S. by Parents magazine. It is called A Playground for Your Mind™. The Museum is packed with 90,000 square feet of innovative, interactive bilingual exhibits for kids, ages birth to 12 years.  Free Family Nights are offered every Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m.

4.   The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is dedicated to presenting the best and most exciting international, national and regional art of the last 40 years.  The Museum Shop has some great artist and designer made items for sale.

5.  Czech Cultural Center Houston celebrates the culture of Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia and Silesia with events and exhibitions. I fairly drooled over the porcelain, pottery and glass especially the Amphora pieces on display.

6.   The Health Museum is the most visited health museum in the country featuring three-dimensional anatomy models and interactive exhibits. Admission is free on Thursdays from 2-5 p.m.

7.   The Holocaust Museum Houston was created as a living testimonial to those who perished in the Holocaust. Inside the Museum you will find the permanent display Bearing Witness: A Community Remembers; a World War II Holocaust Railcar; Two Galleries for art and photographs; an Education Center; the Lack Family Memorial Room for meditation and prayer; and outside is the Eric Alexander Garden of Hope. This is a not-to-be missed museum.

8.   The Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) is one of the few venues in the country dedicated exclusively to craft at the highest level, highlighting art made of glass, fiber, clay, metal, wood or found/repurposed materials. It is amazing what artisans can do. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the HCCC.

9.   The Houston Center for Photography is one of a handful of non-profits that exhibits works by artists from around the country showing great new photograph.  How come my camera doesn’t take pictures like that?

See you on the next post! 

Let's Travel

Cruises, tours, trains, buses, planes, and even cars, each of those travel venues offer their own distinct pleasures and problems.

We will explore them together. I will share my years of traveling insights and answer any questions you ask.

I love to go places I haven't gone before. Revisiting places is fun as well.  Every time I go to Paris, I feel like I'm visiting an old friend who has rebuilt her house. It is somewhat familiar but there are parts that are new and exciting.

Houston, Texas is the same. That once lazy little cattle town is a sprawling metropolis that blends American, European, and Mexican traditions with easy grace.