10 Things to do in Houston with Kids

Sometimes traveling with children can get complicated when looking for family plans that will entertain them as much as the rest of the family group, but in Houston you don't have that problem. This city is known for offering really fun plans.

From museums to water parks, and other places like the zoo or the Urban Air trampoline park, the city offers a wide range of possibilities to take fun to another level and include among the best things to see and do in Houston.

This is one of the most special tickets to take advantage of visiting Houston with children. It is a pass that will allow you to take the kids to five of Houston's best and most interactive museums. You can also access each museum individually, making use of the Houston CityPass for many attractions.

Children's Museum

This is one of the most fun museums because there are any number of exhibits for all ages. One of them is The Market, a play and learning area with different elements for children to learn from their experiences inside the place. Younger children also have a special area with boats and water pipes.

The Children's Museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00. On Thursday it is open from 10:00 to 20:00. On Sunday it is open from noon to 18:00. Closed on Mondays. As for ticket prices, you can pay between 13 and 15 euros per ticket, although children up to one year old usually enter the museum for free.

Museum of Natural Sciences

The Museum of Natural Sciences is worth visiting as many times as possible, and in addition to permanent exhibits showing different species of natural history, it also has temporary exhibitions that vary from year to year. It is one of the best museums in Houston and I recommend you spend at least five hours to visit it.

Ticket prices usually cost between 16 and 25 euros per person. Children and teenagers can pay a reduced admission, as well as people over 65 years old. Children up to 2 years old are free. General opening hours are from 9:00 to 17:00, but on Thursdays between 18:00 and 21:00 free admission is available.

Health Museum

The Health Museum is dedicated to showing the functioning of the human body, as well as the advances of science in the area of health. This museum is listed as one of the affiliates of the Smithsonian Institution. What it offers to the public present is a unique experience of scientific exploration through all parts of the body.

Admission costs approximately 10 euros per person while people over 65 years old, as well as children between 3 and 5 years old pay around 8 euros for admission. Children under 2 years of age enter free of charge. From Friday to Sunday and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays it is open from 10:00 to 17:00. Thursdays between 10:00 and 19:00. Some Mondays may be open between 10:00 and 17:00.

Arboretum and Nature Center

It is a good park to take the children so that they can get in contact with nature. Its 63 hectares of extension include 8 kilometers of paths, in addition to a large number of plant species that decorate the place. The Arboretum and Nature Center is a good place within the city to enjoy the outdoors and ride a bike.

Another attraction of this place is the large number of species that you can see inside, such as birds, squirrels, frogs and even crocodiles. It is open from 7:00 to 18:00. Admission is free, while parking is free only on Thursdays, the rest of the days it costs around 5 euros.

Lone Star Flight Museum

Located in Galveston, the Lone Star Flight Museum has a large space dedicated exclusively to the display of objects and artifacts related to the history of aviation. Inside this space you will be able to see some of the aircraft that have marked a milestone in modern aviation.

It is open from Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 17:00 and on Sundays from 12:00 to 17:00. Children under 3 years of age as well as museum members are admitted free of charge. General admission can be priced at around 18 euros, while reduced tickets can cost between 12 and 15 euros. On Thursdays, admission is around 5 euros.

This is one of the most fun parks in Houston to visit with kids. It is an indoor and safe enough place where kids can jump non-stop on trampolines, climb and spend a whole afternoon jumping up and down.

Urban Air 's attractions also include an indoor paragliding flight, which lasts about one minute. It is a park suitable for children of all ages and each of the areas is designed to provide fun for children according to their age. All the equipment for jumping inside the park can be rented on site.

Details of interest

• Location: It has two locations in Houston. One is located on Hempstead Rd Suite 110. The second location is on S Sam Houston Pkwy E.
• Hours: Generally open from 16:00 except on Saturdays and Sundays when it is usually open at 10:00 and 12:00. It closes around 00:00, except for Fridays and Saturdays when it closes at approximately 23:00.
• Price: They offer three types of tickets that include access to the different attractions, while the ticket for parents costs 50% less than the ticket for children.

If there is a good plan to take the kids in Houston, it is the Houston Zoo. In this place they can learn about different kinds of animals from all over the world. They are arranged in the natural habitats of each species, so it is easier to know their way of life and learn a little more about them.

The Houston Zoo is organized by areas, including insects, birds, African animals, Galapagos Islands, elephants, giraffes, reptiles, sea lions, South American animals and others. In addition, children can find their own space for exclusive fun in the natural play area and the exploration area.

During the Christmas season it also becomes an excellent attraction to visit and enjoy the light show that takes place inside, so it is definitely one of the best things to include among the activities to see and do in Houston at Christmas.

Details of interest

• Location: The Zoo is located in Hermann Park, very close to the Texas Medical Center and the Museum District. There are at least five parking options near the Zoo. There are also public transportation lines close by.
• Hours: Year-round hours are from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, with the last tourist entrance at 1:00 pm. In December the Christmas lights are turned on and the schedule to see them is from 17:30 to 22:30, with last entrance at 21:30.
• Price: All tickets must be booked in advance and online, because they cannot be bought at the Zoo entrance. They can cost from 20 euros per ticket. There are some tickets that may have a reduced price according to age.

This is a space where children can enjoy different plays especially for them and for the whole family. This theater started as a small initiative and a couple of shows in 1991. Since then they have not stopped growing and currently have more than 300 shows all over Texas.

All of the plays presented at Express Children's Theatre are designed to cater to children's audiences, and most of them seek to reflect the cultural diversity in the city of Houston. It is an ideal place to strengthen children's creativity. Many of these plays are presented in English, although there are also a variety of Spanish-language options.

Details of interest

• Location: There is no fixed location for this show, usually the theater is installed in different places throughout the city, so to know the location when you visit the city, I recommend you visit the website.
• Schedule: The schedules of the performances are established according to the itinerary that the theater has scheduled for each time of the year.
• Price: The price of tickets to see the shows depends on the type of play and its duration, as well as the places you choose to see the shows.

The place most similar to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory is definitely this one. It is a restaurant where children and adults will be amazed by the wide variety of chocolates offered in this place, in all its presentations. From chocolate bars to other sweets made from it, such as ice cream and brownies.

One of the mottos at The Chocolate Bar is that any time is happy hour, and this is because of the wide range and variety of sweets offered. If there is one thing you can be sure of, it is that the kids will enjoy this visit to the fullest.

Details of interest

• Location: It is located in the Association Tower on the Avenue of the Americas.
• Hours: Monday to Thursday between 12:00 and 20:00. Friday to Sunday from 11:00. Friday and Saturday closes at 22:00 and Sunday closes at 20:00.
• Price: Admission is free, while candies and other chocolates have varied prices.

Considered the best water park in the world for more than 20 consecutive years, the Schlitterbahn Water Park is an ideal place to have fun and spend time out doors with a large number of attractions, one more fun than the other.

Among the more than 40 water rides you can enjoy at the park, at least 17 are water slides. You can also enjoy water roller coasters, five swimming pools and five Jacuzzis, as well as a family wave pool. This park is also recognized as one of the oldest in the United States, having opened in 1979.

Details of interest

• Location: Located on West Austin Street in New Braunfels.
• Hours: The park is usually open a few months of the year, mostly during the summer months, although it is sometimes open during the winter as well. Hours of operation are generally between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm.
• Price: Prices range from 29 to 39 euros per person, while there are special passes ranging from 25 to 55 euros.

With more than 30 years of uninterrupted work, Old McDonald's Old McDonald's Farm is an amazing and open-air place where you can enjoy different types of attractions and entertainment. There are about 15 hectares of land where you can enjoy mainly zoo animals.

They also have pony rides and even train rides. In addition you will find a swimming pool that is suitable for both children and adults, and of course a playground for children. The attractions are for all ages, but children are definitely the ones who enjoy the activities the most.

At the end of the experience you can go to the photo gallery area where you can take authentic farm pictures with some of the characters you have already seen in the experience, such as giant-sized chickens and life-size cows. To visit Old McDonald's Farm I recommend a full day, or at least half a day.

Details of interest

• Location: Located at Farm to Market, Rd. E Humble, Texas.
• Hours: The park is open daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
• Price: Tickets for children under 18 are generally free. General admission tickets cost about 17 euros per person.

There are many attractions to enjoy and things to do inside the Hurricane Harbor SplashTown park, a place that offers you much more than just water games. It is a place for the whole family where you can enjoy impressive water slides and right after that taste some of the best American food in its restaurants.

The best thing about this park is that it not only offers adventures, rides and attractions for children to enjoy, but it also offers entertainment for adults, with adrenaline-defying attractions with zero-gravity effects, high speeds, free falls from several meters, spins and even challenging the ability to catch the perfect wave.

Details of interest

• Location: Located in Spring, Houston.
• Hours: Generally this park is open only during the spring season. Schedules are subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances and there is a calendar where visitors can find out the days the park operates. I recommend you to visit the website to find out more details.
• Price: You can buy single day tickets, but you have to constantly check the website to find out the prices. There are three different passes with which you can enter the park, a gold pass that costs around 60 euros, a platinum pass that costs around 100 euros and a diamond pass that costs around 250 euros. These passes can be paid for with season tickets and can be enjoyed for a whole year.

Discovery Green is a park with several hectares of extension for strolling with the family and especially with the children. There are different special places for family enjoyment inside the park, to have picnics and spend time enjoying the outdoors. There are also different spaces dedicated to children.

You can enjoy walks around the lake within the park facilities and enjoy the many gardens, trails and courts. There is also an ice skating rink for the whole family. And if you want to eat on site, you also have multiple choices of restaurants and places to eat with the whole family.

Details of interest

• Location: Located in McKinney in Houston.
• Hours: It is open from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. every day, while in summer its extended hours are from 6:00 a.m. to midnight. The Getaway Fountain, which is one of the park's attractions, is generally open between 9:00 and 19:00, while in summer, extended hours are from 9:00 to 21:00.
• Price: The park is free for all visitors regardless of age or condition.

This is one of the most interesting museums to visit with children so they can learn about the history of the railroad and how it once impacted the nascent industrial and commercial Texas that it is today. The railroad came to connect destinations and to connect an entire country, and that is part of what you can learn about in this museum.

Some of the things you will be able to see at the Rosenberg Railroad Museum are historical artifacts of great importance that tell in detail how the processes of change were experienced to put the railroad into operation. On the other hand, this museum has playground areas for children, where they will not fail to learn about the ins and outs of the railroads.

Details of interest

• Location: Located on F Rosenberg Avenue in Houston, Texas.
• Hours: Open Wednesday through Friday from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. On Saturdays it is open from 10:00 to 16:00 and on Sundays from 13:00 to 16:00.
• Price: General admission for adults costs around 9 euros, while tickets for seniors can cost around 7 euros and youth and children under 14 pay around 6 euros. Children under 2 years old are free.