This is a nice little gem hidden in Brazoria County. I'd recommend this place to anyone who is a…read morebaseball fan, admirers of the hall of famer, or just those interested in the history of the area. Yes, it's called "an exhibit center", but it is essentially a historical museum for the local hero. It's located on the campus of Alvin Community College, which Nolan Ryan attended at one time. Its creation and donation to the college was the first major project of the Nolan Ryan Foundation, and its revenue goes back to the foundation to fund other charitable projects. I arrived at Alvin Community College's campus, and luckily came across a map to find the museum, which is sort of in its own location on the edge of campus. Parking was easy, and they have plenty of spaces. Inside you'll find a clean, comfortable-looking lobby, and a ticket office to buy admission to the museum. Upon my visit, I was greeted by a polite woman, who quickly got me in. Five bucks admission! Cheap! Inside the museum are some pretty cool things on display. I saw lots of photos of Ryan as a little leaguer, his letterman jacket from Alvin High School, a scouting card from the New York Mets, baseballs from important games, letters and photos from other famous people, etc. The list goes on, and you won't be disappointed if you are actually interested in the subject. For those of you who like videos, audio commentaries, etc., you'll find a small theater in the center with a looping video detailing an overview of Ryan's life. It could stand a bit of updating at this point, but I guess that's okay. There are other videos around the museum that detail different eras of his life from the minor leagues onward. Not bad. There were some other interactive-looking displays, but they appeared to be out of order. Bummer. Heading out to Alvin from Houston definitely feels like a trip because it is a fairly small town compared to many other Houston suburbs. The museum is located along Texas State Highway 35, which can be a crawl with traffic and lights. Unfortunately, alternate ways to get there, such as the aptly named Nolan Ryan Expressway (SH 288) with SH 6, aren't much better. Expect a 35+ minute drive outside of Downtown Houston in the best conditions. However, it is definitely worth the travel hassle. The place is lacking as much of a souvenir shop. There were some Mitchell and Ness jerseys for sale, but nothing much else of note. I think this could also be improved.

An incredible athlete and person, Nolan Ryan's life and career is wonderfully documented in the…read moreNolan Ryan Center on the campus of Alvin Community College. Proceeds from the center and museum fund the Nolan Ryan Foundation which supports youth, education and community development. The local YMCA was funded by the Foundation among other projects. The museum is a treasure of memorabilia such as uniforms, baseballs, awards, cards. photos, score cards, wedding invitation and photos and childhood pictures. They have a scouting report filled out when he was in high school which was very interesting.They have a small theater where a video illustrating Nolan's character and history towards success is shown. Kiosks are setup showing highlights of Ryan's career as a Met, Angel, Astros and Ranger. A display shows each of the career record 5,714 strikeouts and who they were against was very interesting to me. The center is interactive and probably one of the best interactions is the simulator which allows you to experience a Nolan Ryan pitch. You but your face in the catcher's mask and hand over the glove to experience a variety of pitches. The fastball is impressive. For an adult fee of $5, students and seniors $2.50 and children under 6 free, it's a great bargain for baseball fans and your helping the Nolan Ryan Foundation do great work. We need more great American stories like the Nolan Ryan story.

Great little museum. All kinds of sea shells, gems and minerals with a touch of history…read more If you love shells you will be going down the rabbit hole at this place.We bought little vials of amnesyth and peridot. 2 for a buck. Museum is free but please donate.

The Brazosport Museum of Natural Science is located inside a complex that houses two performing art…read moretheaters, a small gallery of local artists' work, an art league work room, and the museum. There is also a planetarium! The complex is part of the college, but is set far from the main college area and has its own parking. At first the museum really scared me by its 1970's look, but it's actually quite good for its size. It has a huge shell collection, as well as some minerals and other things mentioned on its website. Some of the displays had some great information on them. There is a weaver bird nest with information and graphics on how the nest is built step by step. There is a display of Texas shells along with models of what the organisms look like when they are alive and inhabiting the shells. There is a small dark room in the back that has minerals with a timed display of UV light showing their fluorescent properties. There is a display of regular colored shells and their albino counterparts. Once I got past the very old feel to the place, I was impressed. Overall, I think the museum is worth the trip from Houston. We visited this museum and Sea Center Texas in the same day. Both are free and really interesting and educational.

My kids and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at the color factory…read more They have free taffy throughout the event. Each room was exciting - although for the price the staff could make the experience a little better for the children. More interactive in my opinion. I do not recommend purchasing the scavenger hunt, that was a waste of money for the 'prize' the kids get at the end. It wasn't an interactive experience for the kids - there wasn't any guidance at all from the staff. Being able to get all of the photos for free with the barcode was a sweet deal and having the photo booths in each room was the best part!

Color Factory was just ok to me. It is a bit over rated and over priced for adults; however. the…read morekids loved it but they were looking for more. It is one of those places that can easily be a one and done. There is discounted weekday price starting at $19 for kids 3-12. Something tells me the $19 is if you buy it in advance. Meaning, not the day of. I paid $25 for the kids and $29 for myself online. The photo opps are what you make of it. Like for instance I've been to places where you press a button and the confetti drops down. For this, you have to actually throw the confetti up yourself. Good luck trying to figure this out with kids if you're looking for a good photo. They were also a bit underwhelmed with it. They loved the music room, the light bright room, and the balloon room. The goodies. It was cute. I'm trying bit to give the whole experience away if you are interested in going. It is best to pay for the ice cream online as it is a bit cheaper but not by much. Those cones were cute and delicious. I purchased the photo package. It really isn't necessary as you get to download the photos from a QR code you use when snapping the pics. There is a small parking lot near to it. If you wait for the group before you to leave then you can get a spot without an issue.

We really enjoyed our tour of the Dickinson Railroad Museum with the cub scouts group. The workers…read moreare very knowledgeable and you can tell that they're passionate about the history of the building. How pristine they've kept everything is a wonderful tribute to the past. It is free to get in, but they do accept donations. I highly recommend checking this historic building out with your kids!

Do not visit Dickinson without going to the Dickinson Railroad Museum. The two beautifully…read morerestored stations alone are worth a visit! Inside they have the nicest folks who will show you around and give you the history of Dickinson and the part the railroad played in its history. One entire building dedicated to displays and artifacts. The grounds are very nicely landscaped and they have a fantastic room which is available to rent for larger get-togethers. The parking lot entrance is off the side street along the west side of the Museum. We are SO GLAD that we stopped in - it was a wonderful visit. THANK YOU!!!!!

The Houston Toy Museum is a great way to spend a hot summer day. There is a play area for kids…read moreupstairs, suitable for an array of ages. Our two-year-olds loved the ball pit (it is a bit dirty). There are big building blocks, a play couch, video games, large Lincoln Logs, and a large Tetris. 10/10 for the kids and the collection itself is so cool. A passion project of one man, the toy collection is extensive. The owner is very kind. I was having trouble with my Groupon and he honored it even though it was giving me trouble. We will be back for sure.

We had so much fun at Lego building night!!! Super impressed by the museum and store and how big…read morethe space is for special events. Really enjoyed it and will be back!!

This is a fun museum for the aviation enthusiast in your family! We managed to come on the last…read moreday of $10 admission for month of July so it was an incredible value! They were having a Harry Potter theme as today is Harry Potter's birthday. Our family of four got sorted with the Sorting hat and we each got a button for our House. Then we made churches golden snitches which were edible chocolates, so yummy! And there was a scavenger hunt too. I had so much fun today. And for only $10! Thanks for a lovely day and surprise Harry Potter event!

This is located a couple of miles from NASA and the Kemah Boardwalk so it is easy to see all three…read morein a full day.

While visiting family in Lumberton, we went to Galveston for a day on our way to Houston. We…read morevisited the Galveston Naval Museum. Upon arrival, we had to pay-to-park, which I thought was weird, especially since you've got to pay an entrance fee, as well! On the flip side, it wasn't very busy that day, so wasn't difficult to find parking! It was very interesting to explore the WWII USS Cavalla Submarine & the Destroyer escort USS Stewart. With few visitors on site while we were, we made it through both vessels quickly, even taking numerous photos! A couple of notable issues include the fact that the museum was undergoing renovation and the only restrooms were 'FRU-FRY' port-o-lets at the absolute end of the tour, adjacent to the gift store. The gift store was a small one-room (10x10) air-conditioned building, (picture a portable storage unit) that had very few mediocre Knick-knacks to choose from (stickers, toys, post cards (who collects post cards anymore???) The choices in the gift store insinuate that children would enjoy the museum. The current generation of individuals is most definitely NOT interested in military armamentarium.

This is a small naval museum on a quiet little island with a fishing pier and park. Touring the…read moresubmarine and battleship was very cool, historic, and in need of restoration. I'm guessing that's why admission runs on the higher side. Still, we had a good, educational hour exploring everything. Just note there's an extra charge for parking.

The Perry House Museum is a 19th century house, built and occupied by one of Friendswood's first…read morefamilies. It is furnished with many period antiques, as well as some early 20th century pieces. Admission is free. They're only open Saturday mornings. They're operated by the same volunteer crew as runs Friendswood's Brown Museum. For both, call first to make sure they're open because the volunteers don't always show up. When I visited, the docent was not exceptionally knowledgeable about the house or the Perry family; though she could assure me that they were not related to the Perry family who runs the meat markets and restaurants in the area. Nor was there much in the way of literature, plaques or labels explaining the house or the furnishings. My impression is that the Perry house only recently opened as a museum; perhaps they'll improve.

amazing experiences happen at the museum of natural science…read more it's amazing I would recommend!! learning experiences enrich lives vibe is awesome staff is kind summer time fun!! education rocks thank you

I walked in and instantly was greeted with the bustling pride and patriotism that is our country…read moreupon our 250tu birthday. There were flags and all kinds of stuff. Is this the White House or the natural history museum? Anyway the ticket master gracefully traded us tickets for. American currency. Anyway we then walked into the molecular biology portion of the exhibit. As a wannabe cell biologist I LOVED it. I wish they had a walk in abale cell tho They had touch screens that could not be touched Next for the dinosaurs. It was incredibly agitating not to see labels for the organisms presented. They just put stuff in a cage and expected us to identify it. Not a fan of that. They had average dinosaurs, nothing cool. Anyway,

March 18, 2022 Galveston Island Texas…read more Went to an event that was sponsored by the Villa but was put on by "Rockstar Beer Festivals" We sat at a sold out show for about an hour 15 minutes. We listened to the narrator tell us ghost stories about the owners of Ashton Villa and other well knowns while we sipped cocktails (not one craft beer though which there is plenty of local breweries here) They "tried" to make it like the ghosts were present in the home, but, that was funny not haunted. We stayed in the big banquet room the entire time; we never toured the home (I've seen this home before but, I'm sure others had not, my friend included) C'mon, now if you're during a haunted ghost story event in a beautiful 3 story "historical" home that's a survivor of the 1900 storm that wiped out this island...you gotta move around and see the place. Disappointed. The drinks were very tasty. The crew was nice. The narrator was a good story teller AND he hammered a 6 inch nail into his nose, besides the awesome location, these were the best parts. For $46...and a BIG emphasis on tipping, it wasn't worth it. 5 STARS for the location. 3 for the event.

I grew up coming here and as an adult went to a few weddings. Today I went to celebrate Juneteenth…read morebecause it began in Galveston and this is where General Gordon Granger read off the proclamation for the emancipation of the slaves. As Ashton Villa was the site of the reading, it holds a special place in history. I am proud of this beautiful home in my wonderful hometown.