Children's Museum of Houston452

The winner of our 2009 Parents' Picks Award for the best museum for kids in Houston, the Children's Museum of Houston provides 90,000 square feet of wall-to-wall, non-stop fun for kids with interactive exhibitions in the areas of science and technology, history and culture, health and human development, and the arts.

Monday hours: The museum is open on Mondays, 10am-6pm, during the summer (from Memorial Day to Labor Day). Also, the museum is open on select holidays: MLK Day, Presidents' Day, every day during Spring Break, Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day.

In addition to dozens of hands-on science activities, the main level also features the innovative Kidtropolis exhibit, a mini-Main Street, USA in which kids can load up their own "debit cards" and spend "Kidtropolis dollars" on goods and services at the art school, market, diner, and vet clinic. The Kidtropolis news center gives kids a chance to compile their own TV news reports - including a weather report complete with blue-screen technology in the background.

The PowerPlay exhibit offers kids the chance to get really active with a three-story climbing structure (extending from the lower level to the upper level), a dance mania game, and a rock climbing wall.

The lower level of the museum houses Invention Convention, which is full of various supplies that allow kids to explore robotics and other technological concepts, while making their own gadgets and contraptions at workspaces such as a rocket launch cage and a Lego table. Supplies and activities change daily, so every visit can result in a new inventions.

Also downstairs, Cyberchase is an interactive math exhibit based on the PBS Kids Go! animated television series.

On the upper level, the museum's TotSpot is filled with stimulating activities specifically for crawlers and toddlers, without the big kids getting in the way. The TotSpot's outdoor terrace has soft, spongy flooring so the little ones can run loose and burn off some energy. An elevator is available to take visitors upstairs, and plenty of room is set aside for stroller parking by the toddler play area.

Outside, FlowWorks is an interactive introduction to the forces of hydropower, with an 18-foot-tall cauldron spilling water into a simulated flood plain and aqueduct, designed and redesigned by the kids themselves.

The Kid's Cafe features reasonably priced meals and snacks. In addition to standard kid-fare such as burgers, corn dogs, and pizza, the cafe also offers more "grown-up" options such as veggie burgers, deli sandwiches, fresh fruit, and salads.

The gift shop is about as good as any toy store in town, carrying a wide variety of games, toys, stuffed animals, dolls, books, CDs, and more.

The Parent Resource Library in the main hall operates in conjunction with the Houston Public Library, allowing visitors to check out books, browse through resource material, and print information off the internet. Bilingual storytimes are also offered at the museum, and volunteer opportunities are available for teens ages 14-18.

Parties: Members can schedule birthday parties in the party room for up to 20 guests and their parents. The cost includes a tour of the Museum with a "zany" guide, room setup with table, chairs, and tablecloth, and a free t-shirt and balloon bouquet for the birthday kid.