Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston

I love the museum of natural science but despite being a member, the visits to the special exhibits is so expensive. I also wish they had more hands on experiences for the kids in the main hallway. The Sugar Land museum definitely needs to improve and more hands on activities (kind of like a discovery hall) would be more appropriate since it's catering to families with children. I also wish they had the special classes on the weekends for families to take their children to. I hope to see some good changes, I'd love to support this museum.

Usually the special exhibits are pretty good & the Butterfly center is always enchanting. But these are both additional purchases to the museum's main entrance fee & to tell you the truth, the main part of the museum is less than stellar. Many of the interactives don't work and there is so little information on specimens. The taxidermied section is tired & a bit tacky. The dinosaur/fossils are worthwhile. The gem collection is the star of this museum. It's a total CRIME that all they have to offer for dining (because you will be here a while!) is junky old McDonalds and there is nothing within walking distance to the museum as an alternative. Houston deserves better!!

We visited 4 exhibits, 2 regular and 2 special and individually priced: The prehistoric, energy, Faberge, and butterfly. We were there for an hour and a half and left disappointed with the lack of presentation, the lack-luster exhibits, and the price: $100 for 3 adults. For the price we paid we expected a world class museum, especially considering the size of Houston. The energy exhibit was an absolute bore; the content was irrelevant and redundant. Several of the interactive displays didn't even function. The Faberge exhibit was small and lacked interesting pieces. The pieces were dirty, ill-displayed with poor presentation and lightning with little to no information about each piece. We expected to see the fabled and magnificent Imperial Eggs yet were presented with cigarette cases and scent bottles. The museum seemed more like an over-priced children's day outing than a serious and interesting museum system for such a large city. Waste of time and money. We would be embarrassed to bring guests to this museum and will never go back.

I really enjoyed this place. The exhibits were awesome and the price is worth it in my opinion. You have to pay extra for special exhibits, but that's only if you really want to check them out.

No matter how many times I come here I never get tired of it. There are many things to look at and observe.

I think the exhibits are nice and the butterflies are pretty, but it is expensive fast. You pay for the main exhibits, extra for the special exhibits, more for the butterfly exhibit and then extra for a planetarium or IMAX movie. All are nice and you can buy combo packs that reduce the cost if you are doing multiple things, but when you have three kids it gets very expensive fast. Also butterflies aren't great when it is dreary gray weather outside, so plan accordingly, because they can be very abundant and beautiful on pretty sunny days.

It has a great atmosphere, the imax was great, and the butterfly exhibit was awesome. My kids enjoyed it alot.

My 7 yr old and her class went here. We really enjoyed it . There was alot of interesting facts presented. I also like the fact that there is a Mcdonalds inside. It is also very close the Herman Zoo and park.

This is a great place for kids...even my 2 boys who are not remotely interested in "the arts" love it once we get there. Our favorites include: Cockrell Butterfly Center (and the insect exhibit adjacent to), the globe fountain in the courtyard, IMAX, Planetarium, the hall of minerals, the paleontology hall and all of the visiting exhibits (we just saw Geo palooza, it was great!) My gripes are: Only a McDonald's to grab food at (would be nice to have a healthier choice), the place is expensive. We bought a family membership because we go so often and that helps, but they still nickel and dime you for everything. We would probably go a lot more often if it were cheaper. Our last visit this week set me back $150. But, I have to say of all the museums, this one has the most to do and keeps the kids interested.

Although the museum was clean, we went through the whole thing in 1.5 hours. Alot of the exhibits were relics, and the staff was unhelpful. The Ancient Rome exhibit had artifacts, but no information about them except for a couple sentences. Artifacts are all this museum has, and most aren't even real.