Free admission to museums in Houston on 8/18

Museum District Day August 18, 2007

Get ready to enjoy a FREE day in the Houston Museum District on Saturday, August 18 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Board a free bus shuttle and spend the entire day exploring favorite museums and discovering new destinations. Museum District Day will feature fascinating exhibitions, hands-on activities, demonstrations and performances throughout the day. Fourteen museums will waive their general admission fee to offer the community the opportunity to enjoy the District's diverse displays of art, science, nature and history.

Participating museums include: Buffalo Soldiers National Museum
Houston Center for Photography
Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum
Houston Museum of Natural Science
Children's Museum of Houston
John C. Freeman Weather Museum Contemporary Arts Museum
Houston Lawndale Art Center
The Health Museum
The Menil Collection
Holocaust Museum
Houston Museum of Fine Arts,
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
The Rothko Chapel

FREE PERFORMANCES & HANDS ON ACTIVITIESALL DAY LONG:~ Unleash your creativity in Invention Convention at the Children's Museum of Houston. Make a fast moving car and test it in the "Distance Speedway" racetrack, create the fiercest rocket and launch it in "Aiming High," and let your own custom-made hovercraft glide in "Without Wheels." ~ Inspired by the exhibition Nexus Texas on view at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, children and adults alike are invited to enjoy "Texas Tall Tales" by a professional storyteller starting every hour in the Cullen Education Resource Room and trick-roping by Cowboy Bob in front of the main entrance on the half-hour. On the Kempner Terrace, kids are invited to create their own public artwork with sidewalk chalk provided by the Museum.
~ Enjoy Holocaust Museum Houston's new quilting exhibit, Through the Eye of the Needle, by Holocaust survivor Esther Krinitz, and create decorative quilting panels with butterfly designs to commemorate the children lost in the Holocaust in a special children's workshop. ~ At Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, visitors can interact with craft artists and watch demonstrations during the annual "Gathering of the Guilds." In the "Hands-On Houston" activity area, kids can create unusual baskets inspired by the current Intertwined: Contemporary Baskets exhibition.
~ Work with local graffiti artists at Lawndale Art Center to decorate the North exterior wall with sidewalk chalk. Graffiti artists will be on site from 10 am-2 pm to help visitors explore this often controversial art form. The temporary markings will be left for public viewing through August 28th.
~ Stop by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston for ongoing art-making activities all day. Enjoy mask-making with paper or create cartoon characters with colorful fur.
~ Enjoy an exciting scavenger hunt at The Weather Museum as you journey through the exhibits to learn about Gulf Coast hurricanes including the 24th anniversary of Hurricane Alicia's landfall in Galveston on this date. Test yourself at the "Weather Facts & Fun" game. SPECIAL EVENT TIMES10 am - 4 pmWatch as your favorite foods sizzle and explode during a live science show, "Food Unleashed", at The Health Museum, every hour on the hour. Noon - 5 pmPerformance about the life of General Harriet Tubman of the Underground Railroad at Buffalo Soldiers National Museum every hour on the hour. Noon - 5 pmAt The Menil Collection, enjoy the percussive sounds of D.R.U.M. (Divine Rhythm, United Motion), Tinguely fountains on the front lawn and free exhibition posters. 1 - 4 pmChildren can partake in a fun photo-based art project at the Houston Center for Photography. 2 pmFree gallery tour of Nexus Texas at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, led by 13 artists featured in the exhibition, including Houston-based artists Amy Blakemore, Augusto Di Stefano, Leslie Hewitt, El Franco Lee II and George SmithREFRESHMENTS AVAILABLECafe Express in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's Beck Bldg. from 11 am – 7 pm Kids' Café at the Children's Museum of Houston McDonald's in the Houston Museum of Natural Science Healthy drinks and snacks at The Health Museum Ice cream at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston Free Starbucks frozen beverages at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Free lemonade at Lawndale Art Center Free "Flavin-flavor" snow cones at The Menil Collection's Richmond Hall site The Park Grill (located in the Park Plaza Professional Building – 1213 Hermann Dr. @ Caroline) is open from 9 am - 2 pm Continue to enjoy the offerings of the Houston Museum District throughout the year through free admission to ten museums all the time; and free admission hours available at each museum in the District.