Houston Museums & Eclectic
Houston is home to a wealth of museums and fun eclectic places that you will not want to miss! Fortunately, since we are home to so many different types of people from so many different places we have all kinds of places to visit and things to see.
Further, our museums range from small to large and niche to broad. There is something for everyone. Also, there is something for every price range. For specific tips on how to get discounted tickets check out How to Visit Houston Museums for Cheap & Free Museums in Houston. Additionally, below we note which museums are free and when. Museums with an asterisks (*) are always free. Also, utilize the map below to sort and search.
Are you ready to discover Houston? Let’s go!
Eclectic Places
Museums
Zoos, Aquariums, & Wildlife Education
Looking for something outdoors? We have your parks & nature spaces too!
*Always independently verify times and prices before your visit
Museums
Children’s Museums
- Beaumont Children’s Museum (Beaumont)
- Children’s Museum of Houston
- Free Thursdays 5pm-8pm
- The Children’s Museum of Brazos Valley (Bryan)
- Fort Bend Children’s Discovery Center
- Galveston Children’s Museum (Galveston)
- Play Street Museum
- Katy | Great Outdoors
- The Woodlands | Town Square
- Cypress | The Farm
- West Bay Common School Children’s Museum (League City)*
- The Woodlands Children’s Museum
History & Culture
- 1940 Air Terminal Museum
- Antique Toy Museum & Gift Shop*
- Asia Society Texas
- Admission to building and Grand Hall exhibition is always free
- BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Houston*
- Barrington Plantation State Historic Site (Washington)
- Baytown Historical Museum* (Baytown)
- The Black Cowboy Museum
- Bluebell Creamery (Brenham)*
- Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History (Bryan)
- Brenham Heritage Museum (Brenham)
- The Bryan Museum (Galveston)
- Chappell Hill Historical Society* (Chappell Hill)
- Commemorative Air Force – Houston Wing*
- Czech Center Museum Houston
- Free Thursdays 2pm-4pm
- Dutch Windmill Museum* (Nederland)
- Fernland Historical Park*
- Fire Museum of Texas* (Beaumont)
- Fort Bend Museum
- Friendswood Schools Museum*
- Galveston Naval Museum (Galveston)
- Galveston Railroad Museum (Galveston)
- George H. W. Bush Presidential Library (College Station)
- George Ranch Historical Park
- Heritage Museum of Montgomery County*
- The Heritage Society at Sam Houston Park
- Heritage Village Museum (Woodville)
- Holocaust Museum Houston
- Free Thursdays 2pm-5pm
- Houston Fire Museum
- Houston Maritime Museum
- Houston Police Museum*
- Houston Toy Museum (coming soon)
- Humble Museum*
- Katy Heritage Park & Historical Homes* (Opening hours are kept current on their Facebook Page)
- Katy Veterans Memorial Museum*
- Lone Star Flight Museum
- Lucky Land
- Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) Depot and Caboose*
- Moody Gardens (Galveston)
- Museum of the American G.I. (College Station)
- Museum of the Gulf Coast (Port Arthur)
- National Museum of Funeral History
- National Museum of the Pacific War (Fredericksburg)
- The Johnny Nelson Katy Heritage Museum*
- Project Row Houses*
- Rosenberg Railroad Museum
- Russian Cultural Center*
- Rutherford B.H. Yates Museum | Freedmen’s Town
- Sam Houston Memorial Museum (Huntsville)
- Sam Houston Statue & Visitor Center (Huntsville)
- San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site & Museum (Sealy)
- San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site/ Battleship Texas (LaPorte)
- The outdoor grounds are open and free
- Spindletop/Gladys City Boomtown Museum (Beaumont)
- Spring Historical Museum*
- Star of the Republic Museum (Washington)
- Sugar Land Heritage Museum*
- Texas Basketball Museum* (Carmine)
- Texas City Museum (Texas City)
- Texas Cotton Gin Museum* (Burton)
- Texas Prison Museum (Huntsville)
- Texas Seaport Museum, Tall Ship Elissa (Galveston)
- Tomball Museum Center
- Varner Hogg Plantation State Historic Site (West Colombia)
- Viet-Nam Buddhist Center*
- Wunderlich Farm*
STEM & Nature
- Baytown Nature Center
- Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge – Discovery Center* (Angleton)
- Brazosport Museum of Natural Science* (Clute)
- City of Houston WaterWorks Education Center*
- Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary*
- Geoscience Center & Museum*
- The Health Museum
- Free Thursdays 2pm-7pm
- Houston Arboretum and Nature Center*
- Parking is free on Thursdays
- Houston Museum of Natural Science | HMNS
- Free Thursdays 2pm-8pm
- HMNS | George Observatory
- HMNS | Sugar Land Campus
- Nature Discovery Center*
- Ocean Star Offshore Energy Center (Galveston)
- 18 & under are free on the second Saturday of the month
- Port of Houston Authority Sam Houston Boat Tour*
- Space Center Houston
- Stanzel Model Aircraft Museum (Schulenburg)
- Texas Energy Museum (Beaumont)
Art & Gardens
- Art Car Museum*
- This is a small museum there are a few parking spots in front and a few on the street. Call if you will be taking a larger group.
- Art Museum of Southeast Texas* (Beaumont)
- Blaffer Art Museum*
- Byzantine Fresco Chapel*
- Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
- Contemporary Arts Museum*
- Cullen Sculpture Garden*
- David Adickes Studio*
- Houston Center for Contemporary Craft*
- Houston Center for Photography*
- Lawndale Art Center*
- The Menil Collection*
- Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens*
- Moody Center for the Arts*
- Museum of Fine Arts Houston
- Free all day on Thursdays
- Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts*
- The Printing Museum
- Rienzi
- The gardens are free everyday
- Rothko Chapel*
Zoos, Aquariums, & Wildlife Education
- Aggieland Wild Animal Safari (Bryan)
- Aquarium & Rainforest Pyramids At Moody Gardens
- Bear Creek Pioneers Park & Wildlife Habitat*
- Crocodile Encounter
- Downtown Aquarium
- Franklin Drive Thru Safari (Franklin)
- Friends of Texas Wildlife
- Gator Country
- Houston Audubon Raptor and Education Center (HAREC)
- Houston Interactive Aquarium and Animal Preserve
- Houston Zoo
- Free all day on the first Tuesday of the month
- Saint Francis Wolf Sanctuary
- Sea Center Texas* (Lake Jackson)
- TGR Exotics Wildlife Park
- Waugh Bat Colony*
- Wildlife Center of Texas
Eclectic
- Beer Can House
- Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern
- Chong Hua Sheng Mu Holy Palace*
- Destination Mound Town Train Tunnel on the Hermann Park Railroad
- Downtown Houston Tunnel System*
- Eclectic Menagerie Park*
- Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park*
- Giant Head Of Stephen Austin* (Bellville)
- Graffiti Park*
- Harrisburg Arts Museum*
- Minute Maid Park Tours
- Newman’s Castle (Bellville)
- The Orange Show Monument
- Phoenicia Specialty Foods*
- Smither Park*
- The Skyspace at Live Oaks Friend Meeting House* and James Turrell’s “Twilight Epiphany” Skyspace at Rice University*
