Special Spaces for Special Events

Houston’s museums are not just wonderful places to house exhibits – many offer special event space for rent, where guests can be surrounded by art, artifacts and distinctive architecture. A number of museums offer discounts for non-profit organizations and members. Some spaces are rented for a flat fee, while others are available for per-hour rental fees.

For Intimate Events

At Asia Society Texas Center the light-filled Jade Stone Café seats 40, with additional outdoor space, while the stunning Water Garden Terrace provides space for up to 40 banquet-style or 64 reception-style.

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Host an after-hours meeting at the Duncan Family Conference Room at the Children’s Museum of Houston, seating 50 at tables or up to 100 theater style. For family fun, hold your child’s themed birthday party at the museum.

Enjoy a subterranean seated dinner for 50 in the Zilkha Gallery at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston — or host up to 50 in the intimate Cullen Education Resource Center. For an outdoor event, the steel building is your backdrop on the Harris and Eliza Kempner Terrace (up to 80 guests).

Kick a 20-person brainstorming session into high gear in the Big Thoughts Room at the Houston Museum of African American Culture or book the Theatre Room or the Seminal Conference Room for up to 50 attendees.

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If you seek a clean, contemporary and creative space for up to 50 guests, check out the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. For more of an old-world feel, try the Czech Center Museum Houston. The ecumenical Wenceslas Chapel provides an elegant antique-filled space for services, weddings and renewal of vows or hold a small meeting in thecenter’s conference room.

If you need a classroom setting for up to 60 attendees, reserve the Avrohm I. Wisenberg Classrooms at Holocaust Museum Houston. You can also host a small meeting at the museum’s conference room.

The Houston Museum of Natural Science also offers many event spaces. You’ll have something old and something new covered at your wedding ceremony with up to 100 guests in the Morian Hall of Paleontology. If you like bling, the Hall of Gems and Minerals fits 80 guests. Rev it up in the Energy Hall, where you can host 40 theatre-style, 50 for dinner or 100 for cocktails. The Cockrell Butterfly Center has room for 50 at a wedding ceremony, while 40 can be seated for dinner in the West Plaza or 75 for a reception. The museum’s conference room fits up to 100.

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The Houston Zoo
provides a range of fun and versatile event spaces for corporate functions, birthdays, weddings and more – from very small to very large.

In the The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Glassell School of Art, the Freed Auditorium seats 95 or transport your guests in the museum’s Blaffer and Sterling Galleries. With space for 50 seated or 100 standing, they’ll enjoy the sub-Saharan African art and gold. The McNair Gallery provides room for 80 seated or 100 standing, with masterpieces from Courbet and Turner on the walls. The John A. and Audrey Jones Beck Collection of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism accommodates 60 banquet-style or 75 reception-style. At the Shell Oil Company Foundation Gallery, up to 30 dinner guests or 50 reception guests can mingle among European art and Rodin sculptures.

For Larger Gatherings

The Brown Foundation Performing Arts Theater at Asia Society Texas Center seats 273. The center’s Fayez Sarofim Grand Hall accommodates 275, while the Edward Rudge Allen III Education Center accommodates 180. Outside, the Chao Foundation Green Garden provides reception space for 120.

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The Brown Foundation Auditorium at the Children’s Museum of Houston seats 164, while the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Theater at Holocaust Museum Houston seats 102. The lobby area at museum also provides space for 200 guests for your reception. If a 120-seat 4D theatre is what you’re after, book the John P. McGovern Theater at The Health Museum.

Stage your stylish event at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, where you can host a reception for 200 outside on the Harris and Eliza Kempner Terrace or downstairs in the Zilkha Gallery for 300. If you want to seat 300 guests, try the main floor’s Brown Foundation Gallery.

Rothko Chapel allows sacred or spiritual services to take place at the chapel including weddings, memorials and baptisms. The capacity is 150 guests.

The Baroque palatial feel of the Czech Center Museum Houston adds custom elegance as you host 125 guests for a seated dinner, or 200 for a reception in the Brno Gallery under sparkling chandeliers. Larger receptions for 150 banquet style or 250 reception style can be staged in the Prague Hall or the Pilsen Hall.

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Everything sparkles in the Hall of Gems and Minerals at the Houston Museum of Natural Science where you can host 150 dinner guests, or 200 for a cocktail reception. Try the Cockrell Butterfly Center lobby for 120 to 200 guests. The domed 200-seat Burke Baker Planetarium is a fascinating setting for your corporate meeting or even a wedding ceremony. Outdoors, reserve the dramatic Sundial space in front of the museum to host up to 120 guests for dinner, or 200 for a cocktail reception. Use the Moran Lecture Hall’s state-of-the-art AV for your corporate events for up to 220 theatre-style.

At the Houston Museum of African American Culture, you can host 200 guests for a wedding, fashion show or mega-mixer in the Grandiose Gallery or the Masterpiece Gallery.

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If you want a grand space for your event, visit The Health Museum where the George and Barbara Bush Grand Hall seats 175 for banquets or 200 theatre-style.

For a streamlined feel and flowing open space, turn to the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft where you can host a reception for up to 200. The stunning The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Rienzi mansion has room for 175 guests. In the museum’s main buildings on Bissonett, a number of spaces are available for your medium-sized event.

For a Big Event

The Festival Lawn at Asia Society Texas Center is an expansive outdoor space for temporary events. Or, max out the flexible space in the Edward Rudge Allen III Education Center for a stand-up reception for a few hundred guests.

The Kid’s Hall and Exhibition Areas at the Children’s Museum of Houston provide a colorful backdrop for your event. For a more formal seated occasion, the space comfortably accommodates 300 guests, or up to 2,500 guests at a networking style reception.

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There’s not a bad seat in the house in The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Brown Auditorium (capacity: 350). The museum’s Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens accommodates 350 guests in its lush gardens. Also outdoors, the Cullen Sculpture Garden has room for 450 reception-style.

Treat your 2,000 employees to a turn-key picnic experience at the Houston Zoo. For an even bigger crowd, renting the entire zoo for an evening provides plenty of room to roam and take a walk on the wild side.

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At The Health Museum, the George and Barbara Bush Grand Hall features soaring ceilings and glass archways – an attractive space for up to 350 reception guests.

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A networking reception for up to 500 works well in the Brown Foundation Gallery at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston or party with the past in the Morian Hall of Paleontology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science where you can seat 360 for dinner, or accommodate up to 650 reception-style. For VIP viewing, check out the 400-seat Giant Screen Theatre. Supersize it in the grand entry hall where 350 guests can be seated, or 900 can fit for a reception. The permanent exhibit spaces can fit up to 2,500 people.

Houston Museum of Natural Science Special Event Setup