Miscellany: Houston Museum of Natural Science

I've been to some of the most famous natural history museums in the country (the Field Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian), so I think I had a good framework for evaluating the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The HMNS is a short drive away from Rice University, only a little bit south of Houston's downtown area. I visited with a variety of age groups thanks to my cousins - from dewy-eyed 8 year olds to hardened visitors of college-age (and beyond). Ultimately, I came away satisfied but not impressed.

The first criterion for any museum I go to is whether I experience something new. After all, almost all big city natural history museums have similar exhibits: precious stones, ancient indigenous cultures, dinosaur bones, and the like. The most unique part of the HMNS was the Wiess Energy Hall, a paean to oil exploration that has a slightly cynical edge to it (the major donors are big Texas energy companies and the law firms that represent them). Sure, getting to go "inside" an oil well might be exciting to some people, but it left me cold.

The second criterion for a good museum experience is live participation from museum employees. Sure, having a video or written explanation at an exhibit is better than nothing, but it's really hard for a layman to understand the significance of Picasso's "Guernica" unless a real, breathing guide is there to explain and answer questions. The HMNS was decent here, providing some in-person demonstrations of things like fossils and chemistry, but it was nothing that blew me away. You'll most likely have to navigate the halls on your own.



The third criterion is the quality of the side facilities. Here, finally, was the HMNS' strength. The Burke Baker planetarium is pretty swanky, featuring a state-of-the-art multiple projection system that neatly captures the feel of flying through the cosmos. The IMAX theater was full-sized and gifted with an impressive surround sound system. The butterfly garden was the equal of others I've been to. Unfortunately, you have to pay additional admission fees for each of these experiences, but it's worth the money, especially if you opt for a membership.

Overall, the HMNS is worth a visit but probably not worth seeking out. There were a couple of traveling exhibitions that we did not enter (mostly because each required a steep separate admission fee - $30 in the case of the popular Chinese terra cotta warrior exhibition), but I don't think they would have changed my perception of the museum.