Houston is fortunate enough to feature one of the nation's richest and most developed museum populations. In the alone there are nearly 20 different venues, and any listing of the city's must-see museums is sure to start with the impressive Museum of Natural Science. Founded in 1909 by the Houston Museum and Scientific Society, Houston Museum of Natural Science has grown to be one of the most attended museums in the country, averaging more than two million visitors per year. For its size, the is the most frequented museum of its kind in the country. The museum includes a dozen highly interactive exhibits, such as the FlowWorks water system and Kidtroplis houston museum of natural science hours a child-sized city, complete with skyscrapers, city government and professions. Upstairs, infants and toddlers up to age 35 months can explore the Tot Spot, which houses toys and structures houston museum of natural science hours the youngest kids in mind. Constantly changing activity stations are set up throughout the museum mean there is always something new to discover. There are also space artifacts and hardware on site, most notably the Mercury 9 Capsule, Lunar Rover Vehicle Trainer and the SkyLab Trainer Mock-up. Despite the advanced technology featured throughout the museum, it is still kid-friendly and accessible to a wide range of ages and interests. Opened in 1996, is the fourth largest such museum in the nation. One of the more impactful museums in the district, it includes personal stories of the Holocaust in the form of the Bearing Witness exhibit, which focuses on the stories of Holocaust survivors living in the Houston area. The stainless steel building that now houses the opened in 1972, but it first began as a traveling exhibit around town. Steeped in Texas history, the are actually one and the same, as the museum is located in the base of the monument — which, at 570 feet, is the world's tallest. A bonafide Houston landmark, the is housed in what was formerly the first paid Fire Station for the city. Highlights of the museum include You: The Exhibit, which features a body scanner that allows you to see your insides in real time; the Amazing Body Pavilion, which is quite literally a walking tour of a gigantic model of a human body; and the McGovern 4-D Theater, a cinema watching experience that makes use of its 4-D billing with in-theater wind, rain and scents. In its totality, the is the fifth largest museum in the country. It spans some 300,000 square feet of exhibition space over seven different facilities, including the Caroline Wiess Law Building, Glassell School of Art, and Bayou Bend Collections and Gardens, former home of famed Texas philanthropist Ima Hogg donated by her in 1957. The permanent collection of the museum features more than 40,000 pieces or work from six different continents, and are frequently on display.