The Houston Children’s Museum racks up accolades every year from just about every organization that ranks children’s activities. Parent’s Magazine recently named it the top children’s museum in the country. Forbes named it one of the best places for virtual learning. And it regularly tops annual lists in Houston as one of the best experiences in the city for kids. It’s easy to see why from the moment you step inside. There’s so much to do! The museum has three levels of indoor and outdoor exhibits where kids can learn, create, invent, build, play, and explore.
We spent several hours here on a recent trip wandering around the building and discovering all the fun exhibits. Here are some highlights from our incredible day!
Kidtropolis
We started our day in Kidtropolis, USA. It’s a mini city built for kids. There’s a bank, city hall, police station, news station, grocery store, vet clinic (Carter’s fav), and so much more! He loved getting to help all the (stuffed) animals by giving medicine, weighing them, and even checking out their x-rays.
Kids get to learn about so many aspects of daily life by trying out a variety of roles, from city leaders and business owners to voters, shoppers, and citizens. Everything is kid sized, and so adorable! You could easily spend your entire day in this exhibit.
How Does it Work?
This portion of the museum is meant to teach kids about physical science and answer questions about how simple machines operate. Through interaction and simple explanations, these machines help answer the age-old question, “How does it work?” It’s incredible to see kids learning through play!
This was Carter’s favorite area. I think he could have spent all day in this spot, especially on the exhibit where you pump air into a machine that shoots a foam rocket overhead. There’s also a large wall where air pushes balls through a complex two-story maze which had kids constantly engaged.
Invention Convention
On the bottom floor, there’s an entire room dedicated to building and inventing. It’s meant to take kids through the process of inventing, from identifying problems to creating solutions, to building and testing their creations. Spare parts, recycled and household materials, project tables, and schematics are all on hand to help spark inspiration. We had so much fun constructing and racing Lego cars, playing with robots, and betting on whose paper airplane or device could fly the highest.
PowerPlay
This area is full of physical activities for kids, and adults, to try. Whether it’s a game that simulates what it’s like to push a boulder, climb through a jungle gym, stretch, or dance, there is so much to do in this area. Each activity is meant to teach kids how the body works. They even have heart rate monitors at each station so you can track your body’s reaction to the various activities. Carter and I loved racing superhero action figures over the downstairs area via a pulley system. I am proud to say that Iron Man (my guy) won!
FlowWorks
The museum also has a large outdoor space with a small playground and a water play area, called FlowWorks. Here kids can spray large water guns. And there’s a huge bucket of water that occasionally tips over, splashing everyone close by! We both had so much fun trying to outrun the large splash! There’s also a large hands-on area where you learn about the flow, pressure, and power of water by testing out which items float best through the maze of water.
Heart and Seoul
This whole area was dedicated to learning about the life and culture of Seoul, South Korea. There is an example of a high-rise apartment, a replica K-Pop studio, a taekwondo training center, a restaurant, and more. This was especially fun for Carter because he has a friend whose dad was born in Korea and is also a black belt in Taekwondo. So, we spent a lot of time at the taekwondo area filming videos to send to them!
The Houston Children’s Museum is the perfect place in Houston to spend time with the whole family. It’s open Tuesday — Saturday from 10 am — 6 pm. It only costs $15 for visitors.
While in Houston we stayed at the Post Oak Hotel. It is a 5-star hotel with so many upscale amenities to make both parents and kids happy. Click here, to read about our stay at the Post Oak.
