The Health Museum started in 1969 as a medical science corner of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, moved into its own building in 1996, and took its short name in 2006. Its Amazing Body Gallery is a larger-than-life walking tour of the human body with about 30 interactive kiosks. Kids can stand inside a 10-foot walk-through brain, peer out of a walk-in eyeball, crawl through a 27.5-foot colon and watch a 12-foot heart that beats, and every so often stages a heart attack. For budding scientists, the DeBakey Cell Lab lets kids run real biology experiments in lab coats for a small add-on fee. The museum is compact, which makes it an easy two-hour stop, and it sits one block from the Children's Museum, so the two pair well on a single Museum District day.
What to expect
- The exhibits sit on one floor, so strollers and wheelchairs roll through easily.
- The museum's own parking lot is entered from Hermann Drive.
- From the Museum District rail stop, it is a five-block walk east on Ewing Street.
- Show a METRO card at the desk for 50% off admission.
- Weekends and school holidays bring crowds to the hands-on stations.
What to do
- Walk inside the giant brain and the walk-in eyeball in the Amazing Body Gallery
- Crawl through the 27.5-foot colon and wait for the giant heart to act up
- Put on a lab coat for a hands-on experiment in the DeBakey Cell Lab
- 1969Founded
- Opened March 16, 1996Current building
- Thursdays 2-5 pmFree hours
- 12 feet, switched on 2016Giant heart