Every Picture Tells A Story, Vol. 4

June 9, 2009

mrsnarkypants Life , Leave a comment

I think the butterfly center at the Houston Museum of Natural Science is one of the hidden gems in this city.  Yes, they have tried to sex it up a little bit for the kids with bug exhibits that the kids will find wonderously disgusting while creeping out their parents, but if you walk past that and into the simulated rain forest you’ll be transported into a little spot of zen inside of Houston. Turn off your cell phone, listen to the waterfall, and enjoy the butterflies.  It’s great on your lunch hour.  Tip: buy your tickets at the gift shop to avoid the lines when there’s a popular exhibit elsewhere in the museum.

The List (again) – Hermann Park & the HMNS

February 16, 2009

mrsnarkypants Life , Leave a comment

If you’re reading this on Facebook, you won’t see that some items have been crossed out because we’ve already done them… FB doesn’t bring forward all of the formatting. To see this in its original form, find the “View Original Post” link below in Facebook.

Updated today to take the Science Museum off the list.  It was insanely crowded yesterday (Body Worlds must be packing them in).  We were all set to walk out without purchasing admission when Laura spied a sign in the gift shop: they sell admission to the Cockrell Butterfly Center in the gift shop, which saved us from standing in line for an hour or more.

They’ve sexed up the exhibit since I was there last.  (For one thing, it’s now a “Center” instead of Terrarium.  Probably because they figured that people didn’t know what a terrarium is…)  There is now a bunch of cheesy exhibits on bugs that we skipped (target age: 5) but the kiddos would get something out of and went straight into the simulated rain forest.

Big fun.  If work has you completely stressed out, come here on your lunch hour, buy a ticket at the gift shop, and sit and stare at the butterflies and flora.  You’ll remember how to exhale before you go back to work.

Something else we did while in the area was wander around Hermann Park, which should be on your list of things to do in this town if it’s not already.  The public gardens aren’t quite in bloom right now and they’re renovating the Miller Outdoor Theatre, but it was a beautiful day for the paddle boats on the lake, and the people (and puppy) watching was grand.  We’re coming back for a picnic. More