Has anyone been to the Space Center south of Houston? I could only find a few comments about it here - primarily that it was designed by Disney and hence, tailored to the younger crowd... which is okay with us since we have a 5 year old.

Tickets seem a bit pricey ($18.95 adult, $14.95 child)... at the on-line ticket ordering site it says Click here to redeem discounts from our Partners - Academy Sports, Best Buy, Denny's, Kroger, McDonalds, Reliant Energy, Sam's, Subway, Wachovia Bank, Walgreens, or What-A-Burger... and then you have to enter a four digit code... where would we get this? By visiting one of those merchants while in Houston?

Thanks for any info.

Can't help you with the discounts but, it is worth going to. We used to live in Houston and I took my kids there all the time. My 17 year old just said a couple of days ago how much he would like to go back. It is geared towards kids but I always enjoyed it too. Make sure you allow the full day and take all the tours though to really enjoy it.

Hi Iowamom, I actually received a coupon with my Reliant Energy bill this week. I don't see a code on it though. It's for 1/2 off tickets through May 26, 2008. Will you be coming to Houston between now and then? If so, let me know and we can see about getting you the coupon. I haven't been to Space Center Houston in a few years, but my nieces and nephews have always enjoyed themselves. Right now through May 4th they have an exhibit called Amazon Voyage-Vicious Fishes and other Riches. What that has to do with Space, I don't know. But they have quite a few hands-on activities listed. I'll do a little more looking for the code.

Seashell: Thank you for the coupon offer! We'll actually be there next weekend and have been talking about going to either the Space Center or down to Galveston, depending on the weather. Since we're not certain we're going yet, I should probably pass on the coupon offer but thank you for the offer.

Just got back from Texas where we spent the better part of a day at the Johnson Space Center near Houston. It's well done and would appeal to your five year old. Another plus is that this facility is a real bargin compared to the Kennedy Space Center in FL. If you're pinching pennies, think seriously about packing a lunch which you may return to your car to consume as the fast food options onsite will run you $7.95+ per person...

It's definitely worth seeing, lots of neat things for kids to do. I see coupons around town all the time for 1/2 price tickets; I would think Kroger might be your best bet for getting one. If you go, I'd have dinner or lunch down in Kemah; you'll be really close and can eat on the boardwalk - loads of restaurants right one the waterfront and fun rides and a train for children. If you decide to go to Galveston, Moody Gardens is a great place for families too - an aquarium, rainforest pyramid, etc. Have fun!

I meant "on" the waterfront - LOL.

You can also combine the Space Center with time at the Kemah Boardwalk. They are not that far from one another.

Thanks to everyone for their ideas.

We ended up going to the Houston Zoo (wanted to spend time outside since we've had our fill of snow and cold this winter) and the Downtown Aquarium. The zoo was good - not spectacular but a pretty good zoo. The aquarium, however, was a ripoff - similar admission cost as the zoo but you walked through in about 20 minutes and ended with seeing two white tigers. The complex had all kinds of other stuff to do (train, ferris wheel, etc.) but we didn't do any of that (much to the chagrin of our five year old).

We also went to a college baseball game at Minute Maid Park - what a treat!

Hi, iowa - that's not really an aquarium; it's just a restaurant owned by Tilman Fertitta - do they really try to pass that off as an aquarium to tourists? I'd be mad if I paid for that too! He's the same man that owns just about every restaurant in Kemah.

I'm glad you had fun at Minute Maid Park!