Discovery Green facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Discovery Green
Discovery Green
Type	Municipal (Houston, Texas)
Location	Downtown Houston
Area	11.78 acres (47,700 m²)
Created	2008
Operated by	Discovery Green Conservancy
Status	Open
Parking	630-space underground parking garage

Logo of the park

Discovery Green is a cool 11.78-acre (47,700 m²) public park right in the heart of Downtown Houston, Texas. It's surrounded by busy streets like La Branch, McKinney, Avenida de las Americas, and Lamar. The park is super close to the George R. Brown Convention Center and the Avenida Houston area, which has lots of fun things to do.

At Discovery Green, you'll find a pretty lake, stages for live shows, two special areas for dogs to play, and a fun playground. There are also big grassy areas where you can relax or play games.

In the early 2000s, the City of Houston teamed up with some generous groups, like the Kinder Foundation. Their big idea was to build a brand-new green space in Downtown. This team-up helped them buy a bunch of old parking lots. After buying the land in 2004, the Discovery Green Conservancy and the City worked together to raise $125 million to build the park. A park design company called Hargreaves Associates started planning the park in 2005. Discovery Green officially opened on April 13, 2008. In just the first two months, about 250,000 people came to visit!

How Discovery Green Started
Park Design
What You'll Find at the Park
Cool Art in the Park
Events and Activities
See also

How Discovery Green Started

The City of Houston bought some land near the George R. Brown Convention Center in 2002. When more land nearby went up for sale, some kind people, like Maconda Brown O’Connor and Nancy Kinder from the Kinder Foundation, had an idea. They talked to the mayor at the time, Mayor Bill White, about turning the space into a city park. The mayor liked the idea and helped create a plan where the city and private groups would work together. This big project cost $125 million. Other generous groups, like the Wortham Foundation and the Houston Endowment, Inc., also joined in.

The City of Houston bought the rest of the land in 2004. They also set up a new group called the Discovery Green Conservancy in 2004. This group would help build and run the park.

When the Houston City Council agreed to help fund the park, they also said that people from the public should help design it. With help from Project for Public Spaces, the Conservancy held big meetings and smaller group discussions. They asked people what they wanted to see and do in the park. All this feedback helped decide what activities and features the park would have.

A famous park design company, Hargreaves Associates, led the design work. Page, an architecture firm, designed the park's buildings, with Larry Speck as their main architect. Lauren Griffith Associates helped with the plants and landscaping. Artists Margo Sawyer and Doug Hollis were also a big part of the design team. They created three amazing art pieces for the park. Many engineers and experts from Houston and around the world helped the main design team.

Since it opened in 2008, the area around the park has grown a lot. About $1 billion worth of new buildings, offices, hotels, and homes have been built nearby.

In 2009, a fancy apartment building called One Park Place opened with 346 homes. In 2011, the Hess Tower was built, which is a 29-story office building. In 2016, the Marriott Marquis convention hotel was built north of the park. This hotel has over 1,000 rooms!

The park also earned a special LEED certificate in October 2009. This means it was designed and built in a way that is good for the environment.

The Kinder Foundation gave $10 million to help pay for the $125 million park project.

Park Design

Hargreaves Associates and their team of architects, engineers, and artists spent 13 months designing the park. One tricky part was making the park work well with busy streets and designing the underground parking garage to fit perfectly with the park above it.

The park is located where two main paths cross.

A long, straight path goes through the park. It's lined with many Mexican Sycamore trees and has cool, unique pavement.

Because this path is so straight, it's perfect for farmers markets, art fairs, and parades.

What You'll Find at the Park

Anheuser-Busch Stage with the Hess Tower in the background

Anheuser-Busch Stage - A stage where performances and concerts happen.
Jones Lawn - A 2-acre (8,100 m²) grassy area perfect for relaxing and enjoying views of the city skyline.
The Brown Foundation Promenade - A shady path lined with 100-year-old live oak trees.
Wortham Foundation Gardens - 1-acre (4,000 m²) of beautiful flowering trees, plants, fountains, and art.
Kinder Lake - A 1-acre (4,000 m²) lake with plants that naturally grow in wet areas.
Gateway Fountain - A fountain with water shooting up from a sloped granite surface.
The Natural Gardens - Gardens with wetland and upland plants that stretch along the park.
The Landforms - Sculpted grassy hills that offer great views of downtown Houston.
McNair Foundation Jogging Trail - Shady paths for walking or jogging to the lake and children’s area.
Maconda's Grove - A spot where you can play bocce ball on the Carruth Foundation Bocce Courts.
The John P. McGovern Playground - A fun playground for kids.
Hagstette Putting Green - A small area for practicing golf putting.
Two dog runs - One for large dogs and another for smaller dogs, with places for owners to sit.
An underground parking garage with space for about 630 cars.

The Schiller Del Grande Restaurant Group runs two restaurants in the park. The Grove is a nicer restaurant for lunch and dinner. The Lake House offers more casual food.

Sometimes, Discovery Green even has an ice skating rink!

360° View of Discovery Green Park in Downtown Houston

Cool Art in the Park

Monument au Fantóme - This amazing sculpture by Jean Dubuffet was given to the park by Dan Duncan. It was moved from another building in downtown Houston in October 2007 after being cleaned up. This sculpture is worth about $1 million! It was made between 1969 and 1971.

Monument au Fantóme by DuBuffet

Synchronicity of Color - Artist Margo Sawyer created this colorful art piece. It's at both exits of the underground parking garage, and you can also see parts of it at The Grove and The Lake House. It has 151 panels with 1,500 aluminum boxes in 65 different colors. The special paint on these boxes is also used on oil rigs underwater! Some parts even use cool new color-changing car paint and special film.
Listening Vessels - Sculptor Doug Hollis created these "Listening Vessels." They were a gift from Maconda Brown O’Connor. The two big curved pieces are made from solid limestone and are 60 feet (18 m) apart. Doug Hollis wanted to make people notice everyday things, like talking. Visitors can stand at one vessel and hear someone speaking normally from the other vessel, even though they are far away!
Mist Tree - Hollis also made the Mist Tree, a gift from Fayez Sarofirm. It's located next to the playground. The Mist Tree is a 15-foot (4.6 m)-high and 22-foot-wide stainless steel structure. It has a "rain curtain" and mist that comes out, which is super fun for kids and adults to cool off in!

Mist Tree

Events and Activities

Discovery Green has lots of different activities and events all year long. Most events at the park are free and open to everyone.

The park hosts an Art Series, showing off Houston's performing arts, writers, and visual artists. The Entertainment Series offers movies, fun Wii competitions, and concerts by musicians from the Gulf Coast and Central Texas. The Healthy Living in the Park series has a weekly market and exercise classes like Pilates, Yoga, Parkour, and Zumba. There's even a Hip2BFit exercise class just for kids! The Families & Children Series offers hands-on workshops and activities for kids and their parents.

On weekends, families can visit the park, let their dogs play in one of the two dog runs, and watch their kids have fun on the playground. They can also recycle their newspapers and cans in the bins around the park.