A Day at the Houston Museum of Natural Science

After the Fine Arts Museum of Houston (on Saturday), my next stop was the Houston Museum of Natural Science (on Sunday). What can I say? I was smitten with the Houston Museum District almost immediately and couldn’t wait to explore it more!

First things first when I arrived, I stopped inside at the ticket office to plan out my day. In my experience, it’s always a good idea to get to the museum early to see the day’s schedule of events–movie showings, exhibit tours, etc.–and to plan your day accordingly. For me, the planetarium showings are always a favorite, so I made sure to plan those in first. I opted for the Starry Night Express, which shows you exactly what stars and constellations will be visible that night and where to look for them. I usually go to the space-themed movies, so this more traditional astronomy talk was right up my alley and a nice change of pace!

After purchasing my ticket for the planetarium and a special exhibits tour (which I’ll talk about below), I headed into the museum to start my visit!

The museum opened with a gallery full of fish, hanging high above in the rafters. And in the gallery underneath were lots of booths set up for hands-on activities for the kids. (Lots of fun to watch the adults get involved too! haha!)

This being my first time to the HMNS, I didn’t have any idea where was best to start. And after my first visit of exploring the museum, you truly can’t go wrong with any of the exhibits! But being an avid dinosaur fan, I decided to stay on the ground floor and start in The Hall of Paleontology!

The exhibit walks you through time, starting near the early Cambrian period (520 million years ago, woah!) with trilobites and leading up to the Jurassic period (200 millions years ago) with full-sized dinosaurs.

Trilobites, one of the earliest form of arthropods, were and continue to be an integral part in development of theories on evolution, as well as are used in dating the various layers of rock where they are found. The HMNS actually has one of the most impressive and extensive collections of trilobite fossils I’ve ever seen! It was truly fascinating to see how the species evolved over time and all the different forms and shapes it took along the way. You can read more about the evolution and importance of trilobites here if you are interested!

As we moved forward in time, more diverse life developed and the fossils began to take bigger and more complex shapes.

Below is a fossil of a water lily, forever encapsulated in the rock. I mean…how cool?! Right? And there were also plenty of other underwater animal fossils as well (see picture below). I loved how the museum hung them from the ceiling, so that literally everywhere you looked there were creatures all around you! The experience was extremely immersive.

Next we moved into my favorite part, the late Jurassic period where the really big dinosaur-sized fossils dominated. So cool!

I’m probably biased, but the HMNS had one of the best collections of dinosaur fossils I’ve ever seen and I’d definitely recommend just going for that, if nothing else! I could’ve spent hours just in this one exhibit. And the local experts walking around have a wealth of knowledge and love it when you ask them questions!

I loved this silly installation (pictured below). At first glance you might not think anything of it, but I just know the scientists had a good laugh when putting this one up.

There were also lots of beautifully kept pieces of petrified wood–and even one that was larger than me!

After finishing up in this first exhibit, I next headed to one of the special exhibits on tour–The Hall of Ancient Egypt and Mummies of the World. Like I had briefly mentioned above, I went ahead and purchased the $5 guided tour through this one and I would highly recommend doing that!

It was a a great way to see all the highlights of the exhibit, plus get extra fun facts and an overall understanding for the context of the time and why each piece was significant. After the tour, I without a doubt felt like I understood the time period much better than I would have had I gone through it by myself. (This isn’t sponsored by the way. I just had a really great experience with this tour!)

There were even real mummy’s on exhibit!

I also loved looking at all the statues and figurines of the time. It was fun to think about the people who made these–what the people were like, why they made the figures, who they made them for–and the long long journey that brought these specific figurines here to the museum thousands of years later. These are the types of things that get me really excited about museums! (#nerd)

Next I headed into The Hall of Malacology. Malcology is the study of mollusks, so there were tons and tons of shells to look at of various sizes, shapes, and colors–over 100,000 different ones to be exact!

I also ventured a bit through The Hall of the Americas, which showcases the diversity of cultures from Alaska to Peru. There were tons of artifacts such as pottery, bead work, and other pieces found over time to tell each of the culture’s stories. This totem pole below was one of my favorite pieces I came across.

Next I ventured into The Hall of Gems and Minerals, which if you remember from our visit to the Denver Science Museum, was one of my favorites! I love looking at the great diversity in color and shape of all the different crystals. They’re all so beautiful!

Doesn’t this green one look like Einstein?! Too good!

As I neared the end of the day, I realized the museum was much more extensive than I had originally thought and I had seen but only a fraction of what the museum had to offer!

On my way out,  I snagged a quick glance at the Hall of Chemistry on the bottom floor. How neat are the glowing atoms on the ceiling?! This exhibit was definitely intended more for the kids, but still a fun one to stop by!

After spending a full day at the museum, I was exhausted and starving! I still wanted to see the Cockrell Butterfly Center, but just didn’t have it in me to continue (the struggle! ha!). So I set it aside for another day (I’ll cover it in another post soon!) and went about finding food nearby for dinner.

The Children’s Museum of Houston is also very close and I loved seeing these handmade artworks on the sidewalk.

For dinner, I stopped into Bodegas Taco Shop and got the veggie tacos with rice and beans. Yum! It was exactly what my belly needed after so much exploring in the Houston Museum of Natural Science that day!

Pro Tips:

Parking: Park in the neighborhoods surrounding the HMNS to save money on parking–it’s only a few blocks of walking for those who are able. If you need to park closer to the HMNS, use the parking garage connected to the museum ($10 with proof of ticket, $5 for members). More information here.

Plan Your Visit First: When you first arrive, check to see which Planetarium showings (I’d recommend 1-2) you want to go to, as well as what Guided Tours (see below) you’d like to attend. Also consider going to the Cockrell Butterfly Center! This will insure that you see everything you want to and don’t have to wait in line for tickets later. The ticket office personnel are really helpful too–ask them any questions you have about what exhibits/tours/movies they recommend and the best way to fit everything you want to see in!

Guided Tours: I would highly recommend going on the $5 guided tours of the special exhibits. I went on the tour of The Hall of Ancient Egypt and loved it. I also wish I would’ve had time for The Hall of Paleontology tour as well–I overheard one going on while I was walking around. Check the daily schedule to see which ones you may be interested in joining. More information here.

Membership: If you are thinking about visiting the museum more than once and/or if you spend enough on extra add-ons like Guided Tours, Planetarium shows, the Butterfly Center, and even parking!, consider getting the Museum Membership. It may end up saving you money in the long run, and I actually wish I would’ve gotten one for over the summer. As a student, it would’ve paid for itself with just one more visit. More information here.

What about you? Do you have a favorite exhibit in Science Museums?

You might also like…The Denver Natural Science Museum and The Houston Museum of Fine Arts.

This post associated with this Little Things post (for context).