1. Summer Enrichment Activities 2017
Presented by: Kellie Hill

2. What You Hear During Summer Vacation
There’s nothing to do!
Don’t you think you’ve watched enough TV?
We never get to do anything fun!
I’m bored!

3. Get Back to Nature!
Activities that get you outside and make science real.

4. OUTDOOR FUN
Buffalo Bayou – Explore the evolving Buffalo Bayou Park. You can catch a Twilight or Second Saturday boat tour if everyone in your family is over four years old. Boat tours are $7 for adults and $5 for children ages 4 to 12.
Make a bubble under Preston Street (FREE)
Discovery Green – There’s always something happening on the Green. Activities like the free Screen on the Green movie night series, STEM Saturdays (12:30-1:30p), various fitness classes, Thursday night concerts, kayaking and stand up paddle boarding on Kinder Lake, or Flea by Night are available throughout the summer.
McGovern Centennial Gardens at Hermann Park – Explore the newest addition to Hermann Park that’s chock full of gardens and water displays perfect for a day at the park. Climb to the top of McGovern Centennial Garden’s 30-foot mound for a bird’s-eye view of the surrounding area.
Waugh Bridge Bat Colony – Watch 250,000 Mexican free-tailed bats take flight as they emerge from the bridge en mass to search for dinner. The best places for viewing include the bridge’s Observation Deck and sidewalk along with the Buffalo Bayou Park bank on the corner of Memorial and Waugh and the Memorial Fountain on Allen Parkway.

5. Sims Bayou Nature Center – SBUNC contains “a log cabin, barn, gazebo, gardens, pond with native plants, boat dock and seasonal wetland trails that afford a unique opportunity to experience nature in a dense urban setting.”
3997 River Drive
Houston Arboretum and Nature Center- “Visitors can explore nature by walking on trails (totaling 5 miles) free of charge.
Armand Bayou Nature Center – They’ve got live animal displays, butterfly gardens, and an 1800’s farm site Bay Area Blvd $0 to $4 admission depending on age.
Jesse H. Jones Park and Nature Center – 312-acre Harris County Precinct 4 nature preserve, is open daily to visitors, free of charge. The park features a variety of plant and wildlife species, white sand beaches along Spring Creek, swamps and sloughs with century-old cypress trees, and a pristine floodplain hardwood and pine forest. FREE Summer Camps!!!! May 6th Registration first come first serve!
20634 Kenswick Dr
Eddie V. Gray Wetlands Education Center – The Wetlands Center's 9,000 square foot Robert Craig Exhibit Hall features a variety of exhibits including Gator World!!!
1724 Market Street Baytown, TX FREE Entry!!!

6. Sea Center Texas – Free Guided Tours – must RSVP. Bring a picnic.
302 Medical Drive; Lake Jackson, Texas (979)
Nature Discovery Center – Indoor discovery rooms and outside nature park
7112 Newcastle, Bellaire, TX 77401
Hours: Monday: Closed – Tues to Friday: Noon – 5:30 p.m.
Sat and Sun: 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Bayou Bend State Park FM 762 Road; Needville , TX , 77461
George Observatory – Planetarium $3
Park entrance fees - $7 for adults/FREE for kids 12 and under
5,000-acre gem 40 miles from downtown Houston, offers a variety of activities for every age: biking, fishing, hiking, birding, camping, star-gazing, and opportunities to learn about Texas’ bountiful natural history via free programs and guided hikes.
Port of Houston Tour
While on board the 90-passenger boat, you'll learn about the history of the seaport and be able to watch ocean freighters and barges navigate the 50-mile channel.  The tour is free, but reservations are required.

7. Arts and Entertainment
"Studies have shown that arts teaching and learning can increase student's cognitive and social development. The arts can be a critical link for students in developing the crucial thinking skills and motivations they need to achieve at higher levels" (Deasy, & Stevenson, 2002). 

8. FREE Outdoor Movies
Galveston (On the Strand) - Saegergast Park - 1st Saturday of each month
Market Square Park – Downtown Houston
Discovery Green – Downtown Houston by the George R. Brown Convention May 6th - Ghostbusters 2016
Sugarland Town Square – Free movie Under the Moon brought to you by our friends at First Colony Church of Christ! May's movie is Sing.
La Porte 5 Points – Every Friday Night (Also, Food Truck Fridays!!!)
Deer Park – Movies in Dow Park

9. Museums Free Museum Days Art Car Museum - 713-861-5526
140 Heights Blvd. | Houston, TX 77007

11. Miller Outdoor Theater – All performances are FREE
Miller Outdoor Theater – All performances are FREE! You can often go earlier in the day to get tickets for covered seating. Get there early!
James Turrell “Twilight Epiphany” Skyspace at Rice University – Constructed of grass, concrete, stone and composite steel, the structure is equipped with an LED light sequence that projects onto the ceiling and through an aperture in the 72-foot square knife-edge roof just before sunrise and at sunset. Turrell's composition of light compliments the natural light present at twilight, and transforms the Skyspace into a locale for experiencing beauty and reflective interactions with the surrounding campus and the natural world.
Buffalo Bayou Cisterns - The Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern, a structure reminiscent of the ancient Roman cisterns in Istanbul, is a cavernous, 87,500-square-foot-space featuring more than 200 slender, 25-foot high concrete columns. BBP re-discovered the Cistern in 2010 when it was developing the $58-million Buffalo Bayou Park project, a 160-acre site west of downtown Houston. Recognizing the historical and architectural significance of the highly unusual space, BBP took a bold step to repurpose the Cistern into a magnificent public space that would house an ambitious program of changing art installations. 

12. Resources
Houston on the Cheap – Sign up for weekly notices of activities in the Houston area that are free or cheap. Houstononthecheap.com
Houston365 – Sign up for weekly s of all the activities happening in Houston and surrounding areas.
Kids Out and About- Houston – Resource for kids activities and camps in the Houston area.