The Houston Space Center, NASA's official Visitors Center, features actual spacecraft, like the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo capsules and gives you a chance to walk in space through state-of-the-art simulators.

This 12-story pyramid is filled with numerous marine habitats. You can cross the world's oceans in the Aquarium where the King Penguins frolic. Then catch a flick on the six-story IMAX 3D Theater.

As you stroll the 35-acre carnival-like boardwalk past restaurants, shops, the 36-foot carousel, the 65-foot Ferris wheel, miniature train and boardwalk games, you can watch the boats sail by.

Take your own Fantastic Voyage of the body through huge sculptures of human organs, brain and rib cage. More than 80 interactive kiosks have been set up along the way for more information.

The sixth largest U.S. museum has one of the country's leading permanent collection and offers the most popular of traveling exhibits.

Always free to the public, the former collection of John and Dominique de Menil, includes over 15,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs and rare books.

Founded by Robert L. Waltrip, the museum features the country's largest display of historic funeral service memorabilia and artifacts.

Bayou Place is a large multilevel building home to full service restaurants, pubs, live music, billiards, multiple theaters and art house films. Bayou Place is Houston's entertainment option.

Check out the zoo's newest attraction, Natural Encounters. It lets you come nose-to-nose with meerkats, tamarins, vampire bats and more. The new John G. McGovern's Children's Zoo recreates the six ecosystems of Texas: city, forest, coastal, prairie, desert and farm.