November 2019 – While we were in Houston visiting family, Aliyah decided to take advantage of the opportunity and check out the famous Houston Museum of Natural Science. And who could resist the chance to visit a butterfly garden? Not us!
The first exhibit Aliyah showed us was a model of the moon that seemed close enough to touch, but just wasn’t. Aliyah wanted so much for us to pick her up so she could touch the moon, but alas we are not basketball superstars, or even tall.
Ok, we’re short. There, I’ve said it. So that didn’t work out. Sorry bunchkin.
Next up were the “Trains Over Texas.” This was described as ” largest indoor O-scale model railroad in Texas” (see website.) This wasn’t just any old train set though. According to the museum website, this annual holiday display is as big as a tennis court, and depicts significant Texas cities, national parks, and geological features. It was hard to get good pics with the glare from the protective glass walls around the displays, but you’ll at least get an idea of what they looked like.
The “O” scale trains run through Houston, Galveston, Dallas and other cities to reach Enchanted Rock, Pedernales Falls, Balcones Escarpment and Big Bend.
Not to be forgotten are Texas oil country salt domes, prairies and coastal wetlands. That’s a lot of Lone Star packed into one train model!
There was even an adorable train station with a turntable! Aliyah now officially wants her own train set and is going to be a Very Good Girl. Did you hear that Santa? VERY GOOD.
It may possibly have made Grandma a bit wistful of her childhood dreams of someday owning her very own train set. Hmmm, better put that on the bucket list!
The first permanent exhibit Aliyah took us through was the Frensley/Graham Hall of African Wildlife, where she guided us through dioramas of all manner of creatures, large and small. There were seven “biomes” including: the Congo Basin, a West African Tropical Forest, the Serengeti Grassland, the Lowveld Region, the Saharan Desert, and the Okavango Delta. There were over 70 species represented in lifelike settings and lots of information to digest, so it would have taken more time than we had just to learn about the animals. On our next visit we will probably explore this exhibit in more depth. (Note: A few of the animals portrayed were in a state of being eaten, so we of delicate natures hurried past them without pointing them out to our little tour guide. )
I’m pretty sure she would have climbed into the exhibits if we let her.
Aliyah didn’t believe me when I told her that lions are big cats. “That’s so silly,” I believe were her words.
Aliyah wanted to know the name of each animal, and we got to talk a little about the differences between mammals, birds, and reptiles.
And shellfish.
There was plenty of written material, which is always appreciated.
The next (permanent) collections we visited were the minerals and gems. This was Aliyah’s favorite part of the entire museum, Bar none. There were so many pretties to look at, from uncut raw minerals to cut gems to ostentatious pieces of jewelry. Aliyah and Grandma were favorably impressed. Aliyah directed her assistant to each and EVERY mineral and gem display to make sure they were carefully documented and ogled over. Granddad was getting a little nervous that we would spend the entire day in the mineral collection and miss the butterflies!
Of course looking at all those fabulous mineral specimens was exhausting, so Aliyah decided to take a little break right in the middle, surrounded on all sides by precious stones.
After minerals, Aliyah let us look at cut gemstones and ostentatious jewelry. Yes, we all know covetousness is a deadly sin, but could you really blame us for just a tiny bit of tiara lust?
No, you could not.
And what little tour guide doesn’t love purple, sparkles, and fancy jewelry?
Or a just a nice, simple diamond brooch?
After the formal jewelry, we discovered a collection of ornate objects including Faberge eggs and other pretties.
Finally we got to the Insect exhibit and Butterfly Garden, which we expected to be the biggest hit of the day. And it definitely was a hit. Aliyah enjoyed everything from the giant green cockroaches to the dainty butterflies and feathery moths. The insect displays were well designed to appeal to kids, with movie references, “Insect Achievements,” “Insect Inventions” and plenty of interactive stations at kid-height.
THE BUTTERFLIES!!!
There were 3 large cases of chrysalises (chrysalides?) so the kids are sure to see at least a few butterflies hatching and drying out their wings. Aliyah supervised the emerging butterflies for several minutes, asking questions about the whole process and variety of cocoons.
Once we saw the chrysalises, we reached the butterfly garden, where there must have been hundreds of butterflies. The garden was not crowded, so we were able to really enjoy walking around and observing the butterflies. Aliyah talked up a storm and asked questions at every turn. She decided that butterflies must be diurnal since they’re awake in the daytime, and that they must do their sleeping at night. She also explained to her entourage which critters were butterflies and which were moths, based on what she learned about moths having feathery antennae and wings that rest sideways instead of straight up.
As we entered the garden, we descended a curved stair to the main level. The picture above is a view from the stair. From the garden, the view of the entrance looks like something straight out of Moana (below). Am I right??
We loved the transparent roof, and it was a beautiful day outside. Of course if it had been raining we would have loved the roof even more.
These butterflies get a better breakfast than most of us – so much fresh fruit. And no ants!
Aliyah loves fruit and had to restrain herself from “sharing.”
The paths around the garden were bordered with lush tropical plantings, like including plenty of orchids and other tropical flowers. There were also ornamental lights to add to the general cheerfulness and fun. Aliyah let Granddad read the signs to her. Its not that she can’t read, mind you it just that she wants us to keep busy and feel useful, lol.
Aliyah wasn’t into the flowers, but Grandma was definitely a fan. White on green, how pretty!
There was a winding stair down to a “hidden” pool at the bottom of the waterfall. Aliyah loved the pool, but was disappointed that we wouldn’t let her get in the water or pick up coins off the bottom.
Butterflies perched on a feeding station…
… and Aliyah hoping a butterfly will perch on her nose.
After a good hour in the butterfly center, we slowly made our way out, mostly because we were hungry and *somebody* needed to pee. But we were almost immediately intercepted by a large caterpillar straight out of Alice In Wonderland, except he seemed to be missing his hookah.
Of course we had to stop in the gift shop and peruse the Christmas decor, toys, and souvenirs. This was a huge shop with all sorts of ways to drop a few dollars, but we limited ourselves to a couple of toys and a souvenir coffee mug. Aliyah picked out a fiberoptic nightlight, which is pretty dismal quality, but at $3, we weren’t expecting solid brass fittings. Still, it would have been nice if the batteries went in without a fight. She just loves it, and still plays with it, waving the lights around and patting them. And talking to them. Weird kid.
Aliyah decided at one point that she needed to both rest her feet and practice all her most popular facial expressions. After all, an actress must be prepared for every role and emotion!
Fear my wrath imbecile!
Oh my, yon fearsome monster doth meander in my direction! Whoever shall save me???
Well isn’t *this* a fine mess you’ve gotten us into…
Do I want the job? Do I want the job of my dreams?? YES I WANT THE &*^S JOB!
But all good adventures come to an end, so Aliyah dragged us reluctantly to her chariot. But we did get to see the most enormous amethyst geode I ever laid eyes on.
All in all, we all had a terrific time at this museum, and the biggest question was what exhibits did Aliyah enjoy the most? She reported that her most favorite sections were the gems, followed by the butterflies. She has asked us several times to visit again the next time we are in Houston, so that is definitely…
Two little thumbs up!
About the Houston Museum of Natural Science Museum and Butterfly Garden:
Website:
– Main Museum: http://www.hmns.org/
– Butterfly Center: http://www.hmns.org/cockrell-butterfly-center/
Address: 5555 Hermann Park Dr.
Houston, Texas 77030
Phone: (713) 639-4629