Saturday Stargazing at the George Observatory

The George Observatory opens to the public on Saturday nights, all year round, weather permitting. It sits inside Brazos Bend State Park and is run by the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

It is one of the few genuinely out-of-the-ordinary things within half an hour of the neighborhood, and it costs very little to try.

The thing that catches families out: observatory tickets are not sold at the park. Buy them online before you leave the house, and note that you also need a park day pass to get in.

While you are there in daylight. Brazos Bend is open every day from 8 in the morning until 10 at night. Entry is $7 for anyone 13 and over and free for children 12 and under. If it is your first visit, the Creekfield Lake Nature Trail is paved, half a mile, flat enough for a pushchair, and it is where people reliably see wild alligators from a safe path.

Give the alligators room, read the park's safety notes before you go, and keep dogs on a lead no longer than six feet and out of the lakes.

Observatory information is on (281) 242-3055.