Can I give more than 5 stars!? This museum is amazing. If you have children, drop everything and…read moreGO. If you don't have children, also go! It's immersive, interactive, tactile. One of the best museums I've been to (and I've been to a lot). Budget at least two hours and bring food (there's a designated eating area upstairs). KIDS: Before visiting, I didn't know much, only that it was a science museum with some stuff for kids. Well, the amount of children's activities blew me away. The entire top floor is children's exhibits -- a large variety of rooms. You have music and light, engineering (building), space, bubbles, a craft room for older kids. For younger kids, there is a tea party room and a homestead room (all super hands-on, with lots to play with). I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Ultimately, there was a lot to do upstairs and it appealed to a variety of ages. That's just the upstairs! In addition to the kids' top floor, there was a children's play area (under 5) downstairs with a mini grocery store, a fire station, and more. There was also a water play area and a live animal exhibit (snakes, spiders, lizards) plus a little book nook (all downstairs). As if that wasn't enough, there was a traveling exhibit on mosquitos that had a ton of interactive children's content. Like I said, the amount of kids' content blew me away. Needless to say, my kids had a blast. ADULTS: I thought that the adult exhibits were super well done. Everything is very thoughtfully designed. The layout is so pleasant, with color scheme and formatting done just right for the subject. As a lifelong museum-goer and a museum studies major, I just would not shut up about it (sympathies to my husband). Additionally, each exhibit was so interactive and tactile. This is fantastic for adults but also amazing for adults with kids. So hard to go to museums with kids because they get bored when they can't touch stuff. We were actually able to walk around and experience the exhibits while our kids touched any interactive elements. In the history/culture of the local region room, I loved being able to go inside the indigenous housing and touch the wood. Also, the gospel room felt like being inside a tiny church (simple but powerful with a lot of songs to listen to). The other rooms were also really immersive -- the caves, the flora/fauna room (with taxidermied animals), the mammoth excavation underneath the transparent floor, the ability to see an actual paleontologist in the lab cleaning a mammoth bone, the cabinet of curiosities. I loved the design of the cabinet of curiosities and my kids enjoyed opening all the drawers. One tiny complaint -- all the info had to be obtained via their website (very easy with the QR code). However, maybe for some less tech savvy (older?) folks or people who just want to put their phone away, I wished for a bare minimum label just to explain what the objects were. This would allow for a quick glance understanding while also offering the ability to obtain more info via QR code. HISTORIC VILLAGE: On top of all the amazing stuff inside, there is a historic village behind the museum. Unlike many other similar villages which block access inside the buildings entirely, this one actually allowed you to enter several of them. We were able to explore the church, the schoolhouse, and some of the housing (the actual rooms were behind glass in some of the housing). Some fun photo opportunities here. Both adults and kids enjoyed this part! Don't miss it. FEE: For what you get, the admission fee is very reasonable. I've paid more for less. Adults are $12. Kids 2-15 are $10. Under 2 are free. ACCESSIBILITY: This museum seems very committed to maximizing their accessibility. Everything seems to be wheelchair-accessible. They also offer sensory accommodations -- according to their website, they offer sensory backpacks (noise-reducing headphones and fidget tools). STAFF: I found the staff to be very friendly and helpful. Ultimately, this place is wonderful. It's not a huge museum but it felt huge given all they've done with it. Couldn't recommend it more. Honestly, whoever designed this museum, KUDOS to you!

We have been here twice and have loved it both times! There is SO much to do. So many floors and…read morethemed rooms of fun for all ages (bubble room, craft room, trains, grocery store, sound and light, tea room, etc). This is also a great value! Admission was affordable and was part of our "GetOut" austin passes. The only tricky thing may be parking. There are a lot of spaces, but each time we've gone it's been a full lot. Would definitely recommend this place for kiddos!

This place has a lot history and fact that most people don't know. It is well laid out. There is a…read morefew interactive things to do. So Big and Small children don't get bored.

Having watched the CW's "Walker" featuring Jared Padalecki, I've been itching to check out the…read moreTexas Ranger Museum! If you're thinking it's a museum for the baseball team like Tracy P. thought, uhm, it's not. Haha. Texas Rangers have an illustrious history. Surprisingly, not all TR's were good, but for the most part they were lawmen. Do watch the 45-minute film before touring the museum which helped me appreciate the exhibits as it ties the TRs with almost every aspect of Texas history. There are interactive exhibits so you can pick up and feel the weight of a TR gun. And there are somber reminders of the most famous Waco incident. Expect to spend a decent couple of hours here and stop by the gift shop for a memorabilia. Only $10.50 per adult admission. Enjoyed it! Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and NY.

Beautiful historic home, it was decorated so beautifully for the holidays. We enjoyed our tour,…read morelearning so much about early Waco and it's founders.

Greatly enjoyed touring this home which features many well restored rooms and a rich history. The…read morecurator provided an excellent visit and history of the home and original family. Am looking forward to seeing the home when decorated for the holidays. Plan on two hours to complete the tour.

Wasn't sure what to expect but really glad we stopped by while in Waco. The staff was friendly and…read moreinformative. The dig site was a short walk and was in an air conditioned building. Thank goodness due to the heat and humidity in late Sept! Interesting and fascinating. Only took about 1.5 hours even with an informative session with one of the park tour guides.

As a National Park enthusiast, I was really excited to learn this site wasn't too far from my…read morefriend's house and so I was ecstatic to visit Waco Mammoth National Monument while in Texas. I'm also glad I happened to bring my National Park passport (you just never know!) Anyway, Waco Mammoth is definitely one of the more unusual units of the National Park System I've visited but also worth the visit!!! The history behind the site is fascinating. After two men discovered bones in 1978, researchers from Baylor University and other institutions began excavating the area and quickly realized they had uncovered something incredible! More and more fossils were found and in 2015 my guy President Obama established the site as an official unit of the National Park System. Though, one thing visitors should know ahead of time is that even though this is a National Park Service site, our America the Beautiful passes do NOT work here. General entry to the park grounds is free, but there is a separate fee to enter the dig shelter because it is operated in partnership with the City of Waco to help support preservation efforts. The actual dig shelter is absolutely the highlight of the experience, though you'll need to join a guided tour led by a docent. Hopefully you end up with one who is especially knowledgeable and enthusiastic because that really makes the experience come alive. I loved seeing the nation's first and only recorded evidence of a nursery herd of Colombian Mammoths from the Ice Age! So neat. At least 19 mammoths were discovered and the jury (err, scientists) are still out on how exactly these mammoths came to be trapped at this site/the reasoning for their passing. Anyway, this is a fascinating stop and absolutely worth visiting if you're in the Waco area, especially if you enjoy history, science, paleontology, or just visiting National Park units. It's not a full-day destination by any means, but it's definitely educational, memorable, and offers something very different from the typical national park experience!

Friendly staff and gorgeous floor. Thursday night is their…read moreRetro Night and was only $2 to skate if you have your own skates. Great choice for family fun!

If there was a way to give zero stars, I would. Do not buy any prepaid plans or passes from Skate…read moreWaco located at 401 Towne Oaks dr, waco, tx 76655. Their management is incredibly dishonest, unorganized, and they will triple-charge you. I bought three 1-month passes for myself and my two older kids. At sign-up, the staff was very friendly but claimed they were out of physical citizen pass cards, promising we would get them the following week. That never happened. The second week we got in fine because the same employee remembered us. However, by the third week, they refused to let us in without the cards. Even though I had already paid for the passes, they forced me to buy a brand new pass just to enter, promising I could roll over the unused weeks. When we returned the next week, the store manager stood at the gate, told me my passes were expired, and forced me to pay full price again. I ended up paying three times for the exact same service. Avoid their prepaid promotions--they take advantage of customers and have the worst customer service I have ever experienced.

Nice park. Grounds are nice rubbery green. Seats are covered. Netting is full length of 3rd to…read morehome and 1st to home. Biggest disappointment is the $5 hotdogs. I don't mind paying $3.50. No more. But don't rip me off. I hoped this Baptist University would at least be fair. But even here the almighty $$$ wins out. 3 Star. That's it.

Fun little cook off in the streets of Hico, Texas. First year was 2004, can't believe it took me…read morethis long to find out about it. A few months back I planned the run for my car club; not too many hotel options in the area so we chose Stephenville just north for our overnight stay. Saturday morning our group snacked at the complimentary breakfast before heading out for some curves. Event was well organized starting with parking; very short walk to the streets where teams were already cooking. Couple of options here folks; we purchased appetizer tickets for $15 each. That gave us access to run between booths and snack instead of eating a full blown meal. $35 would have gotten you a steak dinner served at 5:30pm. I think another $30 for wine. First stop we dined on Asian spiced pork belly! One booth had free beer!!! YES PLEASE! Notable bites to start were seafood boudin, spicy hot wings, and bacon jam bites. And that was the first 100 yards. Round the corner and a margarita machine made out of a drink cooler and a garbage disposal (redneck brilliance). Free Margaritas!!! OK its REALLY hot, another few yards down the street for free Gatorade. Another good dish with a play on Texas Caviar with grilled chicken. Sausage wrap with three salsa options including the last one "I dare you". Yes, it was friggin' hot but a nice way to induce more sweating to cool you off...eventually. Hit some shops; had some fun. Only complaint was the teams that just served crappy Eckrich sausage. Yall could have done WAY better for your guests! We were so full we didn't even stop for pie at the Koffee Kup. Fun times!!

Great food. I was pleasantly surprised by the pulled pork Mac and cheese. Will return soon.read more