World City Guide

Key Attractions

Space Center Houston
The Space Center Houston is a privately operated attraction that acts as the official visitor centre of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Exhibits include the Gemini and Apollo capsules, other space flight hardware, including a full-size mock-up of a space shuttle, and astronaut memorabilia. Visitors can enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour of the Johnson Space Center, hands-on space simulators, IMAX films and even watch astronauts train for upcoming shuttle missions. In addition, there are changing exhibitions on subjects like crop circles and robots.

1601 NASA Road 1
Tel: (281) 244 2100.
E-mail: schinfo@spacecenter.org
Website: www.spacecenter.org
Transport: Metrobus 246 Bay Area NASA (selected trips).
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 1000-1700, Sat and Sun 1000-1800 (Sep-May); daily 1000-1900 (Jun), daily 0900-1900 (Jul); Mon-Fri 1000-1700, Sat and Sun 1000-1900 (Aug).
Admission: US$16.95 (concessions available).

Contemporary Arts Museum
The Contemporary Arts Museum, established in 1948 and housed in an award-winning contemporary all-metal structure, has several rotating exhibitions each year. It displays new and recent works of the last 40 years, by regional, national and international contemporary artists. Recent exhibitions included the works of the avant-garde artist, Yoko Ono. In 2003, an exhibition will examine the profound influence of cartoons and comics in contemporary art. There will also be an exhibition on the art of Patti Smith, many of her large-scale drawings being inspired by the events of September 11th.

5216 Montrose Boulevard, Museum District
Tel: (713) 284 8250. Fax: (713) 284 8275.
Website: www.camh.org
Transport: Metrobus 34 Montrose or 65 Bissonnet.
Opening hours: Tues and Wed 1000-1700, Thurs 1000-2100, Fri and Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1200-1700.
Admission: Free.

Museum of Fine Arts
The Museum of Fine Arts has an impressive collection of over 45,000 pieces of art, including antiquities and Renaissance art through to Impressionism and early Modernism. It also has fine African sculptures, textiles and costumes. The striking Beck Building, designed by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo, was opened in March 2000, doubling the size of the museum and allowing more of the ever-growing collection to be displayed. The building has a roof that is studded with skylights, which gives ideal lighting conditions in which to view the paintings. Highlights include the Straus Collection of Renaissance and 18th-century paintings and the Beck Collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art, including Van Gogh, Monet, Matisse and Gauguin.

1001 Bissonnet Street, Museum District
Tel: (713) 639 7300.
E-mail: visitorservices@mfah.org
Website: www.mfah.org
Transport: Metrobus 1 Hospital, 2 Bellaire, 4 Beechnut, 8 South Main, 15 Hiram Clarke, 34 Montrose or 65 Bissonnet.
Opening hours: Tues and Wed 1000-1700, Thurs 1000-2100, Fri and Sat 1000-1900, Sun 1215-1900.
Admission: US$7 (concessions available); free on Thurs.

Menil Collection
The Menil Collection is the home of the works of art collected by John and Dominique de Menil – a prominent, wealthy Houston family – while on their travels. The private collection includes antiquities, Byzantine art, tribal art and 20th-century works, such as Cubism, Minimalism, Surrealism and Pop Art. There is also a permanent collection of astronomical instruments and ceremonial masks, which fascinated the Surrealists.

1515 Sul Ross Street, Museum District
Tel: (713) 525 9400. Fax: (713) 525 9444.
E-mail: info@menil.org
Website: www.menil.org
Transport: Metrobus 78 Alabama.
Opening hours: Wed-Sun 1100-1900.
Admission: Free.

Holocaust Museum Houston
The Holocaust Museum Houston serves as a memorial to the millions who were imprisoned and died in Nazi death camps in World War II. The museum contains a permanent exhibition hall, regularly changing temporary exhibitions, a memorial area and sculpture garden. A permanent exhibition – ‘Bearing Witness: A Community Remembers’ – reveals the atrocities of the Holocaust through the words and memorabilia of local survivors. The museum features a 30-minute film – Voices – which is a montage of oral histories by Holocaust survivors from the Houston area. Guided tours available at weekends at 1230, 1330, 1430 and 1530.

5401 Caroline Street, Museum District
Tel: (713) 942 8000.
E-mail: tours@hmh.org
Website: www.hmh.org
Transport: Metrobus 1 Hospital, 2 Bellaire or 4 Beechnut.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1700, Sat and Sun 1200-1700.
Admission: Free.

Houston Museum of Natural Science
This museum contains an impressive collection of natural exhibits. Highlights include the Cockrell Butterfly Center – filled with butterflies and tropical plants and featuring a 21m (40ft) waterfall, a rainforest environment, a planetarium and a permanent exhibition of dinosaur skeletons. There is also an IMAX theatre. Special exhibitions change regularly.

1 Hermann Circle Drive, Museum District
Tel: (713) 639 4629.
E-mail: webmaster@hmns.org
Website: www.hmns.org
Transport: Metrobus 1 Hospital, 2 Bellaire, 4 Beechnut or 15 Hiram Clarke.
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0900-1800 (until 2000 Tues in summer), Sun 1100-1800.
Admission: US$6 (exhibits); US$5 (planetarium); US$5 (Cockrell Center); US$7 (IMAX); concessions available.

Houston Zoo
A very popular visitor attraction, the Houston Zoo covers 22 hectares (55 acres) and is home to over 700 species of animals, reptiles and amphibians. The zoo was established in Hermann Park in 1922 – with only a handful of animals – and has grown steadily since the federal government gave the city zoo a bison named ‘Earl’ in 1920. It is now an important centre for conservation and research. Most days, there are opportunities to view the feeding of certain animals (such as vampire bats) and also to see demonstrations by sea lions. The Wortham World of Primates is a lush 0.88-hectare (2.2-acre) replication of the natural rainforest habitat for the 13 species of monkeys and apes on show there. Other popular attractions are the big cats – including white tigers, leopards and jaguars.

1513 North MacGregor Street, Hermann Park, Museum District
Tel: (713) 533 6500.
Website: www.houstonzoo.org
Transport: Metrobus 1 Hospital.
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1800.
Admission: US$5 (concessions available).

Children’s Museum of Houston
A wonderful experience for those aged from four months to 14 years, the Children’s Museum of Houston has a variety of hands-on exhibits in the fields of science, history, culture and arts. The ‘Think Tank’ is a problem-solving exhibit using mirror magic and optical illusions. Activities concerning the environment feature tree rubbing and insect collecting.

1500 Binz Street, Museum District
Tel: (713) 522 1138. Fax: (713) 522 5747.
E-mail: athompson@cmhouston.org
Website: www.cmhouston.org
Transport: Metrobus 1 Hospital, 2 Bellaire or 4 Beechnut.
Opening hours: Tues-Sat 0900-1700, Sun 1200-1700.
Admission: US$5 (concessions available); free for families Thurs 1700-2000.

Sam Houston Historical Park
The eight-hectare (19-acre) Sam Houston Historical Park contains a collection of restored historic buildings – including houses, a church and a reconstructed row of shops. The buildings have been collected together on this site, to go with the 1847 Kellum-Noble House, the oldest house in Houston. A recent addition to the collection is the 1870 two-storey house belonging to Jack Yates, the first to be built by a freed slave. These historic buildings set against the sleek city skyscrapers make for a great photo opportunity. The only way to see the houses is on one of the regular guided tours.

1100 Bagby Street
Tel: (713) 655 1912. Fax: (713) 655 7527.
E-mail: info@heritagesociety.org
Website: www.heritagesociety.org
Transport: Metrobus 18 Kirby, 40 Pecore, 48 West Dallas, 50 Heights or Allen Parkway Special.
Opening hours: Guided tours Tues-Fri 1000, 1130, 1300 and 1430, Sat 1000-1500 on the hour and Sun 1300-1500 on the hour.
Admission: US$6 (concessions available).

John P McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science
A fascinating museum, the Museum of Health & Medical Science (part of the world-renowned Texas Medical Center) gives an exciting tour of the human body, with huge sculptures of human organs (including a brain and a rib cage). There are also plenty of hands-on and interactive exhibits that explore how the body works and how to stay healthy.

1515 Hermann Drive, Museum District
Tel: (713) 521 1515. Fax: (713) 526 1434.
E-mail: info@mhms.org
Website: www.mhms.org
Transport: Metrobus 1 Hospital, 2 Bellaire, 4 Beechnut or 15 Hiram Clarke.
Opening hours: Tues-Sat 0900-1700 (also open Mondays in summer), Sun 1200-1700.
Admission: US$5 (concessions available); free for families Thurs 1600-1900.