The Children’s Museum of Houston is a great hands-on learning center that will entertain kids for hours on end. However, it’s so big that you might get overwhelmed. Discover the must-see exhibits waiting at this museum.
Chevron-Houston Texans Maker Annex
This exhibit’s name is a mouthful, but it shows children some of the most exciting new inventions used in construction and creative jobs. The whole area teaches visitors about 3D printing, programming, circuitry, robots, lasers, video game development, and more with interactive exhibits and colorful cartoons. The Annex has group lessons that end with each visitor creating products of their own. Give your tech-minded child a deeper understanding of the things they love most. You could spark their future career.
How Does It Work?
The wacky contraptions in this exhibit show how electricity, sound, and other waves travel through matter. They also show how pulleys work, what makes airplanes fly, and more with artistic representations by major local artists. Kids build their own miniature roller coaster and send it down a five-foot tower to understand kinetic energy. They can also design a miniature car.
Flow Works
Consistently called the most fun exhibit by repeat visitors, Flow Works is an outdoor water-themed zone that shows the many curious ways water behaves and how we use that to our advantage. The centerpiece of Flow Works is an 18-foot high cauldron that fills up more and more as kids participate with the exhibits and redirect the water flow. When it’s full, it tips over and makes a massive, exciting wave. Kids can compete in groups to see who can tip the cauldron the fastest. Kids will be dipping their hands into water, but otherwise will stay dry.
Cyberchase – The Chase Is On!
Based on the Emmy award-winning PBS KIDS show of the same name, this exhibit combines math and critical thinking in an exciting clash of good vs. evil. The dastardly Hacker seeks to control Cyberspace, but the CyberSquad and their cyberbird friend are here to stop him. Kids will learn more about computers, networks, and relevant mathematical concepts, such as probability and geometry, in perhaps the first math-themed activity that any child will enjoy. This is excellent for kids who love watching Cyberchase as well.
Cum Yah Gullah
The Gullah are a West African culture from the Sea Islands, which survived slavery and had virtually no American influence until the 1950s. This exhibit preserves the Gullah way of life, showing the tradition-based, family focused, hearty culture that composed enduring folk characters such as Br’er Rabbit. The Gullah are the African culture least affected by American intervention, and in the recreated life of its people, kids can learn about their heritage of telling stories, living off the land, and supporting art and music.
With these five awesome exhibits, any brief visit is sure to get you your money’s worth in oohs and aahs, laughs, and new insights for your children. Help them understand the world and themselves while giving them a fun-filled adventure at the Children’s Museum of Houston.
Image “Houston Children’s Musem playground” by Theresa_QViews, used under CC BY-SA 2.0
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