We discovered the unknown Geektopia! (The Houston Museum of Natural Science (Houston, USA))

Member Name: chugglebunny

Product:	The Houston Museum of Natural Science (Houston, USA)
Date:	14/05/09 (68 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Everything

Disadvantages: Nothing at all for me

On my recent trip to Houston Texas, my other half and I were planning what to spend one of our days doing, and decided on the Zoo. We jumped in a cab and were on our way to the zoo, or so we thought, the cabby dropped us off outside a huge building with "Museum of Natural Science" on the door. After asking, the driver assured is it was just around the back of the Museum and this was the back entrance as it's easier to park. We jumped out and figured, since we were there at the entrance, we would have a quick nose round the museum too.

Entrance / Location
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As I mentioned the museum is located in Houston Texas and is in the aptly named "Museum District" (Which incidentally IS where the zoo is located too, review coming soon!)

The Museum is open from 9am - 5pm in general, but opens later on a Sunday morning and closes later on a Tuesday evening.

First impressions of the museum were positive, it's a nice large building and has lots of space as you first walk in. The ticket booths are easily located directly to your left as you enter.

Prices / Attractions
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The museum offers a much bigger array of attractions then we were expecting, it has an IMAX theatre showing movies on "Alaska", "The Blue Planet" as well as 3D showings of "Sharks" and "Into the deep" These all last around 45minutes to an hour and cost $11 per adult.

There is a full size planetarium that shows short (30-45 minute) educational shows on the universe, this costs $8 per adult.

There is a large butterfly centre, costing $8 dollars per adult.

Then there is general admission into the museum and the entire exhibit halls (obviously this price excludes the IMAX, Butterflies and Planetarium) which costs $15 for an all day, come and go as you please pass.

The Planetarium
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The first thing we decided to do once we had arrived was check the times of all the attractions and shows. So we brought tickets for everything we wanted to do, the first thing on our list, was the planetarium. We waited on the comfy benches outside the entrance while the show before the one we booked finished. We then headed inside the corridor leading to the door as we noticed lots of bright UV pictures. The corridor is pitch black except these lights displaying fascinating pictures and displays of planets and solar systems as well as information and details on the different aspects of space.

The show we saw was called "Introduction to the universe" and was basically a beginner's look into the universe as we know it, shown on the large domed ceiling while you recline in comfy cinema chairs. It went from explaining the difference in stars and suns and planets, to pin pointing our location within our solar system, galaxy and nebular. As the detailed high definition projection flies all over the ceiling it's a very surreal experience as you feel like you're there, the end result being an educational look at the world and results in a feeling of sheer unimportance as you explore the vastness of our universe.

I really enjoyed this as I hadn't been in a proper planetarium before and thought it was a great experience. It was a little chilly once inside, being in Texas everything is well air conditioned but it was a little uncomfortable, so I would suggest a light jacket for going in.

The IMAX
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After our flight through the universe we headed to the 3D showing of "Sharks" we wanted to see. The 4 storey tall screen is the first IMAX I have been in and was pretty much what I expected. A very big cinema! The 3D glasses were provided for us and we sat and watched the half hour show happily laughing as any of the children laughed or screamed as the underwater monsters appeared to jump out at them. It was again educational but also fun and interesting for any kiddies.

The Cockrell Butterfly Centre
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The Butterfly centre was something I can't say I was too keen on doing. I really wanted to and I am glad I did, but I get more than a little twitchy when it comes to small buggy things that fly! Daddy long legs and moths are the 2 main things that petrify me for some reason. (Give me a spider over those any day!)

The Butterfly Centre is located around the back of the museum and you can look in through the glass without entering. We went on through after handing over our tickets and walked through the educational maze of pictures and specimens of all the lovely bugs. I already felt itchy at this point. There were interactive games where you had to press buzzers to answer questions on various things which the kiddies seemed to really enjoy and loads of bright wall charts and big bug models and statues.

There were some live samples of all the different insects and bits, from a tarantula and dung beetles to arrow frogs and millipedes.

The doors through to the main area have those thick plastic hanging sheets, like in large live stock freezers, I assume to keep the butterflies from getting out. You climb a few flights of stairs and emerge in this beautiful large and humid jungle. You start right at the top and follow a downwards winding path around the outside of the dome. There is no other way to describe it than as a jungle, there are plants and trees and a waterfall centrally down the middle and of course bazillions of butterflies. They are freely fluttering around, sitting on all the plants, drinking nectar from all the beautiful exotic plants and of course flying right in front of my face to make me stress out. Some get extremely close and will happily land on you as you stroll round, for this reason I made sure we kept our pace up. It was a very pretty place and I enjoyed looking at all the different butterflies, from the tiny to the scarily large.

A word of warning though, besides it being sickly hot and stuffy inside, you are also asked to check each other in a little off shoot by the exit for any butterflies that may have landed on you while walking around, and they do. So if you are even more skittish about flying bugs than I am, as pretty as they are, I would maybe recommend to sit this one out.

The Main Exhibits
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I perhaps should have reviewed each aspect of the museum separately because I could go into so much detail here, but I will try and stay brief.

The main exhibit starts with a dinosaur and fossil room; there is a full T-Rex skeleton along with about 10 other dinosaurs ranging from the very small to very large. (Don't forget to look up at the ones on the ceiling too!) There is loads of information and details including pictures and models of the whole Jurassic era.

There is a space for an "energy" exhibition which had details on mining and coals and the different ways energy can be made, stored and its uses. There is a pretty cool kinetic energy old fashioned sun dial thing, that swings back and forth all day and every swing moves it closer to these tiny pegs that it knocks down. Ok it sounds a little strange, but it was quite hypnotising to watch!

This is all on the first floor...there are lifts and stairs to access the 2 higher floors. Floor 2 is home to an animal and nature exhibit, where you can walk through glass displays of stuffed animals. They have everything from lions and tiger and bears (Oh my!) to monkeys, cats and cattle. At the back of this floor are also the "Malacology" displays (meaning shells) and the Cullen hall of Gems and Minerals. We briefly looked at the shells but I can't say I was that interested, the Gems and Minerals however, are displayed in a giant room which is darkly lit and each little window for the different Gems etc are brightly lit and gleaming. There are some spectacular diamonds and rubies as well as some more interesting and never before seen by me things, that look like alien rocks, but are actually found in our earth. Pretty interesting, to me anyway, especially as I am still pretty convinced they had a large shard of kryptonite!

The third floor is home to the "Hall of Americas" This has displays on the history of America, its land and indigenous people, as well as displays on the Mayans and Egyptians. There were again lots of very well kept artefacts and plenty of information to take in, from posters and films.

Other
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The museum is in such a large building, there are toilets located on every floor and in every section. I was pretty impressed with this, as it would be a complete pain to have to head to the other side of the museum just to use the bathroom.

There is a MacDonald's in the centre of the first floor, by the entrance. They have lots of seating and tables for every visitor. I was a little disappointed there wasn't any other option for food while in the museum, as they do not allow outside food or drink inside. Even just a stall selling anything but junk food and fizzy drinks would have been nice, maybe on a different floor to spread it out for those wanting a drink while upstairs.

The museum itself was never crowded but had so much space; I do not think it could be. There was always somewhere to sit and have a little break, as well as it being perfectly spotless and clean. All of the displays and features were state of the art and in fantastic condition. We only encountered staff at the MacDonald's, the ticket booth and when handing over tickets to access the different areas, but everyone seemed happy and laid back.

Conclusion
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As you might be able to tell from a nearly 2000 word review, I loved this place. It is a full day's family activity that was educational as well as completely enjoyable. We got to spend the whole day investigating the different areas and going where we wanted when we wanted. The butterfly centre and the main exhibits could be access as many times as you like until closing. For $42 dollars all in per adult I think it's a great deal. There is just so much to do! I would go back again if in Houston as there was bound to be lots we missed and we stayed for a good 5 hours. It was a pleasant surprise and something we weren't planning on doing while in Houston but I'm very glad we did. I would recommend anyone of any age to visit if in the area and I would challenge every person to not be able to find one thing that interests them. From the outer galaxy to the deepest ocean and everything in-between, this museum covers it all; Science, Nature, History, Education, Games and so much more.

I wish I could give it more stars.

Thanks for reading. Sorry if I bored anyone!!!! :)

Summary: Fantastic value for money day out!