City overview
Houston's Orthodox community lives in Southwest Houston, along Brays Bayou. The shuls, mikvaot and day schools sit in Meyerland, Willow Meadows, Westbury and the Fondren Road corridor known as Brays Oaks, with the small city of Bellaire to the north and West University Place a short drive east. The Chabad Lubavitch Center on Fondren Road, home to a daily minyan, a day school and a mikveh, and United Orthodox Synagogues on Greenwillow Street in Willow Meadows are two of its main institutions. Kosher food runs along a handful of streets: South Braeswood Boulevard, Fondren Road, Hillcroft Avenue and Beechnut Street in the Meyerland and Brays Oaks area, plus Bissonnet Street and Bellaire Boulevard in Bellaire. Two agencies certify locally, the Houston Kashruth Association (HKA) and Mehadrin Kashrus of Texas (MKT), and the H-E-B supermarket on Beechnut Street carries an in-store kosher section under their symbols. Distances are bigger than they look on a map. The community covers several miles, so the shul you plan to walk to on Shabbos should decide where you stay. On weekdays almost every visitor drives.
ListMap
General admission: adults (12+) $25, children (3–11) $16, seniors (62+) $16, age 2 and under free. Butterfly Center $15 adults, $12 children and seniors; Planetarium $9 adults, $8 children and seniors; Giant Screen Theatre $12 adults, $10 children and seniors. General admission is free Tuesdays 5:00 PM–8:00 PM, first come, first served.
Houston Museum of Natural Science
Houston, TX · General admission: adults (12+) $25, children (3–11) $16, seniors (62+) $16, age 2 and under free. Butterfly Center $15 adults, $12 children and seniors; Planetarium $9 adults, $8 children and seniors; Giant Screen Theatre $12 adults, $10 children and seniors. General admission is free Tuesdays 5:00 PM–8:00 PM, first come, first served.
Houston's natural science museum at the edge of Hermann Park, with permanent exhibit halls plus the Cockrell Butterfly Center, the Burke Baker Planetarium and a giant-screen theatre. The butterfly center, planetarium and theatre are ticketed separately, so a family can build the day around them.
Time needed
Two hours or more
Hours
Monday–Thursday 9:00 AM–5:00 PM, Friday–Sunday 9:00 AM–6:00 PM; last entry 30 minutes before closing
Tips
The advance sales phone line, (713) 639-4629, is open 8:30 AM–5:00 PM daily.
Phone
(713) 639-4629Website
https://www.hmns.org/Neighborhood
Museum District
All Access: adults (19+) $24, seniors (65+) $20, youth (13–18) $20, children 12 and under free. Permanent collections free on Thursdays; special exhibitions need a separate, discounted ticket that day.
Adults $22, seniors (65+) $16, ages 18 and under free, college students with ID free. Free for everyone on Thursdays 2:00 PM–5:00 PM.
Children's Museum Houston
Online or kiosk: $21.95 (ages 1+), seniors (65+) $19.95, under 1 free. On site: $23.95, seniors $21.95. Free Family Night Thursdays 5:00 PM–8:00 PM (last admission 7:00 PM).
Adults $15, children (3–12) $12, seniors (65+) $12, age 2 and under free. Free Family Thursday 2:00 PM–5:00 PM. DeBakey Cell Lab add-on $6.
Flex pricing: the ticket price varies by date, and child and senior tickets are 20% off. Online timed reservations are required for all non-members.
Free entry to the park and gardens. The railroad, carousel and pedal boats are ticketed separately.
Free. No tickets needed.
Free. No tickets needed.
Free.
Reservations are required. Ticket prices vary by tour. $2 discount for seniors (65+), military, college students and youth (9–17) with ID. Children under 9 are not admitted.
Free. Ticketed events are infrequent and marked as such.
All Day Adventure Pass (exhibit, Stingray Reef and all rides): adults $25.99, children under 42 inches $24.99. Aquarium exhibit only: adults $16.99, seniors (65+) and children under 42 inches $14.99. Children 2 and under free with an adult ticket. Single rides $5.25–$7.25; Stingray Reef entry $5.99.
Free to walk the boardwalk. All Day Ride Pass: $29.99 for riders 48 inches and up, $23.99 under 48 inches. Single ride tickets are also sold. The Boardwalk Beast speedboat, zip line and Stingray Reef are separate.
Free entry.
Free. Parking is $6.50 per vehicle, free on Thursdays.
Adults (18+) $12; children (3–17), students with ID, seniors (65+) and active military $8; under 3 free.
Adults (18–64) $18, seniors (65+) $15, youth (12–17) $15, children (5–11) $12, 4 and under free.
One ticket covers the film, special exhibit, Observation Floor and gallery: adults $14, seniors (65+) $10, veterans $10, children (4–11) $6, 3 and under free.
Highlights tour and self-guided house tour, gardens included: adults $14, students and seniors (65+) $12, youth (13–18) $12, children 12 and under free.
House tour, including the museum gallery: adults $19, seniors (65+) $15, students (6–12) $8, children 5 and under free. The park grounds are free.
Activity providers
45-minute Buffalo Bayou Boat Cruise: $20 (ages 12+), $16 (ages 4–12). Looking Back History Tour: $40 for adults, $32 for children (ages 4–12). Private boat tours from $700 for up to 24 guests.
Houston Skyline Kayak Tour and Sunrise Serenity Tour from $55; Houston Bat Bridge Kayak Tour from $60 (ages 7+); Downtown Houston Walking History Tour from $59.
Tunnel Tour of Downtown Houston $25 per person. NASA round-trip transport from $45; NASA ticket-and-transport packages $68–$200.
Kosher map of Houston, TX
Pick a place on the map or search an address or hotel to see what is kosher around it.