The Menil Collection

You should go to the Menil Collection, a small art museum. The permanent collection comes from the personal art collection of Dominique De Menil. She liked medieval art, folk art, and really modern stuff. Admission is free. More Info

The Rothko Chapel

The Rothko Chapel near the Menil is a non-denominational chapel with a dozen of Rothko's paintings. More Info

Museum of Fine Arts

The Fine Arts museum has a permanent collection, with a few works from most periods. They do a lot of photography exhibits and a film series. . There is usually a major touring exhibit showing. There's a sculpture garden across the street, and the Modern Art museum is nearby. More Info

Houston Museum of Natural Science

The natural science museum has a lot of stuff. There are permanent collections of minerals, natural history exhibits, a planetarium with laser shows and an Imax theater, a butterfly habitat, a paleontology exhibit with dinosaurs,and a new chemistry hall. This place is very crowded, especially on weekends, and you should call for reservations for the Imax, planetarium and butterfly exhibit. More Info

The Heritage Society

The Heritage Society houses and museum at Sam Houston Park, downtown. The oldest house in Houston, plus houses from several eras of Houston's history, transported to the park and restored. More Info

Bayou Bend is Ima Hogg's former estate near River Oaks, now a museum for her private collection of antiques. Also has beautiful gardens. The Children's Museum has rotating exhibits and activities. Space Center Houston is the NASA tourist center with exhibits and tours of the nearby NASA facility. There are other smaller museums scattered around the area: Fire, Funeral, Police, Printing, etc.

Folk arts. The Orange Show is a must-see, and they can give you info about the other places: Beer Can House and Flower Man, etc.