Museums and Exploration

• The Children's Museum of Houston opened its doors in the 1980s and has been entertaining children ever since. The museum includes 14 multidisciplinary and bilingual exhibits. Visit Kidtropolis, a city in which the children take on the roles of leadership. Or go to the Building Zone and let children explore the science behind structures with hands-on activities about engineering and physics.
  
  Visit the Space Center Houston and take the NASA tram tour. This gives kids a behind-the-scenes look at the Johnson Space Center, including Mission Control and the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility. Kids can also see the Astronaut Gallery, an exhibit that shows off the world's best spacesuits, including John Young's ejection suit and Judy Resnik's T-38 flightsuit.
  
  Battleship Texas was the first museum of its kind in the country. It opened in 1948. The ship sits on the Houston Ship Channel and is part of an exhibit that includes a monument and the San Jacinto Battleground. The 1936 battle at San Jacinto was a victory for Texas forces.
  
  

Animals

• The Downtown Aquarium offers children much to explore. The Adventure Aquarium exhibit lets kid walk inside the sunken hull of a 17th-century Spanish galleon in its shipwreck exhibit. See the underwater species from the ship and view coral reefs. Or walk through the Louisiana Swamp, touring bayous and marshes of the Gulf Coast and see alligators, snapping turtles and bullfrogs.
  
  At the Houston Zoo, children can see more than 4,500 permanent residents that include mammals such as monkeys, lions, tigers and African wild dogs. The zoo also has a reptile house and the Kipp Aquarium. There are 55 acres to explore, including the McGovern Children's Zoo, which includes exhibits that go through the six ecosystems of Texas and has a waterpark. Visit the Discovery Center with its hands-on activities.
  
  

Outdoor Fun

• Try Splashtown to give kids a chance to burn off energy. This water park has numerous rides, including the RipQurl, which launches riders through a tunnel followed by steep turns into a pool. The tornado includes a 75-foot platform and lets riders plummet down a 132-foot tunnel before ending up in an open-ended funnel.