List of museums in the Texas Gulf Coast facts for kids
This article was split from List of museums in Texas.
The list of museums in the Texas Gulf Coast encompasses museums defined for this context as institutions (including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing. Museums that exist only in cyberspace (i.e., virtual museums) are not included. Also included are non-profit art galleries and exhibit spaces.
Counties included are Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Walker, Waller, and Wharton County, Texas.
To use the sortable table, click on the icons at the top of each column to sort that column in alphabetical order; click again for reverse alphabetical order
Museums
| Texas Gulf Coast museums | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Museum name | City | County | Type | Summary/Refs | |
| 1940 Air Terminal Museum | Houston | Harris | Aviation | Southeast Texas's commercial aviation history (with an emphasis on Houston) | |
| 20th Century Technology Museum | Wharton | Wharton | Technology | Displays include radios, phonographs and a jukebox, televisions, arcade games, home appliances, farm equipment, telephones, typewriters, computers, electronics, cameras and aircraft | |
| Agricultural Historical Museum | Winnie | Chambers | Agriculture | Open by appointment, includes tractors, farming equipment, photos, Winnie Sante Fe Depot | |
| Alden B. Dow Office Museum | Lake Jackson | Brazoria | Local history | Operated by the Lake Jackson Historical Association, restored and recreated 1943 office Alden B. Dow used to design the city of Lake Jackson’s buildings and winding streets | |
| Alvin Historical Museum | Alvin | Brazoria | Local history | Operated by the Alvin Museum Society in a historic post office building | |
| Alley Log Cabin Museum | Columbus | Colorado | Historic house | Mid 19th-century log cabin | |
| American Cowboy Museum | Houston | Harris | Western | Art, history, and culture of the contributions of African Americans, Hispanic, Native Americans, and women to the development of the American West | |
| American Indian Genocide Museum | Houston | Harris | History | Genocide of American Indians | |
| ArtCar Museum | Houston | Harris | Art | Contemporary art including art cars, fine arts, and artists that are rarely seen in other cultural institutions | |
| Art League Houston | Houston | Harris | Art | Alternative art exhibitions | |
| Ashton Villa | Galveston | Galveston | Historic house | NRHP, mid 19th-century brick house, currently not open for tours, operated by the Galveston Historical Foundation | |
| Asia Society Texas Center | Houston | Harris | Ethnic | Facility of the Asia Society, includes an art gallery and Allen Sculpture Garden, art and culture presentations | |
| Austin County Jail Museum | Bellville | Austin | Prison | Tours provided on Saturdays by the Bellville Historical Society | |
| Ammon Underwood House | West Columbia | Brazoria | Historic house | 1830s period house | |
| Barbers Hill / Mont Belvieu Museum | Mont Belvieu | Chambers | Local history | ||
| Bay Area Museum | Nassau Bay | Harris | Local History | Exhibits include NASA memorabilia, Japanese artifacts, Karankawa Indians, Lunar Rendezvous Festival | |
| Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens | Houston | Harris | Decorative arts | Facility of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, historic mansion with decorative arts, furniture | |
| Baytown Historical Museum | Baytown | Chambers | Local history | ||
| Bishop's Palace | Galveston | Galveston | Historic house | Gilded Age mansion NRHP, operated by the Galveston Historical Foundation | |
| Blaffer Art Museum | Houston | Harris | Art | Part of the University of Houston, exhibits national and international works as well as artwork by students | |
| Brazoria Historical Museum | Brazoria | Brazoria | Local history | Operated by the Brazoria Heritage Foundation, exhibits include Karankawa Indians, Austin Colony, Masonry, plantations and ranches, the Civil War, early businesses, military memorabilia, vintage grocery store merchandise, African American history, natural history, fiber arts displays | |
| Brazoria County Historical Museum | Angleton | Brazoria | Local history | History and cultural heritage of Brazoria County, located in the historic courthouse | |
| Brazos Valley Railroad Society | Brazoria | Brazoria | Railroad | HO model scale train layout and museum, open on Saturdays | |
| Brazosport Center for the Arts & Sciences | Clute | Brazoria | Multiple | Includes the Brazosport Museum of Natural Science, Brazosport Art League Gallery, BASF Planetarium, Center Stages Theater, and affiliate organizations including the Brazosport Symphony Orchestra and Symphony League | |
| Brazosport Museum of Natural Science | Clute | Brazoria | Natural history | Features shells, fossils, dinosaur skeletons, wildlife, rocks & minerals and archeology, part of the Brazosport Center for the Arts & Sciences | |
| Bryan Museum | Galveston | Galveston | Multiple | Features Southwestern US history and art, includes rare documents in German, French, Spanish and English, saddles and spurs, antique firearms, rare books, fine art, religious art, folk art, portraits, rare maps | |
| Buffalo Soldiers National Museum | Houston | Harris | Military | History of the African American Buffalo Soldiers | |
| Butler Longhorn Museum | League City | Galveston | American West | Texas Longhorn history through in western art, music, Longhorn artifacts and Texas historical items | |
| Children's Museum of Houston | Houston | Harris | Children's | ||
| City By the Sea Museum | Palacios | Matagorda | Texas Gulf Coast | Museum of the Palacios Area Historical Association, exhibits include Camp Hulen, fishing, ships, agriculture, Hurricane Carla, Karankawa Indians | |
| Columbia Historical Museum | West Columbia | Brazoria | Local history | ||
| Confederate Memorial Museum | Columbus | Colorado | Local history | ||
| Contemporary Arts Museum Houston | Houston | Harris | Art | Contemporary art created within the past 40 years | |
| Czech Center Museum Houston | Houston | Harris | Ethnic | Cultural center to preserve the language, scholarship and arts of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Slovakia | |
| Danish Heritage Museum of Danevang | Danevang | Wharton | Ethnic | Exhibits related to the everyday lives of the Danish pioneer settlers of Danevang | |
| Dickinson Historic Railroad Center | Dickinson | Galveston | Local history | Owned by the city and operated by the Dickinson Historical Society | |
| DiverseWorks | Houston | Harris | Art | Presents new visual, performing, and literary art | |
| Doc Porter Museum of Telephone History | Bellaire | Harris | Telecommunications | Telephone equipment and the history of the telephone, open by appointment | |
| Dunham Bible Museum | Houston | Harris | Literary | Part of Houston Baptist University, rare bibles and manuscripts | |
| Egypt Plantation Museum | Egypt | Wharton | Historic house | Empire period house, also includes depot museum with ranching heritage and plantation life displays, and Texas history | |
| El Campo Museum of Natural History | El Campo | Wharton | Natural history | wildlife dioramas, special collections of clown memorabilia, fishing lures, seashells | |
| Fernland Historical Park | Montgomery | Montgomery | Open air | ||
| Footprints in Courage Museum | Shenandoah | Montgomery | Local history | Located inside the Shenandoah Visitors Center | |
| Fort Bend County Heritage Unlimited Museum | Kendleton | Fort Bend | African American | Lifestyles of African American settlers and residents from 1865-1965 | |
| Fort Bend Museum | Richmond | Fort Bend | Open air | Includes the museum, Long-Smith Cottage, 1883 John M. and Lottie D. Moore House, and the McFarlane House | |
| Foster Community Museum | Foster | Fort Bend | Local history | ||
| Frank J. Brown Heritage Museum and Barn | Friendswood | Galveston | Historic house | Also known as the Friendswood Museum, reconstructed early 1900s Quaker home with furniture and artifacts | |
| Freeport Historical Museum | Freeport | Brazoria | Local history | ||
| Galveston Arts Center | Galveston | Galveston | Art | ||
| Galveston County Museum | Galveston | Galveston | Local history | Reopening in late 2014 in the Galveston County Courthouse | |
| Galveston Railroad Museum | Galveston | Galveston | Railroad | Includes rolling stock, model trains, devastation caused by Hurricane Ike, maps, railroad jargon, pictures from the Southern Railroad and the Panama Railway exhibit, railroad dining cars and china | |
| George Ranch Historical Park | Richmond | Fort Bend | Open air | 20,000 acre working ranch featuring historic homes, costumed interpreters and livestock | |
| Health Museum | Houston | Harris | Science | Human body, cells, health, also known as the John P. McGovern Museum of Health and Medical Science | |
| H.E.A.R.T.S. Veterans Museum | Huntsville | Walker | Military | Exhibits about all branches, POWs, home life | |
| Heritage Museum of Montgomery County, Texas | Conroe | Montgomery | Local history | Exhibits include everyday life, lumber and oil industries | |
| Heritage Society Museum | Houston | Harris | Open air | Part of Sam Houston Park, includes exhibits of local history, several historic houses and a church | |
| Heritage Society Museum of Weimar | Weimar | Colorado | Local history | Housed in the Old Hill Bank building, include local Main Street business displays, early country kitchen, pharmacy and soda fountain exhibit, military artifacts | |
| Holocaust Museum Houston | Houston | Harris | Holocaust | History of the Holocaust and the dangers of prejudice, hatred and violence | |
| Houston Bicycle Museum | Houston | Harris | Transportation | Collections of antique and classic bicycles as well as cycling-related memorabilia | |
| Houston Center for Contemporary Craft | Houston | Harris | Art | Contemporary craft art with an emphasis on fiber, metal, glass, clay and wood | |
| Houston Center for Photography | Houston | Harris | Art | Exhibits of historic and contemporary photography | |
| Houston Fire Museum | Houston | Harris | Firefighting | Includes vehicles, equipment, uniforms | |
| Houston Maritime Museum | Houston | Harris | Maritime | Includes ship models, navigation instruments and maritime artifacts | |
| Houston Museum of African American Culture | Houston | Harris | African American | African American history and culture, including regional and national | |
| Houston Museum of Natural Science | Houston | Harris | Natural history, Science | Exhibits include animal dioramas and mounts, gems and minerals, dinosaurs and fossils, mollusks, chemistry, energy, space science, Ancient Egypt, pre-Columbian archaeological artifacts, planetarium, butterfly zoo | |
| Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugarland | Sugar Land | Fort Bend | Natural history | Located in Telfair, opened in 2009, exhibits on paleontology, space, life and earth science | |
| Houston Police Department Museum | Houston | Harris | Law enforcement | Artifacts from the Honor Guard, SWAT, Mounted Patrol, badges, uniforms and other equipment | |
| Humble Museum | Humble | Harris | Local history | Exhibits include oil, cattle, lumber, churches and everyday life | |
| John C. Freeman Weather Museum | Houston | Harris | Natural history | Currently relocating, climate and weather science | |
| Jung Center of Houston | Houston | Harris | Art | Features an art gallery | |
| Katy Contemporary Arts Museum | Katy | Fort Bend | Art | Also known as KCAM, contemporary regional art from the fifties to the present | |
| Katy Heritage Museum | Katy | Harris | Local history | Includes farming equipment, agricultural and pioneering history artifacts, photographs and antiques | |
| Katy Heritage Park | Katy | Harris | Open air | Operated by the Katy Heritage Society, includes three historic houses, the Humble Mess Hall, a post office, tool shed/wash house and bandstand | |
| Katy Veterans Memorial Museum | Katy | Harris | Military | Artifacts from every foreign conflict involving the United States | |
| Lake Jackson Historical Museum | Lake Jackson | Brazoria | Local history | Operated by the Lake Jackson Historical Association, exhibits include the prehistoric era, the plantation era, area's petrochemical industry and the founding of modern Lake Jackson | |
| Lawndale Art Center | Houston | Harris | Art | Art gallery | |
| Levi Jordan Plantation | Brazoria | Brazoria | Historic house | Antebellum plantation, site under development and only open to the public on a limited basis and by appointment, includes the plantation house and archeological remains, including the slave quarters that were subsequently occupied by freedmen until the 1880s | |
| Live Oak Art Center | Columbus | Colorado | Art | Contemporary art, offers year-round exhibitions, workshops, publications, outreach programs, lectures, classes | |
| Lone Star Flight Museum | Galveston | Galveston | Aviation | Features historic aircraft and the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame | |
| Magnolia Depot Museum | Magnolia | Montgomery | Local history | Operated by the Magnolia Historical Society, includes an office/ barbershop building, an antique sawmill and a red caboose | |
| Marguerite Rogers House Museum | Alvin | Brazoria | Historic house | Operated by the Alvin Museum Society, also known as the Cottage House Museum | |
| Matagorda County Museum | Bay City | Matagorda | Local history | Pioneers, Native Americans, fossils, children's museum representing an 1890-1910 small town | |
| McKay Clinic Medical Museum | Humble | Harris | Medical | Original furniture and equipment from the 1938 medical clinic, open by appointment with the Humble Museum | |
| Menil Collection | Houston | Harris | Art | 20th century art | |
| Michel B. Menard House | Galveston | Galveston | Historic house | 1838 house, operated by the Galveston Historical Foundation | |
| MKT Depot | Katy | Harris | Railroad | Historic depot and caboose, area railroad artifacts, operated by the Katy Heritage Society | |
| Moody Mansion | Galveston | Galveston | Historic house | Built in 1895, this 20-room mansion was once owned by William Lewis Moody, Jr. and later his daughter Mary Moody Northen | |
| Moody Gardens | Galveston | Galveston | Multiple | Includes Discovery Pyramid with traveling exhibits about science and space, Rainforest Pyramid with animals and plants, and the Aquarium Pyramid | |
| Museum of American Architecture and Decorative Arts | Houston | Harris | Decorative arts | Part of Houston Baptist University, social history and material culture of people settling in Texas between 1830 and 1930, includes doll and miniature furniture collections | |
| Museum of Fine Arts, Houston | Houston | Harris | Art | Collection of the museum spans more than 6,000 years of history with approximately 64,000 works from six continents | |
| Museum of Printing History | Houston | Harris | Multiple | Also called The Printing Museum, includes historical documents, fine art exhibits and antique printing equipment | |
| Museum of Southern History | Houston | Harris | History | Part of Houston Baptist University, history of the South during the mid-19th century with period room displays | |
| N.H. Davis Pioneer Complex and Museum | Montgomery | Montgomery | Local history | Pioneer artifacts | |
| National United States Armed Forces Museum | Houston | Harris | Military | Includes military vehicles, tanks, helicopters, also known as the Military Museum of Houston | |
| National Museum of Funeral History | Houston | Harris | History | Exhibits include caskets, funeral and mourning artifacts and rituals | |
| Nolan Ryan Exhibit Center | Alvin | Brazoria | Biographical | Baseball pitcher Nolan Ryan, part of Alvin Community College | |
| Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig & Museum | Galveston | Galveston | Industry | History and technology of the area offshore oil and gas industry, is housed on a retired jack-up rig set up in the Galveston harbor | |
| Pasadena Heritage Park & Museum | Pasadena | Harris | Open air | Operated by the Pasadena Historical Society, includes early settler's homes, vintage furniture, clothing and antiques | |
| Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts | Spring | Harris | Art | Features three galleries of changing exhibits | |
| Pioneer Memorial Log House Museum | Houston | Harris | Historic house | Located in Hermann Park, operated by the San Jacinto Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas | |
| Rice University Art Gallery | Houston | Harris | Art | Part of Rice University, dedicated to site-specific installation art that visitors can enter and explore | |
| Rothko Chapel | Houston | Harris | Art | Nondenominational chapel with art by Mark Rothko | |
| Rosenberg Railroad Museum | Rosenberg | Fort Bend | Railroad | Includes a railroad tower, rail cars, model train layout | |
| Sam Houston Memorial Museum | Huntsville | Walker | Biographical | Part of Sam Houston State University, life of Gen. Sam Houston | |
| Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center | Liberty | Liberty | Multiple | Includes changing exhibits of South Texas history from its collections and two historic house museums | |
| San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site | San Felipe | Austin | History | Includes historic log dogtrot house and J.J. Josey General Store & Museum | |
| San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site | La Porte | Harris | Multiple | Includes the San Jacinto Museum of History about the history of Texas, the San Jacinto Monument, the battlefield and the USS Texas museum ship | |
| Santa Claus Museum | Columbus | Colorado | Commodity | Also known as Mary Elizabeth Hopkins Santa Claus Museum, gift shop and museum with Santa Claus memorabilia and art | |
| Seawolf Park | Galveston | Galveston | Maritime | Includes the submarine USS Cavalla (SS-244), the ASW destroyer escort USS Stewart (DE-238), and the remains of a merchant ship | |
| Space Center Houston | Houston | Harris | Aerospace | Visitor's center of the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center | |
| Spring Historical Museum | Spring | Harris | Local history | ||
| Station Museum of Contemporary Art | Houston | Harris | Art | Exhibition forum for local, national, and international artists, with an emphasis on fine arts that reflects the cultural diversity of Houston's communities | |
| Strake Jesuit Art Museum | Houston | Harris | Art | Part of Strake Jesuit College Preparatory in the located in the Moody Memorial Library, includes works by Rufino Tamayo, John Alexander, James Rosenquist, Jesús Moroles, Luis Jimenez and Pablo Picasso | |
| Sugar Land Heritage Foundation | Sugar Land | Fort Bend | Local history | ||
| Surfside Beach Historical Museum | Surfside Beach | Brazoria | Local history | Located on the top floor of City Hall, exhibits include Fort Velasco | |
| Sylvan Beach Depot Museum and Library | La Porte | Harris | Local history | Operated by the La Porte Heritage Society | |
| Tate-Senftenberg-Brandon House | Columbus | Colorado | Historic house | 19th-century house with furnishings depicting small town life a century ago, operated by the Columbus Historical Preservation Trust | |
| Texas City Museum | Texas City | Galveston | Local history | Includes model railroad exhibit and children's discovery area | |
| Texas Prison Museum | Huntsville | Walker | Law enforcement | History of the prison system in Texas | |
| Texas Seaport Museum | Galveston | Galveston | Maritime | Includes the three-masted barque Elissa, operated by the Galveston Historical Foundation | |
| Tomball Museum Center | Tomball | Harris | Open air | Operated by the Spring Creek County Historical Association, includes two period historic houses, country doctor's office, farm equipment display, log buildings, church, schoolhouse, oil camp house | |
| USS Texas | La Porte | Harris | Museum ship | Battleship, part of San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site | |
| Varner–Hogg Plantation State Historical Site | West Columbia | Brazoria | Historic house | Antebellum plantation mansion, pecan orchards, original outbuildings, cemetery, sugarcane mill ruins | |
| Walker County Historical Museum | Huntsville | Walker | Local history | Located in the Gibbs-Powell House | |
| Wallisville Heritage Park and Museum | Wallisville | Chambers | Local history | ||
| West Bay Common School Children's Museum | League City | Galveston | Children's | Includes one room schoolhouse, barn with farm tools and hands-on displays, and an ice house/barbershop | |
| Wharton County Historical Museum | Wharton | Wharton | Local history | History, culture, and traditions of the county | |
| Woodlands Children's Museum | Woodlands | Montgomery | Children's | ||
| Rutherford B. H. Yates Museum | Houston | Harris | African American | History of the Freedmen’s Town National Historic District | |
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List of museums in the Texas Gulf Coast Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.