History & Mission

 

“America’s No. 1 Children’s Museum” by Parents magazine, winner of Nickelodeon Parents’ Picks “Best Museum in Houston 2009 & 2010,” Click2Houston’s Best “Best Museum 2010,” the Children’s Museum of Houston is a Citysearch.com’s nationwide 5-star children’s museum.  Housed in a whimsical building designed by internationally acclaimed architect Robert Venturi, the Children’s Museum of Houston offers a multitude of exhibits bursting with action-packed fun that engage kids in the ultimate learning experience. The Museum was founded in 1980 by a group of Houston parents who hoped to elevate early childhood development to a community-wide priority.

 

Since then, the Museum has grown to serve more than 850,000 people annually, focusing on bilingual (Spanish/English) learning programs for kids ages birth to 12 years and workshops in literacy, science, math, health, engineering, civic engagement, culture and social studies. The Museum operates as a 501(c)(3) under the direction of a Board of Directors.

In 2005, the Museum launched its Take Another Giant Step Capital Campaign to fund the doubling of the Museum’s exhibition space, the expansion of the Museum’s outreach programs and the formal launch of the Museum’s Institute for Family Learning. On March 14, 2009, the Museum opened its doors to a new building addition featuring more than 39,000 square feet of new exhibition space, including seven new, permanent exhibits: Cyberchase – The Chase Is On!, based on the award-winning PBS KIDS GO! animated series; FlowWorks; Invention Convention; Kidtropolis, USA; Matter Factory; PowerPlay and a new TotSpot.