Corpus Christi Area
Displays on the region's natural and cultural history. The standout is the small 'Hall of Horns', which is devoted entirely to hunting trophies. This will…
Must-see attractions in Texas
Gulf Coast & South Texas
Built (in 1899) sturdily of bricks to resist storms, the home of the history museum served at various times as the town’s railroad station, post office…
Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig & Museum
Galveston
From 1969 to 1984, this offshore rig drilled for oil in up to 173ft of water out in the gulf. Now moored off the end of 19th St, it has been converted…
Gulf Coast & South Texas
The Port Isabel Lighthouse was built (of brick) in 1852, and remained in use until 1905. A climb up its 70 somewhat-precarious steps yields great views of…
Gulf Coast & South Texas
When the local energy company found itself with half an empty substation, it devoted the station, of course, to the great inventor: Thomas Edison. Though…
Magnolia Petroleum Company Building
Dallas
Completed in 1934, this landmark limestone building was the headquarters for Magnolia Petroleum (which eventually became Mobil). For decades it boasted…
Mayfield House & Nature Preserve
West Austin
Did somebody say peacocks? Kids will love gawking at these showy birds while exploring the riverside trails and grounds at this low-key park beside Lake…
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley – Coastal Studies Laboratory
Gulf Coast & South Texas
This small working lab is open for self-guided tours of its small fish tanks and various wall displays. If you can get past its meager utilitarian charms,…
Rio Grande Valley
Three acres of lush nature preserve along the banks of the Rio Grande are one of the World Birding Center properties that dot the border. A lookout on the…
West Texas
A short walk from the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, just five minutes or so in, you'll find the ruins of the Sam Nail Ranch. Nail arrived in 1909 and raised…
Hill Country
East of Main St, this small park has rewarding nature trails that wind through native Texan woods, marshland and along Cibolo Creek. Check the website for…
Rio Grande Valley
Informational displays and authentic artifacts help bring to life the long history of Weslaco and the Rio Grande Valley from the Native American and…
Fort Worth
Individual booths bursting with boots, hats, buckles and spurs celebrate the various inductees of the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame in this little museum,…
Corpus Christi Area
Right downtown, the small old train depot has been beautifully restored and is filled with historical items and information panels relating to when you…
Rio Grande Valley
This 28-acre zoo displays more than 1500 animals in large areas that replicate their natural habitats. Among the kid-pleasing exhibits are a free-flight…
West Texas
Pioneer doohickeys and Old West thing-a-majigs are on display in the former home of early settler Nick Mersfelter, located right along the stagecoach…
San Antonio
This modest, volunteer-run museum just northeast of the airport boasts full-size, miniature and indoor scale-model railroads. On the weekends hourly train…
Rio Grande Valley
This two-story 1877 structure was home to the popular Los Dos Cañones mercantile store, and the cast-iron balcony upstairs is one of several around…
Rosenberg Library Historical Collections
Galveston
Housed on the 4th floor of this beautiful 1904 building, the oldest public library in continuous operation in Texas, is a collection of historical…
Gulf Coast & South Texas
Constructed of Italian marble and Texas granite, the current building dates to 1912. But the magnificent stained-glass windows, around which the rest of…
Galveston
Texas A&M University at Galveston runs a state-of-the-art marine research and rehabilitation facility largely dedicated to endangered sea turtles. From…
Gulf Coast & South Texas
Over 150 years old, this small Catholic chapel was the first church built in Aransas county when completed in 1858. Originally constructed fronting…
Gulf Coast & South Texas
Downstairs, animated movies and interactive exhibits explain the science of hydrocarbons, petrochemicals and oil extraction in a fairly entertaining…
Galveston
Constructed in 1880 as a social club for the German residents of Galveston, the Garten Verein (garden club) dancing hall was once a center of the city's…
Gulf Coast & South Texas
Built in 1906 by real-estate dealer/banker/mayor RH Woodworth, this historic home is currently open to the public only by appointment, except for special…
Dallas
You can pay your respects here to the fallen ex-president. Designed by architect Philip Johnson, the unusual monument is a roofless space with a view of…
Gulf Coast & South Texas
Commissioned in 1900 as Port Arthur was becoming an oil boomtown, the Pompeiian Villa was constructed in a traditional Roman layout copied from an actual…
Texas Ranger Hall of Fame & Museum
Dallas & the Panhandle Plains
It's an NRA member's fantasy come true! Ponder hundreds of guns while you explore the history of the famous Rangers, from their early-19th-century origins…
Corpus Christi
Once a small display area tucked inside Surf Club Records, this museum has now taken over completely with a range of displays on the history of surfing in…
Corpus Christi Area
Volunteers make this small museum a delightful place to learn the history of Port A, from sand (when this was just a barrier island) to sea (when the…
University of Texas Marine Science Institute
Corpus Christi Area
The tiny school's education center has views of the busy shipping channel and exhibits about dunes, sand, fish and the myriad local bird species.
Gulf Coast & South Texas
Two miles north of Bowie, signed as Beach Access 5, Atwood sports towering sand dunes backing the beach. This is a beautiful, unspoiled area with nothing…
Galveston
Housed in Galveston’s beautiful former Santa Fe Railroad Station, this little museum holds exhibits on train history and old rail cars as well as model…
Rio Grande Valley
The Gem, between E Levee St and E Elizabeth St, was one of the city's first brick commercial structures when it was built in 1848. Its projecting…
Galveston
Galveston's family-friendly beach offers summer weekend activities like sandcastle-building contests, as well as a snack bar, chair rental and the all…
Houston
While some locals roll their eyes at the reputation of elite Rice University as ‘the Harvard of Texas,’ as more than one Texan told us, ‘It ain’t braggin’…
Gulf Coast & South Texas
This tiny volunteer-run aquarium has crabs and other local sea critters, including most of the fish avidly sought by local fishers. In nice weather you'll…
Rio Grande Valley
Standing proud at the eastern end of the plaza, Laredo’s sturdy, whitewashed Gothic Revival cathedral was erected in 1872 as the third church on this site…
Rio Grande Valley
Opened on New Year's Eve in 1928 as the Cortez Hotel, this four-story beauty was the first of what would becomes many Spanish Mediterranean–themed…
Dallas
This museum has exhibits of more than 1000 objects that richly detail the art and history of African American people from precolonial Africa through the…
