So many museums are located in the lovely section of Houston, near Houston Zoo & Rice University, one of the schools in the nation with oak-lined streets, just ten minutes from downtown, that it has become known as the Museum District. You can explore many fascinating museums dedicated to presenting the finest exhibits and educational programs in their fields.

The Children’s Museum of Houston- One of the most popular youth museums in the country, the Children’s Museum of Houston features 13 galleries of hands-on, minds-on activities.

The Houston Museum of Natural Science- Explores the earth’s wonders in the IMAX Theatre, the Cockrell Butterfly Center, the Burke Baker Planetarium and three floors of permanent exhibits featuring everything from dinosaurs to the extensive Cullen Hall of Gems and Minerals.

The Museum of Fine Arts is now ranked as the sixth largest museum in the country. MFAH is recognized as having one of the country’s leading permanent collections, as well as hosting popular traveling exhibits.

Museum of Health & Medical Science. Like the film Fantastic Voyage, the Museum of Health & Medical Science’s Amazing Body Pavilion provides a tour of the body with huge sculptures of human organs, a brain and a rib cage. More than 80 interactive audio and video kiosks, dozens of hands-on exhibits and discovery carts also give visitors informal anatomy lessons.

Houston is the leading medical capital of the world. The Texas Medical Center is famous for advanced research and pioneer for experimental treatment of illnesses. For example, people from all over the world came for cancer treatment at Anderson Hospital and Baylor Medical Center.

Holocaust Museum Houston. The first institution of its kind in the Southwest, Holocaust Museum Houston serves as a memorial to the millions of people who were imprisoned and killed in Nazi death camps during World War II.

Saint Jacinto Museum of History- Experience the world’s tallest monument tower. Witness revolution in the Jesse H. Jones Theatre for Texas Studies. Discover our nation’s past among the museum’s many exhibits and antiquities. And walk the battlefield that gave birth to the American West Texas History Museum.

The San Jacinto Battleground was the site of an eighteen-minute fight led by Sam Houston, two months after the Alamo in 1836, in which the Texans all but wiped out the superbly trained Mexican army, and Texas won its independence from Mexico. The USS Texas battleship that fought in World War I and II nearby also attracts many visitors. Get on board to see how life was like at sea on this ancient ship.

American Cowboy Museum- Founded in 1988, the museum works to preserve the multicultural history of the West and contributions that African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and women have made to the history and culture of the West.

The Buffalo Soldiers National Museum. The museum works to educate the public about the contributions of African-American soldiers toward the development and protection of the United States.

The soldiers were nicknamed 'Buffalo Soldiers' by the Cheyenne Indians who admired the men for their fierce fighting ability. The museum charts their accomplishments from the Revolutionary War to present day battles.

1940 Air Terminal Museum. The Houston Municipal Airport Terminal is a beautiful and rare example of classic art deco airport architecture from the golden age of flight. While most major cities have razed the beautiful art deco airport terminals of the 1930s and 1940s to make way for modern buildings, jet traffic or the closing of airports, the Houston Municipal Airport Terminal stands on William P. Hobby Airport as a quiet monument to the rich and varied history of aviation in the region.

The Art Car Museum is a private institution dedicated to contemporary art. It's an exhibition forum for local, national, and international artists. Its emphasis is on art cars, other fine arts, and artists.