Check Out Top September Events and Exhibitions at HMNS

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The Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) is turning up discovery opportunities this September.

Highlights include hands-on STEAM building at the returning Block Party, and cultural performances marking the 4th Anniversary of the John P. McGovern Hall of the Americas. In addition, guests can dig into real Texas dirt for prehistoric bone fragments at Fossil Wash or hear harrowing field tales during the adult-only Museum Stories premiere with Curator Tina Petway.

  • Exhibit: Block Party at HMNS at Sugar Land | Opens Friday, September 11 

Block Party is a hands-on STEAM exhibit that promotes engineering and creativity. It features super-sized blue blocks, building games, and a soft-play area for toddlers.

Encourage your child’s engineering and creative skills in Block Party, a family-friendly hands-on STEAM exhibit that promotes cooperation and problem-solving. Back by popular demand, Block Party features super-sized blue blocks, building and stacking games, colorful interlocking bricks and more! With a separate soft-play area for toddlers, kids (and adults!) can explore our construction zones with twists, turns and all kinds of building fun. Construct a tower, design a bridge, or build a space station, knock it down and start all over – your imagination is the only limit!

Join us for the 4th anniversary of the reimagined John P. McGovern Hall of the Americas, an immersive space honoring the vibrant voices of Indigenous Peoples from North, Central, and South America.

Created with the guiding message, “We were here. We are still here.”, this living hall continues to grow thanks to the wisdom and partnership of the HMNS Indigenous Advisory Group.

Bring the whole family for a day filled with live cultural performances, hands-on crafts for kids, curated tours, and inspiring appearances from special guests.

  • Event: Museum Stories: Tina Petway at HMNS at Sugar Land | Thursday, September 17 | 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm.
  • Conversations with the People Behind HMNS.

She almost died collecting a shell.

It’s one of the most harrowing moments of Tina Petway’s career as HMNS Curator of Malacology, and just one of the unforgettable stories from a lifetime spent exploring the natural world.

Join us at HMNS Sugar Land for the inaugural Museum Stories, an intimate conversation series featuring the curators, scientists, explorers, and museum leaders whose adventures, discoveries, close calls, and untold stories rarely make it beyond the exhibit labels.

Tina Petway shares the extraordinary stories behind her career, from dangerous encounters, remarkable expeditions and fascinating discoveries. Tina has spent her career studying mollusks in some of the most remote and challenging environments on Earth, and the stories she carries home are as compelling as the specimens themselves.

Make an evening of it at HMNS Sugar Land. Food and beverages, including a cash bar, will be available for purchase. This event is for adults 21 and up only.

  • Event: Fossil Wash at HMNS at Sugar Land | Saturday, September 19 | 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Calling all dino-mite paleontologists – you have a role to play in the scientific process! You’ll wash, rinse, repeat as you search for bone fragments and objects of interest in approximately 1000 pounds of red Permian dirt, excavated from the HMNS dig site near Seymour, Texas.

Check out the HMNS website for a full schedule of events and exhibitions.

Photos courtesy of HMNS

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