Attractions

Alley Theatre

Web: www.alleytheatre.org
Phone: (713) 220-5700

The Tony-award winning Alley Theatre in Downtown Houston is the crown jewel in H-Town's thriving stage arts scene. The talented cast, crew and producers never fail to challenge themselves with a wide variety of plays each season.

The Alley Theatre company was founded in 1947 and has persisted in offering its audiences new plays, classics, unearthed pieces that have regained new life, and modern musical theater pieces.

The professional theater company uses a 75,000-square-foot facility to build and rehearse. The Alley Theatre Center for Theatre Production is the largest facility of its kind.

The result, naturally, is season after season of highly regarded productions that rival the original Broadway and off-Broadway runs. As one of the most prestigious resident theaters in the U.S, the Alley Theatre typically stages 11 productions each season. The theater seats 824 for the main stage and 310 for the more intimate Neuhaus stage.

Plays previously performed include: "The Mousetrap," "St. Nicholas," "A Behanding in Spokane," "A Christmas Carol," "Peter Pan," "Amadeus" and "Pygmalion."

The Alley continues its educational and outreach efforts each year, encouraging young playwrights, performers and future patrons to participate and explore. Programs include From Stage to Page, HYPE (Houston Young Playwrights Exchange) and the Young Performers Studio.

Contemporary Arts Museum Houston

Web: www.camh.org
Phone: (713) 284-8250

The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is a museum of passion and honesty, committed to providing the best in contemporary new art and exploring the advent of modern art through the years.

Founded in 1948, the museum features international, national and regional art in ever-changing exhibits. New artwork is presented along with educational materials and scholarly publications, all meant to enrich the overall experience of appreciating and understanding the works of various artists.

The institution is located downtown in the heart of the Houston Museum District. Its building is a widely recognized stainless steel structure created by award-winning architect Gunnar Birkerts. The new location opened in 1972.

Ongoing exhibits have included "Perspectives," a series of works by emerging and well-known artists that have not yet shown in Houston. Thematic presentations recently have included Finders/Keepers, where the museum has borrowed back works from patrons that were first shown years ago at the museum, Elvis + Marilyn: Two Times Immortal; Abstract Painting Once Removed; and Other Narratives.

Harris County Heritage Society

Web: www.heritagesociety.org
Phone: (713) 655-1912

The Harris County Heritage Society is located in San Houston Park, where it maintains an enclave of historic homes and a museum open to the public.

Historic structures that have been preserved are from the early 1800s and the turn-of-the century.

The buildings include:

• Kellum - Noble House - This 1847 structure is the oldest surviving brick home in Houston. It was built by Nathaniel Kellum, and then served as one of Houston's first private schools during the 1850s. The school was run by Zerviah Noble. The successful restoration efforts helped organize the Heritage Society.
• St. John Church - Built by German farmers in 1891, this country church still has its original alter and plank pews intact.
• The Old Place - Seeing is believing. This rough-hewn cedar cabin is believed to have been built around 1823. It is regarded as the oldest remaining structure in Harris County.
• Also: Nichols-Rice-Cherry House, San Felipe House, Pillot House, Staiti House, Yates House, 4th Ward Cottage

Visitors will want to check out the Heritage Society Museum at Sam Houston Park, which gives more detailed information about each structure. It's also a great place to begin your walking tour.

A surprise tucked into the museum is the Duncan store, a general store built in 1878 in Egypt, Houston. It sold everything from food, to meat, to lumber to coffins.

Enjoy lunch in the Tea Room and take home a souvenir of Houston history from the gift shop.

Houston Museum of Natural Science

Web: www.hmns.org
Phone: (713) 639-4629

The Houston Museum of Natural Science is located in the city's museum district and is one of the most heavily attended museums in the U.S., sharing the list with such heavyweights as the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History, both in New York City.

The Houston Museum of Natural Science was founded in 1909 and today welcomes more than 2 million visitors a year, 600,000 of them schoolchildren. More than 1 million pieces of objects and specimens are housed in the museum's vast, four-story complex.

Special sections of the museum include the Wortham IMAX Theatre, Cockrell Butterfly Center, Burke Baker Planetarium and the George Observatory.

More than a dozen permanent exhibits explore the worlds of astronomy and space science, Native Americans, chemistry, energy, paleontology and Texas wildlife.

Minute Maid Park

Web: houston.astros.mlb.com
Phone: (713) 259-8000

Minute Maid Park takes the best of the Astrodome and transforms it into state-of-the-art ballpark with modern amenities. But it still manages to incorporate elements of an old-style ballpark, with its grass field, retractable roof and an historic train section that pays homage to the site's location on the old Union Station grounds.

The park opened in 2000 and is home to the Houston Astros, the city's Major League Baseball team.

Unlike the old Astrodome, Minute Maid Park's roof is retractable. It allows fans to enjoy a game in spit of Houston's humidity, and then retracts to allow cooler air in during seasonable weather.

The ballpark has 4,774 club seats and 63 luxury suites.

Space Center Houston

Web: www.spacecenter.org
Phone: (281) 244-2105

The Space Center Houston is where imaginations soar and dreams are created. As the official visitors center of NASA's Johnson Space Center, the Space Center Houston teaches visitors all about human adventures into space - from when it all began to the future of space exploration in the 21st century.

Throughout the Space Center, you'll find exhibits, attractions, special presentations and hands-on activities to learn about NASA's manned space flight program.

Here you can watch astronauts train for missions, touch a real moon rock and take a behind-the-scenes tour of NASA.

Future spacecraft engineers and designers, as well as budding astronauts learn the importance of science and math in creating a future career in space exploration.

Children's Museum of Houston

Web: www.cmhouston.org
Phone: (713) 522-1138

The Children's Museum of Houston sets the standard for today's hands-on, interactive museums of learning and discovery, built especially for younger patrons.

The 90,000-square-foot museum has a 5-star rating on social network sites, was voted "Ultimate Kid-Friendly Attraction" in a Houston Chronicle readers poll, and tied for the No. 1 spot as the nation's best children's museum in Child magazine.

The exhibits are bilingual and the museum serves children ages birth to 12 years.

Permanent exhibits include:

• FlowWorks - This exhibit unleashes the power of water for children to explore and research the concept of energy flow. Plus, it's got plenty of wild, wet fun that young imaginations can't resist!
• Kidtropolis, USA - Finally, a chance for kids to rule the world! Here at Kidtropolis, the under-12 bunch do everything adults do, and more! Youngsters can start business, hold jobs, elect each other into city government and get a business loan. Learn about real life in a game-like atmosphere.
• Power Play- This newest exhibit teams up to teach kids about health and physical fitness. While they're jumping around and having fun, kids learn that exercise is fun and good for you.
• CYBERCHASE - The Chase Is On! - It's up to kids to thwart the evil Hacker who's on a mission to take over the Internet! This exciting math exhibits takes kids on a technical adventure and shows them how to play digital detective.
• Invention Convention - Gadgets and gizmos galore are laid out for kids to connect, create and construct anything their heard desires. Here they'll learn to imagine it and create it!
• EcoStation - Kids naturally care about the Earth, and this exhibit teaches them to understand how our actions impact the environment - and what we can all do about it! Kids become empowered after learning about water quality testing, soil explorations and other tests they can take home and perform in their own backyard.
• How Does It Work? - Answers to the most pressing questions of the day, like "How does a wireless phone work?" and "Why can't people see in the dark?" See what makes a car go with a real '66 Mustang, and lift yourself 5 feet into the air to learn how a simple pulley system can move even the heaviest of objects.

Fun Plex

Web: www.funplex.org
Phone: (281) 530-7777

Every day is like an indoor carnival at the Fun Plex! The towering facility manages to put it all under one roof, literally. The activities here will satisfy kids of all ages.

Located in downtown Houston, the Fun Plex is a playtime oasis that includes carnival rides, movie theaters, a miniature golf course, a bowling alley, roller skating rink and modern arcade games.

Concession stands with food and drink provide plenty of fuel to go all day. After all, there's tons to explore.

Just a few of the rides, games and entertainment at the Fun Plex include:

• Go Karts - The indoor Go Kart track offers two rides: Safe and slow for smaller kids, and a high-speed adult ride that'll satisfy your need for speed (up to 22 mph!).
• Carnival Rides - The list of thrills include a Carousel, Ferris Wheel, Krazy Kars (Bumper Cars), Red Baron Airplanes, Lady Bugs and a Rio Grande Train.
• Arcade Games - More than 30 redemption games that award tickets that you can collect and cash in for great prizes. Noisy fun that'll have the whole family cheering!
• Movie Theater Multi-Plex - Ready to relax and take in a show? Kick back here for the best deals on first-run movies.
• Bowling - Family fun that brings the ball back into bowling! There are 40 lanes available and plenty of lights and good music to keep the game going strong.
• Pool Hall - This family-friendly pool hall has something for kids and grownups, including adult video games, flat screen TVs and a full bar.
• Roller City USA Skating Ring - A12,000-square-foot floor keeps the good times rolling here. The music blasts through a state-of-the-art speaker system to help you find your four-wheeled flow.
• Play Port - If you're taller than 4'4", do not enter! This special place is for crawling, climbing and high adventure for little ones in your entourage.

Houston Holocaust Museum

Web: www.hmh.org
Phone: (713) 942-8000

The Houston Holocaust Museum was spurred by one man's epiphany: Survivors who lived in the Houston area were getting older, and their stories of the Holocaust would fade - along with important lessons of unchecked prejudice and the power of peace.

For more than 10 years Siegi Izakson focused on his mission to create a suitable memorial and educational center. Then in 1990, a well-known Jewish community leader embraced his idea and used her influence to begin a successful capital campaign for a Holocaust museum in Houston.

The Houston Holocaust Museum is located in the Houston Museum district and opened in 1996, to which Izakson proclaimed, "This means the Holocaust story will not go away."

The museum is an ever-evolving, living museum which includes a permanent exhibit and temporary exhibits on loan from other Holocaust Museums around the country.

Many who have visited here - survivors, adults, schoolchildren - have left notes, poems, artwork and gifts to express their feelings upon seeing the exhibits.

The Permanent Exhibition at the Museum is called "Bearing Witness: A Community Remembers." The tour begins with a look at life before the Holocaust and the beginning of Nazism. The exhibit then shows its insidious progression, from segregation, to imprisonment, to extermination.

Artifacts, film reels, photographs, and text panels tell the story and set the backdrop for personal accounts from local survivors in the short films "Voices" and "Voices II."

The many items on display include:

• A World War II Holocaust Railcar - This was the type of car used to carry millions of Jews to concentration camps and, ultimately, to their deaths.
• Danish Rescue Boat - This 1942 Danish rescue boat is the type used to save more than 7,200 Jews from almost certain execution at the hands of Nazi Germany.

Two areas of the museum encourage reflection and meditation. They are the Lack Family Memorial Room, which contains the art installations the Wall of Remembrance, the Wall of Tears and the Wall of Hope. The Memorial Wall in the room is a place where local Holocaust survivors can commemorate their lost loved ones.

The other area is called the Eric Alexander Garden of Hope, a quiet garden dedicated to the memory of the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust.

Houston Zoo

Web: www.houstonzoo.org
Phone: (713) 533-6500

The Houston Zoo is home to more than 4,500 animals in a 55-acre park within downtown Houston. More than 900 species are represented, and the zoo is the seventh most-visited zoo in the nation.

In the early 1900s, the city zoo was located in Sam Houston Park and boasted an assortment of monkeys, prairie dogs and an alligator pond. The growing collection through the years spurred the city to improve and expand the Houston Zoo.

Featured areas include the Kipp Aquarium, The Fischer Bird Gardens, Tropical Bird House, a Children's Zoo with a petting zoo and water playground, the World of Primates, Wildlife Carousel, the McNair Asian Elephant Habitat and the Reptile & Amphibian Building.

The latest addition to the zoo is the African Forest, a $100 million project that will transform 6.5 acres into a wilderness habitat featuring chimpanzees, rhinos, and giraffes in an forest environment typically seen in western Africa.

Museum of Fine Arts Houston

Web: www.mfah.org
Phone: (713) 639-7750

See Museums page for more info.

The Menil Collection

Web: www.menil.org
Phone: (713) 535-3180

The Menil Collection is an art museum founded by its namesake couple, John and Dominique Menil, who relocated from France to Houston and became pivotal figures in the growth of Houston's burgeoning cultural life.

The couple cherished art and architecture and eventually built the museum that bears the family name. They began collecting art in the 1940s and promoted modern art through several area organizations at the time.

Even after their deaths, the museum continues to collect pieces in the true spirit of the couple, who believe that art revealed and explored what it means to be human. The couple especially included in their collection pieces from different cultures and eras to reflect the full arc of human existence.

Splashtown

Web: www.splashtownpark.com
Phone: (281) 355-3300

If you've been looking for a 40-acre water park with more than 2 million gallons of excitement, look no further than SplashTown in Houston.

One of the most popular attractions, the Tornado shoots riders down a 132-foot-long tunnel and blasts them into a giant funnel. If you've ever wondered what it feels like to be in the middle of a tornado, here's your chance.

Other rides include:

• Stingray Racer - Six waterslide lanes stand 5 stories tall, propelling riders down a twisting and turning track.
• Thunder Run - An inline tube slide that picks up speed at every twist and turn.
• Blue Lagoon Activity Pool - A water-filled playground with swings, geysers and water cannons. A relaxing waterfall beckons you to stay and relax a while.
• Guadalupe River Adventure - Grab a tube and float along the lazy winding river.
• Crocodile Isle - Made especially for young adventurers, Crocodile Isle is equipped with a pirate ship, water cannons and slides.

Other activitieses and rides include: The Texas Freefall, Big Spin, Zoom Flumes, Wild Wave Pool, Shotgun Falls, Space Rapids and Treehouse Island.