winter wonders

Houston's coolest winter break activities, from real snow days to 3D dinosaurs

Houston families looking for things to do over the school break have no shortage of holiday fun this month. From movies, museums, to immersive experiences, there's plenty to delight the young and the young at heart.

Museums

Children's Museum Houston
Polar Palooza continues through January 7, 2024, bringing with it a winter wonderland kinds will love. They can frolic in real snow in the museum's courtyard, making snow angels and taking part in other activities. Admission is included with a museum entry ticket.

Houston Museum of Natural Science
The museum is open Monday through Sunday from 9am to 6pm through January 1, 2024, with free admission on Thursdays from 5 pm to 8 pm. Dinosaur Discoveries is the marquee attraction in the Wortham Giant Screen Theatre. The immersive experience takes audiences into the world of dinosaurs using 3D holographic technology. Admission to the film is $18.

Dinosaur Discoveries Houston Museum of Natural Science HMNS Have a dino-mite holiday with Dinosaur Discoveries at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.Rendering courtesy of Dinosaur Discoveries/Houston Museum of Natural Science

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
The art museum hosts its annual Winter Break at the Museum programming from December 26 through 29, 2023 and January 2 through 5, 2024. Designed for children ages five to 12, the sessions are free with museum admission and include activities such as checking out the "Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence" exhibit and creating original artworks inspired by it.

Immersive experiences

Houston Botanic Garden
Radiant Nature is a dazzling array of more than 50 larger-than-life Chinese lantern installations that come to life in stunning displays showcasing the beauty of nature and celebrating the promise of the Lunar New Year. Check out the 200-foot-long dragon and the 12-foot-tall peacock, and an interactive zone buzzing with illuminated swings, whimsical seesaws, and more. Tickets start at $28.50.

Radiant Nature presented by Reliant A 200-foot dragon is one of 50 jaw-dropping installations at the Houston Botanic Garden's Radiant Nature holiday lantern festival. Photo courtesy of Tianyu Arts & Culture

Houston Zoo
The zoo lights up the night with its popular Zoo Lights exhibit, where families can wander the zoo's trails, which are decked out in colored lights. It all makes for plenty of Insta-worthy moments, from posing in front of a giant Christmas tree to wandering through an enchanted forest. Tickets during winter break start at $31.50.

Ice skating

The Ice at Discovery Green
Presented by Green Mountain Energy, this popular attraction lets guests glide around the ice under the Houston skyline in Discovery Green Park. Skating sessions are 75 minutes and skate rentals are included. Admission is $17 and reservations can be made online. From December 26 to 29 and January 2 to 5, operating hours are 11 am to 11 pm.

The Ice Rink at Woodlands Town Center
North of Houston is this family-friendly spot where skating and fun go hand in hand. Each skate session is two hours, and the cost is $15 including skate rentals. Those who bring their own skates get a discount. After showing off skating skills, pick up a hot chocolate and seasonal treats at the concession stand.

Ice skating at Memorial City Mall
With its location near the food court, this ice rink is a great place to chill out and enjoy time with family and friends. The cost is $10, and those who need skates can rent them for $5 more. Check the calendar for times during winter break.

Performances, plays, and stage shows

Alley Theatre
Catch the last performances of A Christmas Carol, the enduring story of the miserly Scrooge, who learns the meaning of Christmas after visits by three ghosts. The show runs through December 30 and tickets start at $29.

Houston Ballet
The Ballet's production of The Nutcracker runs through December 27. The beloved story has some of the most-recognizable music anywhere, and will delight audiences of all ages. Tickets start at $30.

The Nutcracker Houston Ballet The Nutcracker is a holiday classic. Photo courtesy of Houston Ballet

Mannheim Steamroller
The iconic 1980s rock sensation brings its unique interpretation to Christmas and holiday classics in a concert to delight all ages. Showtime is at 8pm and tickets start at $45.

J Vince Photography

Ice skating at Discovery Green is Winter Break fun for the whole family.

Camps

Armand Bayou Nature Center
The center's Eco Explorers camp for children ages 4 to 11 runs December 27 through 29 and January 3to 5, 2024. Kids will take part in hands-on activities that help them learn more about mammals, reptiles, fantasy animals, and the world around them. $75 per day.

The Artz
Aerial camps for children ages 3 to 15 are offered at the organization's Spring Street location. They'll learn fabric, trapeze, lyra, wall running, harness and other aerial arts. Half-day and full-day options are available. $210 for three sessions January 3 to 5, 2024.

Bailey Oaks Farm
The Alvin equestrian center offers a three-day horseback riding camp from December 27 through 29. Children will learn the basics of riding, along with how to to groom, tack, and care for their animals. No riding experience is necessary. Riding camp is recommended for children 5 to 12 and the cost is $375.

Main Street Theater
In the theater's Winter Break turbo camps, offered through January 5, kids ages 6 to 12 will create an original play, help produce their own costumes and props, and play theater games to sharpen their skills in voice, body, imagination. The cost is $75 per day.

Main Street Theater winter camp Act out at Main Street Theater's winter camp.Photo via Main Street Theater

welcome home, wes

Wes Anderson's Houston homecoming supports historic theater restoration

A fancy, eccentric-looking crowd showed up for the Wes Anderson Homecoming Soirée, held on Friday, July 17, at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts’s Zilkha Hall.

Fans of the Houston-born, Oscar-winning auteur paid hundreds of dollars to attend this benefit event. Guys dressed up like characters from The Royal Tenenbaums. Others wore red skull caps and low-top Adidas, like the characters from The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Some people working the event even wore “Lobby Boy” hats, looking like the bellboy character from The Grand Budapest Hotel.

The people gathered for two reasons: 1) to get a chance to see Anderson in person; and 2) to raise money to renovate and restore the Garden Oaks Theater, a project spearheaded by local nonprofit Arthouse Houston. Top-tier “Founders Experience” ticketholders got a chance to meet Anderson onstage for pics. The St. John's School alum also received a proclamation from Mayor John Whitmire declaring it “Wes Anderson Day.”

After that, he and actor/fellow SJS alum Michael Maggart (who has appeared in several Anderson films) held a half-hour discussion where they reminisced about making Rushmore here in Houston, Anderson’s days working at the Bookstop on W. Alabama (now a Trader Joe’s), and how he and frequent collaborator Owen Wilson used to sneak into the River Oaks Theatre. (It involved pretending to lose a pair of glasses.)

Of course, the conversation shifted to Anderson coming back home to support the Garden Oaks project. “I always say you can't build an old building,” Anderson said. “First of all, I mean, a beautiful old place has history, and has people's experiences tied into it, and it has stories involved in it. And I think an old cinema — these things are kind of endangered all over the world, and it's not just an architectural thing. It's not even just a community thing. It's a sort of delivery system for something that’s, to me, deeply important to our country.

“It’s one thing we can access these things on all these devices,” he continued. “It's a different thing when you go to a place that's designed to help you share the experience of a movie together. It's such a powerful art form. And, anyway, for me, it's worth making a bit of an effort to try to save a place like the Garden Oaks.”

After the convo, he introduced the quintet of films he curated for the event. (Unfortunately the DCP file for his 2007 short Hotel Chevalier had some technical difficulties and was cut short.) “We wanted to do a screening here, and I don't have a new movie to show,” he said. “I don't have something hot off the presses. So, I thought I'd put together a little something that just was different from what anybody else will see. So it's a sort of mixture… This is just for Texas, this little collection.”

He eventually left the stage, leaving Arthouse Houston co-founder/director Maureen McNamara and Houston Public Media host Ernie Manouse to auction off perks & gifts and encourage the audience in helping revive another legendary, local movie palace. Among other items, attendees bid for treasures such as a special John Waters backstage VIP experience at his upcoming Christmas Show, dinner with John Cameron Mitchell, and a rare set of photo portraits of a young Anderson and friends, circa Bottle Rocket. Others paid $5,000 for select seats in the future theater and $5,000 to restore one foot of the venue's neon sign.

Photo by Alan Nguyen

Mayor John Whitmire declared Friday as Wes Anderson day in the director's honor.

So far, the effort has raised approximately $1.3 million of the $4 million required to begin the renovation project. The organization needs to raise $4 million by July 30 for the project to move forward. Those interested in securing naming rights will find more information here.

“River Oaks has 245 seats,” McNamara informed the crowd. “The Garden has over 700, and that is a place that we don't have in Houston. We have a need for that, for premieres, for performances in your life, for music, for a dynamic learning & exhibition space… So, we're building new on the shoulders of our history. I hope you guys will join us, and we need people to join us in a big way today.”

wes anderson garden oaks rushmore houston fundraisers

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welcome home, wes

Wes Anderson's Houston homecoming supports historic theater restoration