8 Unusual and Unique Museums in the Greater Houston Area

Scream as loud as you can in the scream booth and measure your pitch. See the insides of your body in real time using the body scanner. Look down the throat to see how vocal chords work. Check your heart rate as you walk or run inside a giant human hamster wheel. Truly The Health Museum is not to be missed for the curious. This 4000-square-foot playground established in 1996 with 30 interactive videos and audio kiosks was recently remodeled for $1.1m.

This museum preserves the history and contributions of African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and women in the development of the American West. In contrast to the mega-structure of the nearby NRG Stadium, the American Cowboy Museum is part of a fully functioning ranch, which has been owned by the family of Mollie Stevenson, Jr. for more than a century. It is one of the oldest African American-owned ranches in the United States. It showcases tractors, plows, spurs, saddles, hats, chaps, boots and any item any cowboy could ever need.

Quoted from their website, this museum is dedicated to the ‘state’s least loved citizens’. The museum’s director served the prison system as a warden for 30 years. See collections of artefacts, documents and photographs from the world-famous Texas Prison Rodeo, pistol used to end ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ and other historical items used inside ‘the walls’. The Texas Prison Museum can even assist in researching the Convict Ledger, which has the name, body markings and crime committed by the convict. Truly a one-of-a-kind museum.

As they say, death is the only thing certain in life. It is then only appropriate to have a museum dedicated to enlighten visitors on one of man’s oldest cultural rituals, funerals. It houses caskets, coffins, hearses and even the Popemobile used by Pope John Paul II in 1982 and many items donated in collaboration with the Vatican in its 30,500 square foot exhibit space. It is the largest educational center on funerary customs in the United States and perhaps the world.

This is the only museum primarily dedicated to the preservation of the legacy and honor of the African American soldiers once known as ‘Buffalo Soldiers’, a term given out of respect and for their fierce fighting ability. It also houses the largest repository of African American military history in the world. On its first year of opening, they received 20,000 visitors. This museum was recognized by former Houston Mayor Lee Brown and proclaimed November 30, 2001 as the Buffalo Soldiers Day. You will not find another museum like this anywhere in the country.

Remember the time when you had to turn the dial on the television to change the channel, or used a typewriter to submit a school project, or had to call an operator to make a call? Re-live those ‘good ‘ol days’ in the 20th Century Technology Museum, which was established in July 2005. On display are video arcade games (some still work), radios from the 1920s, phonographs, telephones, farm equipment, and so much more. Bring the kids and explain how things worked back in the day.

Established in 1983, The Galveston Railroad Museum has the finest and largest collection of railroad rolling stock in the southwestern United States and the world’s largest collection of railroad dining ware. 33 railcars and engines are displayed over its four acre facility. Weather permitting, kids and adults alike may ride the Harborside Express that takes you around the rail yard. Model Train Theater and audio tours are also available which cover the history of railroading in our country and the various railcars on campus.

Drink beer with your spouse and friends and decorate your house – that was what retired upholsterer John Milkovisch did for 18 years beginning in 1968. Ripley’s Believe or Not estimates that there are 50,000 flattened beer cans that cover the sidings of the house and parts of the fence. There are also cut up beer cans strung together hanging from the roof, which John, before passing, claimed lowered their energy bill and sang in the wind. Tours inside the house are possible on weekends.