Lodgeur Guide: Visit Houston Museums and Zoo for Free
Visitors enjoying free Thursday at MFAH, Houston. The Museum District is a walkable hub of Houston’s best free cultural experiences.
Explore Houston’s Museum District without spending a dime. Many of the city’s top cultural attractions—including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Zoo, The Health Museum, and the Menil Collection—offer free museum daysthroughout the week. While Thursdays have traditionally been the go-to for free admission, several museums now offer free entry on different days or during special hours.
The Houston Museum District stretches from Downtown Houston through Montrose and into Museum Park, making it easy to discover some of the best free things to do in Houston. Some museums are always free, while others waive admission on specific days or times. And if you’d rather learn outdoors, Houston’s free nature centers bring hands-on education into the fresh air.
Free Museum Days: Tuesdays
Houston Museum of Natural Science: Free Tuesdays, 5–8 p.m. Always free for children under 3. Tip: Don’t miss the interactive Matter & Motion exhibit and its hidden Alchemy Hall—free with admission. Special exhibits, the Cockrell Butterfly Center, and Planetarium require extra tickets.
Houston Zoo: Free on the first Tuesday of each month. Reservations required. Tip: Free tickets are released online the week before—book early!
Free Museum Days: Thursdays
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: Free Thursdays, 11 a.m.–9 p.m. Tip: Special exhibits and screenings may have fees. Library card holders under 18 and students with art assignments get free weekend entry.
Children’s Museum Houston: Free Thursdays, 5–8 p.m. Tip: Parking is tight for this popular night. Arrive early and stop first at the kids-oriented Health Museum next door (free from 2 p.m.). Don’t miss the SECRET Spy Mission Game for kids ages 8–12.
The Health Museum: Free Thursdays, 2–7 p.m. Best for children under 12. Reservations required.
Bayou Bend Collection & Gardens: Free on Family Days, usually the third Sunday of each month. Tip: Check their calendar for exact dates. Parking is limited. Kids can enjoy self-guided detective hunts for ages 6–9 and 10–12.
Free First Weekend of the Month – Museums on Us
Bank of America, Merrill, or Bank of America Private Bank cardholders enjoy free entry to select museums during the first full weekend of every month.
Houston’s free cultural scene isn’t limited to museums. You can also enjoy outdoor learning at these nature centers, or check out our Houston Parks Guide for even more green escapes across the city.
Houston Arboretum & Nature Center. Just minutes from downtown, the Arboretum offers 155 acres of forest, wetlands, and meadows with free walking trails. It’s a peaceful escape from the city where you can learn about native plants and wildlife. Admission is always free, though parking fees apply unless you’re a member.
Nature Discovery Center. This four-acre park and science center in Bellaire is a favorite for families. Admission is free every day, with hands-on exhibits inside and gardens, trails, and outdoor play areas to explore. Seasonal events and guided programs sometimes require tickets, but you can enjoy the grounds and exhibits at no cost.
Museum Events Happening in Fall 2025
Houston’s world-class museums always have something new on the calendar. From hands-on family explorations to adults-only soirees, creative workshops to scientific talks, there’s no shortage of engaging experiences awaiting across H-Town.
The Houston Museum of Natural Science
Cockrell Butterfly Center
Up-close access to butterflies
The new Alchemy Hall at HMNS
HMNS and the Cockrell Butterfly Center have a full calendar this fall:
October 31, 2025 – Mixers & Elixirs: Spirits & Skeletons. Halloween party with DJs, food, and themed cocktails. 21+. $45 members / $65 non-members. 9:00 PM.
November 1, 2025 – Grand Egyptian Museum Opening Ceremony Livestream. Free livestream of the world’s largest archaeological museum complex opening in Egypt, featuring over 100,000 artifacts. Burke Baker Planetarium. 12:00 PM. Free (ticket required).
November 8-9, 2025 – A Weekend of STEM Discovery with TikTok. National STEM Day celebration with hands-on activities including fossil preparation, butterfly ecology, and chemistry demos. Museum Sundial Plaza. 11:00 AM–3:30 PM. Free.
November 8, 2025 – Second Saturday: Dia de Muerto. Members-only early access with craft activities and docent-led conversations about Mayan culture. 8:00 AM–10:00 AM.
November 16, 2025 – HMNS Farmers Market (repeat). Market redux with vendors, plant sales, and 20% discount on HMNS membership. 11:00 AM–5:00 PM.
November 25, 2025 – Tuesday Rooftop Astronomy. Guided tour of Cool Crescent Moon and Saturn’s Moons with HMNS astronomers. 6:00 PM–8:00 PM.
Museum of Fine Arts
MFAH is bringing ancient Rome to Texas:
November 2, 2025 – Art and Life in Imperial Rome: Trajan and His Times. Major exhibition featuring 160 objects including marble sculptures, frescoes, and mosaics from Italian museums. First major U.S. exhibition dedicated to Emperor Trajan’s reign. Through January 25, 2026.
October 19, 2025 – Autumn Harvest at Bayou Bend. Celebrate the season with art activities, fall crafts, music, and outdoor games in the gardens of Bayou Bend. Free admission. From 1:00–5:00 PM.
Find the full list of current and upcoming exhibitions and galleries on MFAH’s Now on View Page.
The Children’s Museum Houston
The Children’s Museum always has a full slate of special events planned. Lodgeur’s little ones are most excited about these events (included in admission):
October 31, 2025 – Happy Halloween. All-day trick-or-treating at five candy stations, clay monsters, face painting, K-Pop Demon Hunters meet & greet and sing-along, DJ Beetlejuice, and ghost ring science.
November 1-2, 2025 – Día de los Muertos Celebration. Museum transforms into colorful Land of the Dead with activities, performances, and character appearances. Bank of America cardholders receive free admission this weekend.
November 5-26, 2025 – Opera Adventures in Music. Hands-on music games inspired by famous operas for toddlers and pre-K. Wednesdays.
Ongoing through December 10, 2025 – upWORDS Program. Free, research-based early-language workshops presented by Texas Children’s Hospital—great bonding time for little ones.
Houston’s beloved zoo has fewer events than the museums, but they are always well-attended:
October 4–31, 2025 – Zoo Boo. Family-friendly Halloween festival with trick-or-treating, costume parades, photo ops, pumpkin lanterns, and spooky zoo décor. Included with Zoo admission; open daily during regular hours.
November 1-2, 2025 – Día de los Muertos Celebration. Zoo’s inaugural celebration with glowing decorations, La Catrina appearances, and public debut of rare baby okapi calf. Extended hours 9:00 AM–9:30 PM.
November 1, 2025 – World Lemur Festival. Special programming celebrating lemurs. 9:00 AM–2:00 PM.
November 4, 2025 – Free Zoo Day. ExxonMobil-sponsored free admission. Online reservations required (available October 29 at 7:00 PM).
November 18-19, 2025 – Zoo Lights Member Preview. Members-only early access to holiday light display. 5:30 PM–10:30 PM. Members only.
November 20, 2025 – Sip & Sparkle. Wine tasting event with six 2oz. samples from featured wineries, souvenir wine cup, and zoo lights. VIP Pass ($139) includes early entry, dedicated VIP lines, and access to VIP lounge with light bites. Tasting Pass ($65) or Event Pass Only ($49). 6:30 PM–10:00 PM. 21+.
November 21, 2025 – Zoo Lights opens to the public. Holiday tradition featuring Enchanted Forest, Wild Wonder Lights projection mapping, and Neon Playground. Through January 4, 2026. 5:30 PM–10:30 PM nightly. Separate ticket required.
Whether you’re wandering through galleries in the Museum District or walking shaded trails at the Houston Arboretum, Houston makes it easy to explore and learn for free. These cultural gems and outdoor centers are perfect for locals looking for a budget-friendly day out or visitors wanting to stretch their trip a little further. Pair your outing with our Houston Event Parking Guide to make the day even smoother.
Where to Stay and How to Get to Houston’s Museums
La Colombe D’Or is a 5-star boutique hotel in nearby Montrose, with a beautiful upscale restaurant and cocktail bar. Their 32 rooms start at $500 per night.
Lodgeur is the largest “hotelier” in Midtown, with 65 furnished apartments in Mid Main Lofts starting at $79 per night. Lodgeur sits next to the METRORail Red Line, so you can visit the Museum District without a car.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
