Tour of Houston's Museum District

Entries on This Tour

Founded in 1958, The C G Jung Educational Center is a more than a museum or art gallery-this nonprofit educational institution is dedicated to offering diverse educational opportunities in the arts and humanities. The galleries and programs are always open to the public, and there are multiple educational and outreach programs for young people and adults alike. The gallery of the Center showcases rotating exhibits of works by established and emerging artists. Along with the traveling exhibits, the galleries present exhibitions drawn from the Center's permanent collection, including works by Peter Birkhauser.

2. Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston

Founded in 1948, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is situated in the heart of the Houston Museum District. It is unique in that for the last 40 years it has been a non-collecting institution dedicated to simply offering contemporary international, national, and regional art exhibitions. The Museum's aim is to document how art impacts modern life through. In addition to the art exhibitions the museum also offers lectures, original publications and a variety of educational programs and events. The current facility, which opened its doors in 1972, was designed specifically by Gunnar Birkerts for the museum's use.

3. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, houses more than 65,000 works of art created by cultures across the globe, from ancient times to today. Exploring art through careful observation and personal—as well as communal - meaning-making supports the personal growth of each student and reinforces important cognitive skills that are necessary for 21st- century success. The Museum offers different visit topics and formats to meet the needs of the visitors. Most tours last between 60 and 90 minutes. Programs are targeted for groups from Pre-K through 12th grade, for college and university students, as well as audio and self-guided tours. Be sure to check the Museum’s Website for details.

4. Lawndale Art Center

Lawndale Art Center is centered around four museum-quality galleries, three artist studios, and an outdoor sculpture garden that facilitate its role as a vital cultural resource for Houston. Lawndale also provides educational opportunities to area elementary, middle and high school children, and to local college and university students through its teacher orientation program, internship program, and guided tours and activities. Lectures and Workshops are held throughout the year. Topics and themes for these events vary, though some are scheduled annually. Guided tours are available to small groups, including school tours Mon-Fri 10 AM to 5 PM, and generally last 45 minutes. Contact the museum for more details.

5. Houston Center for Contemporary Craft

Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) was founded to advance education about the process, product, and history of craft. HCCC provides exhibition, retail, and studio spaces to support the work of local and national artists and serves as a working resource for artists, educators, and the community at large. The facility reaches thousands of children each year through educational and outreach programming. Exhibitions feature sophisticated creations; some practical, and some that aren’t. The Asher Gallery is a place to shop gifts that are made by a variety of local and national artists. Behind the building is a Craft Garden, demonstrating the living connection between the materials that constitute crafting supplies and the plants from whence they come. The Artist Hall allows visitors to explore the crafter’s studios, and to share in the love of craft that the artists hold dear. Visitors enjoy the innovative exhibits, talking with the artists-in-residence, and shopping. Tours are available for groups with advance notice. (Call for details)

6. Houston Museum of African American Culture

Founded in 2012, the Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC) is dedicated to preserving, collecting and interpreting African American material and intellectual culture of Houston, Texas, the southwest, and the African Diaspora. Its ultimate aim is to educate and engage people of all ages and races and ethnicities. To this end, it offers a wide array of programming, including film showings, lectures, exhibitions, classes and even worship services.

7. Czech Cultural Center and Museum

The Czech Cultural Center and museum, founded in 1995, and celebrates the culture of Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia and Silesia with events and exhibitions. The center features language classes, a museum, archives, genealogy resources, event facilities, library and an ecumenical chapel. Artwork displayed in the museum's exhibits include paintings, photographs, porcelain, various artifacts, and crystal.

8. Asia Society Texas Center

The Houston Museum District welcomed a new cultural institution in 2012 with the opening of Asia Society Texas Center's 40,000-square-foot headquarters. The Yoshio Taniguchi-designed center features a flexible classroom and conference space, an art gallery, and a 273-seat theater. Three lifted gardens and a cafe add to Asia Society’s amenities. Just as inspiring as the building is the programming, which includes innovative artists and speakers from Asia and beyond. Visitors will experience the diversity of Asian art, film and performance.

9. Clayton Library and the William and Susan Clayton Historical Marker

William Lockhart Clayton (1880-1966), a native of Mississippi, left school early to become a court reporter. During World War I, Clayton served worked for Committee on Cotton Distribution of the War Industries Board. He served as Under-Secretary of State for Economic Affairs (1945-47) under George C. Marshall. He is considered to be one of the most important architects of the post World War II Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was an initiative in which the U.S. gave $13 billion to aid the rebuilding of Western European countries following World War II. Clayton and his wife, Susan, bequeathed their Houston home to Houston's Public Library system. Notable architect Birdsall P. Bristle worked with Susan Clayton to build the home. Today, it houses one of the best centers for genealogical research in the nation.

10. Holocaust Museum Houston

The permanent exhibit at the Museum is Bearing Witness: A Community Remembers, which focuses on the stories of Holocaust survivors living in the Houston metropolitan area. A tour begins with a look at life before the Holocaust. Visitors then see the beginnings of Nazism and Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. The displays progress through the disruption of normal life, to segregation, to imprisonment in concentration camps and, finally, to extermination. The roles of collaborators, by-standers, rescuers, and liberators are portrayed through artifacts, film reels, photographs, and text panels. The main exhibit ends with the moving short films, Voices and Voices II, which alternate daily in the 100-seat theater. These films are compilations of verbal testimony from area survivors.

11. Children's Museum of Houston

The Children's Museum of Houston (CMH) is located in the city's museum district, near Hermann Park. Its mission is to encourage a lifelong interest in learning through innovative, interactive exhibits and bilingual programs for kids up to age 12. It is housed in a building designed by internationally acclaimed architect Robert Venturi. Founded in 1980 by concerned parents, the museum focuses on workshops in literacy, math, health engineering, civic engagement and cultural and social studies.

12. The Health Museum

The Health Museum is located in Houston's museum district and is across the street from the Children's Museum of Houston. It is an institution of the Texas Medical Center. Its goal is to educate the public about the human body, human health and the medical sciences through interactive science exhibits. Over 180,000 people visit the museum each year including 22,000 schoolchildren on field trips. As such, it is one of most visited attractions in the city.

13. Houston Museum of Natural Science

One of the most heavily attended museums in the country, the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) houses the Burke Baker Planetarium, the Wortham GIANT Screen Theatre, and the Cockrell Butterfly center, and a host of fascinating and intriguing permanent exhibits that focus on astronomy, space science, Native American culture, paleontology, energy, chemistry, gems and minerals and much more. Further, the facility accommodates a wide array of traveling exhibits covering even more categories. The Museum is a major science learning center, with over a half million school children visiting annually, including every fourth and seventh grade class in the Houston Independent School District. In addition to the main building, the museum operates two satellite location: the George Observatory in Fort Bend County, which features one of the largest telescopes in the country available for public viewing, and the Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land which features exhibits on dinosaurs, mineralogy, and exotic live frogs.

14. Sam Houston Monument

Standing just inside the entrance to Hermann Park in the great city of Houston is a statue dedicated to the city’s namesake. The monument’s webpage describes the statue, “The general points from atop his horse, Saracen, toward the plains next to the San Jacinto River where he ultimately defeated the army of Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, winning independence for Texas.” This description paints a picture of how Sam Houston must have been viewed during this part of his life – a larger-than-life man towering over others as their leader, ready to go win freedom and independence for Texas.

15. George H. Hermann Park

George H. Hermann was a Houston born real estate investor and industrialist in the early 1900s. In May of 1914 he announced a donation of 285 acres of his own property to the City of Houston. Hermann donated his land for the creation of a municipal park across from the Rice Institution. As a token of appreciation for such an act, the City of Houston entitled the green field George H. Hermann Park. Today, Hermann Park is 445 acres of land that includes the Houston Zoo, Japanese Garden, Houston’s notorious Museum District, Miller Theater (ballet, opera), and much more.

16. Rice University Art Gallery

Rice University Art Gallery is the university art museum dedicated to temporary, large-scale works of art that guests can enter and explore; it is the only museum in the country to offer this kind of experience. The gallery offers videos and other media to help guests who are interested in self-guided tours as well as attendants and art students who are happy to answer questions. Lectures, film showings, concerts, classes and workshops are also offered.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Tour of Houston's Museum District

Created by Clio Admin on April 22nd 2019, 12:24:30 pm.

Get a QR Code for this tour

Description

Houston's famous Museum District dates back to a plan in 1977 to better promote and coordinate the activities of many of the city's cultural institutions located in this neighborhood. The Museum District Development Association of Houston was active in the 1980s and led to the current organization, the Houston Museum District Association, which continues to coordinate activities between museums in the Houston's Museum District. This tour was designed for walking, and as a result, it includes most but not quite all of the members of the Museum District. Be sure to also use Clio to discover the Buffalo Soldiers Museum and the Rothko Chapel just a few blocks north of this tour.

Entries on This Tour

Tour of Houston's Museum District

Description

Share