Children's Museum of Houston, Houston (must see)

With over 90,000 square feet of interactive, hands-on exhibits, the Children's Museum of Houston (CHM) is "dedicated to transforming communities through innovative, child-centered learning with a vision to spark a passion for lifelong learning in all children". Founded in 1980 and housed in a whimsical building designed by internationally-acclaimed architect Robert Venturi, it offers a multitude of innovative exhibits and bilingual learning programs for kids up to 12 years of age.

From cultural experiences to silly games, to physical obstacle courses, to obstacle courses for the mind with science experiments, there's an incredible variety of great things to check out. Kidtropolis – basically, a "mini-town" for kids – is complete with skyscrapers, city government, a supermarket, and professions, while upstairs, infants and toddlers have a special exploration area ('Tot Spot') where they can run, jump and crawl around to explore many things on their own level.

In a 2005 ranking of children's museums MSN.com ranked it in first place in general. In 2001 Child Magazine ranked the museum in second place, after the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, in consideration of availability of staff, diversity of exhibits, and the overall experience. More recent awards include TripSavvy's 2018 Editor's Choice Award "Best Family Attraction and Experience", along with AAA 2018 Editor's "Best of Things to Do".

Tip:
Go on a weekday if you can, as weekends can get too crowded to get around through all of the activities.
Although you can buy food, it would be good to bring some since you might end up spending a long time here.
Also, during a hot day, bring extra clothes for your kids as the museum has an outdoor water playground.