If you’ve been in Houston for a while, you’ve come to know about all of its best attractions and exhibits, but here are seven secret or unusual things to do in places that people visit every day!
1) See penguins in real life at Moody Gardens (moodygardens.com)
Photo Credit: Moody Gardens
At Moody Gardens you can schedule a private encounter with a penguin for 45 minutes. You can watch the penguin paint with its feet and then take the penguin art home with you!
2) Feed the giraffes at the Houston zoo
Photo Credit: Houston Zoo
The Houston Zoo has a Masai giraffe family that you can actually feed! You can offer these curious and friendly animals a leafy snack during feeding times every day from 11 am to 2 pm. The $7 you pay for the giraffe food goes right into taking care of the giraffes and other animals at the zoo!
3) See the “big bubble” at buffalo bayou (houstontx.gov)
Photo Credit: Buffalo Bayou
Buffalo Bayou has a ton of great outdoor attractions and activities to offer, however, not many people know about the “big bubble.” There’s a big red button by Preston Street Bridge that visitors pass and want to touch but don’t, however, if you’re brave enough to press it, you’ll make the big bubble emerge! The bubble is caused by oxygen being released underneath the surface of the bayou and serves as a way to keep the water from staying stagnant, so allowing your curiosity to get the better of you and pressing the big red button actually helps the bayou!
4) Play with sound waves at Discovery Green (discovery green.com)
Photo Credit: Discovery Green
There are two sculptures made out of limestone in Wortham Family Gardens in Discovery Green that may seem uneventful, but they actually allow you to sit inside them. If you speak while sitting in one of the sculptures, you can be heard from 70 feet away in the other piece due to their concave shapes.
5) Eat a cricket at Cockrell Butterfly Center (hmns.org)
The Cockrell Butterfly Center allows you to get up close and personal with butterflies of all shapes and sizes, but did you know they have a special vending machine? This vending machine allows for you to actually eat bugs! You can eat a chocolate covered cricket or even buy a whole chocolate bar filled with protein due to its insect-contents. Yum.
6) Meet with a shark expert above the tank and feed stingrays at the Downtown Aquarium (citypass.com)
Many people have gone to the Houston Downtown Aquarium and ridden a train through the shark tank, but how many people have taken a tour all the way to the top of the tank to look below and talk with a shark expert? This 20-minute tour is not as well-known at the Aquarium, but it’s a must for shark-lovers. You can also feed the stingrays if you’re looking for a more relaxed type of fun.
7) Ride in a Space Exploration Vehicle at the NASA Johnson Space Center
When you visit the Johnson Space Center, there’s tons of exhibits to experience and learn more about space, but you have to make sure to visit their Mars Yard as well to get a real experience riding an SEV! The Mars Yard is used to test real SEVs and see if they would withstand the surface of Mars and other terrains, and if you take a tour you can actually ride in an SEV that an astronaut may someday drive in space!
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