As one of the most heavily attended museums in the United States, and one of the most attended venues in Houston, the Museum houses the Burke Baker Planetarium, Wortham GIANT Screen Theatre, Cockrell Butterfly Center and a fascinating variety of permanent exhibit areas that examine astronomy, space science, Native American culture, paleontology, energy, chemistry, gems and minerals, seashells, Texas wildlife and much more.

Through a self-guided tour, visitors to Gladys City experience 15 replica buildings filled with objects from the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries that depict life during the first Spindletop oil boom. From a saloon and post office to a general store and livery stable, visitors get a glimpse of what it might have been like to work and live in the historic Spindletop oilfield.

The Texas Energy Museum tells the colorful story of Texas oil. Visitors explore the fascinating world of petroleum science and technology from the geological formation of oil to the chemistry of modern refining. Visitors discover the history of Texas oil as robotic characters share their adventures of the great 1901 Spindletop gusher.