Houston City Guide : Things to do in Houston Part 1

Holocaust Museum Houston

The Holocaust Museum Houston serves as a memorial to the millions who were imprisoned and died in Nazi death camps in World War II. The museum contains a permanent exhibition hall, regularly changing temporary exhibitions, a memorial area and sculpture garden. A permanent exhibition (‘Bearing Witness: A Community Remembers’) reveals the atrocities of the Holocaust through the words and memorabilia of local survivors. The museum features a 30-minute film, Voices, which is a montage of oral stories by Holocaust survivors from the Houston area. Guided tours available at weekends at 1230, 1330, 1430 and 1530. 5401 Caroline Street, Museum District Tel: (713) 942 8000.

Houston Museum of Natural Science

This museum contains an impressive collection of natural exhibits. Highlights include the Cockrell Butterfly Center – filled with butterflies and tropical plants and featuring a 21m (40ft) waterfall, a rainforest environment, a planetarium and permanent exhibitions of dinosaur skeletons. There is also an IMAX theatre, a stunning collection of gems and minerals, a four-screen video wall about the wildlife of Texas, the interactive Discovery Place where children can investigate science in action and the Foucault pendulum which demonstrates the Earth’s rotation. 1 Hermann Circle Drive, Museum District Tel: (713) 639 4629.

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