Spring break 2019

12 fun spring break activities in Houston for the whole family

Spring break is upon us, which means schools will be shut down for the week, and oodles and oodles of students will have time to bask in the sun, loaf off, commit felonies — whatever. But it’s also a week where parents will have to deal with their children, in their house, in their face, all the time. (Thank goodness for Fortnite.)

Fortunately, we’ve drawn up a handy list of spring break events for wary and weary parents. Let the break begin!

Family Friendly Spring Break Murder Mystery Event
Got any kids who are amateur sleuths? Take 'em over to Maggiano's for a day of murder, mystery, and food. You can chow down on a lunch of Maggiano's favorites while performers from The Murder Mystery Company entertain and lead you through a fun and exciting mystery tour. 11:30 am to 2:30 pm.

FUNomenal Spring Break at Discovery Green
As you probably guessed by the title, Discovery Green has a heavy bevy of fun, family-friendly activities popping off during spring break. Among them: a daily Mad Science Show, Touch-a-Truck Tuesday, and a day-long foam party on Friday. And don't forget that the Roller Rink is also open. 9:30 am to 4 pm.

Indoor skydiving at iFLY
Parents who occasionally want their kids to take a flying leap are in luck. At the flight school at iFLY (Memorial and The Woodlands), kids ages 4-16 experience the power of flight through one-on-one coaching. Flight school cadets learn flying skills in a fun group setting. Every session is taught by an experienced flight instructor who is highly trained in safety standards and certified by the International Bodyflight Association.

Kids Spring Bowl at Bowl & Barrel
This has already started earlier this month and is a blast for all the kids who love rolling strikes. At Bowl & Barrel, young ones under 12 can score an hour of bowling, shoes, a hot dog and a drink for just $10. This deal happens Sunday through Thursday, and will run through March 31. 11 am to 4 pm.

Momentum Indoor Climbing
The massive rock gym boasts a ton of children's' programming. The gym has special climbing walls for kids as young as 3 years old at its Katy location. The Spring Street location offers kids camps and single-day Learn to Climb classes, which include climbing gear rental and a two-week trial membership.

Paw Patrol Live: The Great Patrol Adventure
Paw Patrol Live sets sail at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts on March 15-17. Join Ryder as he and the Paw Patrol discover a secret treasure map, while on a mission to rescue Cap’n Turbot from a mysterious cavern. 11 am and 6 pm Friday; 10 am, 2 pm, and 6 pm Saturday; and noon and 4 pm Sunday.

Pi Day Pi{e} Fight
Celebrating March 14 (aka Pi Day) with the Children’s Museum of Houston’s 9th Annual Shaving Cream Pi(e) Fight, you can create your own art inspired by the circumference of a circle, take a chance and play a hilarious pie in the face game, and make portable pudding pies. 11 am to 5 pm.

Spring Break at the MFAH
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston always has its doors open during spring break, with fun, family stuff at the museum, Bayou Bend and Rienzi. Kids 12 and younger always get in free to the MFAH and Rienzi, and ages 9 and younger get free admission at Bayou Bend. 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 am to 9 pm Thursday, 10 am to 7 pm Friday and Saturday, and 12:15-7 pm Sunday.

Spring Break Bricks 4 Kids Camps
At the Creative Edge Art Studio in Pearland, kids can spend the week touring the world on an adventure of a lifetime as they explore the history and culture of three continents. They'll be able to build famous emblems and structures, as well as explore sports with the aid of motorized Legos. 1-4 pm.

Spring Break Camp in Sugar Land
Riverstone Montessori in Sugar Land will have a week-long spring break camp. Children can take part in such activities as a smart board learning station, arts and crafts, role playing, etc. They can also enhance their math and learning skills and have plenty of free play time with their friends. 6:30 am to 6:30 pm.

Spring Break Escape: Luau Party
Memorial City will be having events and movies all through spring break — but it's the luau party on March 15 that appears to be a can't-miss event. Drums of the Pacific USA is scheduled to put on an exhilarating show, complete with teaching kids hula moves. And, after that, it's a screening of Moana. 5-9 pm.

Spring Break: Journey Through Japan
All week, you can head over to the Asia Society Texas Center — for free — and learn more about Japan and its spring season. Kids can enjoy screenings of Japanese anime movies and even check the "New Cartographies" exhibition, which will be in its final week. Look for an interesting activity each day. Noon to 3 pm.

Take the plunge at iFLY.

Photo courtesy of iFLY

Take the plunge at iFLY.

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Movie Review

Reminders of Him taps into grief, grace, and the power of moving on

Photo by Michelle Faye / Universal Pictures

Maika Monroe and Tyriq Withers in Reminders of HIm.

Texas author Colleen Hoover has gone from being a popular writer to a full-on celebrity in the 2020s. The new film Reminders of Him marks the third adaptation of her books in just 19 months (a fourth, Verity, is scheduled for release in October 2026). All of her books that have been adapted so far — most notably It Ends With Us — are female-led stories that feature elements of romance and trauma, catnip for studios looking to appeal to the underserved demographic of women.

Leading the way in this film is Kenna Rowan (Maika Monroe), who returns to her hometown of Laramie, Wyoming after spending years in prison for killing her boyfriend, Scotty (Rudy Pankow), in a car accident. That relationship resulted in a daughter, Diem (Zoe Kosovic), whom Kenna gave birth to while imprisoned and is now being raised by her grandparents, Patrick (Bradley Whitford) and Grace (Lauren Graham).

Yearning to be a part of Diem’s life, Kenna tries to reconnect with Patrick and Grace, only to be rebuffed by Scotty’s best friend, Ledger (Tyriq Withers), a former NFL player who now owns a local bar. In running interference, Ledger starts to become closer to Kenna, discovering that her tragic mistake shouldn’t be the only thing that defines her.

Directed by Vanessa Caswill and written by Lauren Levine, the film features mostly surface level examinations of its themes and average performances, yet it winds up being effective thanks to a willingness not to rush through its storytelling beats. The filmmakers take the slow and steady approach toward the coupling of Kenna and Ledger, setting up their bond through a series of heart-to-heart conversations that makes any romance feel earned.

The majority of the focus is on Kenna reclaiming her place in the world, and on Ledger coming to terms with the fact that the person who killed his best friend is not inherently a bad person. The film definitely could have gone deeper in its explorations of grief and anger, but the sheer amount of time it takes in addressing the characters’ doubts and fears turns out to be sufficient for a film that’s not aiming to be considered a dramatic masterpiece.

It also helps that Caswill and Levine do a solid job of establishing the variety of characters that inhabit the film. Kenna and Ledger don’t always feel like fully-formed people, but they become so through their interactions with each other and the other townspeople. Lady Diana (Monika Myers), a girl with Down syndrome who lives in Kenna’s apartment complex, and Roman (Nicholas Duvernay), Ledger’s co-worker at his bar, help to broaden the appeal of the two leads.

Monroe has, to this point, been best known for starring roles in horror films like It Follows and Longlegs. While she does somewhat well in this role, her delivery is often more flat than you’d expect for a character going through what she does. Withers thankfully doesn’t remind viewers of his recent bomb Him, demonstrating a crossover appeal that should serve him well in the future. Whitford and Graham don’t get to do much, but their combined experience gives their roles exactly what is needed.

It may sound like damning with faint praise, but Reminders of Him is a competently made film that knows how to serve its core audience without insulting anyone who may not automatically be all-in for such a story. The filmmakers don’t try to force any of the key moments down the audience’s throat, and that stands out in a genre that’s not always known for its subtlety.

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Reminders of Him opens in theaters on March 13.

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