Houston Maritime Center — Attraction in Houston

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. The first thing that struck me was the high ceilings and beautiful lighting. This is a small museum, but chock full of fascinating exhibits and history. It's all on one floor and easy to navigate independently or with the help of one of the well-informed docents. The ship models, spanning the history of water travel, are magnificent. A really cool feature is a big screen showing the actual ship positions of vessels currently in the Gulf. You, or your kiddos can operate the keyboard to click on the ships, see where they're from, what type vessel, etc., in REAL TIME. As a grandmother of kids ranging from 2 to 17, I would say that this museum would hold the interest of a 3rd grader, or 9 yo and older. It's GREAT for adults of all ages! There is a kid's area with a hand's-on ship's wheel, costumes, art area, etc. The restrooms are nice and the parking is superb; free, one level and right in front of the entry. Expect to spend about an hour to 1.5 hours here, unless you're a mariner, in which case, you could...

Houston has a lot of museums so hidden gems like this can fall through the cracks, but places like this are what make small museums great. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, and building itself in charming. The exhibits are cool and interactive, and any questions you have can be answered by the tour guide

Be sure to pay a visit when you are in the area. This place...

Great place to spend some time to learn about not only the role ships played in Texas history, but in history in general. Displays of interest included war ships, explorer ships, cargo ships and many others. Very family friendly; there is even a room especially for the littles. I attended on a free day, but admission is usually charged. Parking is free! I will definitely...