Houston has a wide variety of museums that cover a wide range of interests. Whether your main interest is in sports, plants, history or the arts, you're bound to find a great museum here. Best of all, you can attend many excellent museums for free in Houston!
The Contemporary Arts Museum has been offering admission for free since it began displaying exhibits in the 1940s. The Museum shows works by contemporary Houston and Texas artists as well as works by artists from other parts of the United States and the world. In addition to its exhibits, the Contemporary Arts Museum often has learning programs and events for adults as well as children.
The Holocaust Museum Houston is an important museum to visit while in Houston. It honors and remembers all sufferers of the Holocaust, both those who died in it and those who survived it. Museum materials include documents, photographs and film footage as well as items such as the type of rail car used to transport victims to be killed. The museum is free to visit for college students with I.D. and children under 18; it is free for all visitors on Thursdays from 2 to 5pm and on special holidays.
There are two arboretums to see in Houston. The Mercer Arboretum has the biggest collection of both cultivated and native plants in Houston, from bamboo to perennials. The Mercer Arboretum's plants can be found on trails set in the East Texas Piney Woods. Educational programs about the plants may also be available.
The other arboretum to see for free in Houston is the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center (HANC). The HANC is a non-profit museum that is dedicated to the protection and education of all aspects of the natural environment. There is an indoor area with hands-on exhibits, microscopes and more, but much of the exhibits are natural habitats that include wetlands, forests, ponds and meadow areas.
The Houston Sports Museum is a very unusual museum to view for free in Houston because it is located in the back of a furniture store. The store, the Finger Furniture Store on the Gulf Freeway, occupies the exact spot the 1928 Buff Stadium once did. The Buff Stadium was the home stadium of the Buffs baseball team and the store's museum has a plaque indicating where the home plate once was. The collection features baseballs with the signatures of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle as well as assorted Houston sports memorabilia.