Houston Arts

Houston is a vibrant center for the arts and culture. Starting a block from campus is Houston's impressive Museum District, of which the Rice University Art Gallery is a part. The tree-lined district features 11 museums, several of national and international importance, exhibiting art, nature, science, medicine, and history. Highlights include the Menil Collection, one of the most important privately assembled art collections of the 20th century, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the oldest comprehensive museum in the Southwest and the sixth largest art museum in the nation. Presenting an array of ever-changing exhibits, the Contemporary Arts Museum is the only museum in Texas devoted solely to exhibiting and interpreting contemporary art. Boasting the fourth-largest attendance of any museum in the U.S., the Museum of Natural Science includes Burke Baker Planetarium, Cockrell Butterfly Center, and Wortham IMAX Theater.

Many of the museums offer discounts with a student ID, and the Contemporary Arts Museum and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, are free on Thursdays. The Menil Collection is free five days a week.

If it's a live performance you seek, you'll find a wealth of options. Houston is one of the few U.S. cities with internationally recognized resident companies in all four major performing arts - drama, ballet, opera, and symphony - and it is second only to New York City in its number of theater seats, with nearly 13,000.

Houston Ballet is a top-tier troupe with an international reputation and a season of local and worldwide touring performances. Houston Grand Opera, among the nation's five largest opera companies, is internationally recognized for its balanced repertoire of classic and contemporary works. Jesse H. Jones Hall is home to the acclaimed Houston Symphony and classical presenter Society for the Performing Arts. The hall also provides a venue for touring theatrical productions of the Houston Broadway Series. The Alley Theatre is one of the oldest resident professional theater companies in the U.S. and winner of a 1996 Tony Award for outstanding regional theater. A recent enhancement to the Theater District, a new 130,000 square-foot entertainment facility, Bayou Place, opened in 1997. The facility features the Aerial Theater, a performance hall hosting top touring bands and dance presentations, an eight-screen movie house, cafe and a variety of restaurants. For other popular music concerts, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion is located just north of Houston in the Woodlands.

Many of Houston's cultural performances are available on short notice at a discount. The Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera, and Houston Symphony all sell reduced-price tickets a few hours before show time. Miller Outdoor Theater, located in Hermann Park across Main Street from campus, hosts many free musical, theater, and dance performances, including some by the Houston Symphony and Houston Grand Opera, in case you haven't been downtown to enjoy them indoors.

On campus, students can enjoy performances by the Rice Players, concerts at the Shepherd Music School, and films at the Rice Media Center.

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CHEMICAL & BIOMOLECULAR ENGINEERING DEPT. MS-362
Rice University PO Box 1892 Houston, Texas 77251-1892	E-mail: chbe@rice.edu	Phone: (713) 348-4902 FAX:(713) 348-5478