Gregory A. Copp, Inc.

One spark of inspiration is all you need for your next big idea at the Thinkery, where each exhibit is hands-on, play-based learning, with activities and content appropriate for visitors of all ages. Create colorful works of art, take apart toys or build and launch gliders at the Spark Shop. See, feel and hear the connections between water and sound at the Currents exhibit. Find out how color, light, and shadows impact the environment at the Light Lab. Participate in sensory exploration, chemical reactions, and edible minerals in the Kitchen Lab. Imagine buying and selling delicious fruits and vegetables or collecting eggs from a pretend chicken coop in Fresh! Farmers’ Market. Step outside to the Backyard and scale the heights of a universally-accessible, custom-designed climber, or rest under the branches of a native elm tree.

The Cathedral of Junk is in the backyard of the artist who created it as a living sculpture, meaning it is always in flux as its creator, owner, and curator, Vince Hanneman, also known as The Junk King continues adding to it. The building is like a Cathedral that has a hollow framework of improvised trusses and wires that are packed with lawn mower wheels, car bumpers, kitchen utensils, ladders, cables, bottles, circuit boards, bicycle parts, brick-a-brack, and a lot of stuff that is unidentifiable.

Life is better with a little adventure at Austin Helicopter Tours, which offers the community an incredible, one-of-a-kind experience. Check out the many tours, such as the Downtown Trail of Lights Tour, which offers you a chance to take a flight at night and enjoy the Christmas holiday lights. The Austin Circuit of the Americas Tour is where your heart literally races, especially if you’re a Formula 1 race fan because you get to fly over the new F1 race track. The Austin Sports Lovers Tour, where you get to take a flight that covers downtown Austin and the Circuit of the Americas.

Stop and smell the wildflowers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, where they use native plants to restore and create sustainable, beautiful landscapes. Learn how they inspire the conservation of native plants through the gardens, research, education, and outreach programs. In doing so, we improve water quality, provide habitat for wildlife, and enhance human health and happiness.