Monster Mayhem

Monster Mayhem takes over Children's Museum Houston on Saturday, October 31, from 9 AM to 8 PM, with the last entry at 7:45 PM. It's the grand finale of Halloween at the BOO!seum, the month-long celebration that turns the museum into the BOOseum from October 1 to 31, filled with eerie activities, fanged interactives, and hair-raising science experiments. The museum itself is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1980, housed in a whimsical building by architect Robert Venturi and billed as a Playground for Your Mind. It's dedicated to improving the trajectories of children in Greater Houston through innovative, child-centered learning and bilingual programs for ages birth to 12, and it won the 2024 National Medal for Museum and Library Service.

There's a full day of activities to work around. Trick-or-treating runs all day across five candy stations, and monster headbands are available throughout the day at the Kids' Hall activity tables. For the hands-on stuff, you can make thermoplastic monsters at the INVISTA Science Station from 9 to 11 AM and 3 to 8 PM, and a bubble science touch table runs there from 11 AM to 3 PM. Over in the Kids' Hall, Frankenstein on stilts is around for a meet-and-greet from 10 AM to 2 PM. If you're looking for something to sit with, the Alexander Design Studio has monster stuffies from 10 AM to 7 PM, limited to 12 participants and recommended for ages 3 and up.

The later part of the day brings in the music and the costumes. DJ Beetlejuice spins in the Kids' Hall Alcove from 4 to 8 PM, and face painters are set up in One World from 4 to 8 PM, so you can get the look sorted before the music kicks in. Entry is General Admission, and the whole thing runs from 9 AM to 8 PM on Halloween day.