Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston has a fantastic collection of pre-Columbian gold collected by Alfred C. Glassell, Jr. Glassell made his wealth from oil/gas, valued marine life and went on seafaring expeditions, and had an original eye for beauty when collecting gold items that had not reached popularity yet.

The ancient South Americans valued gold, which they believed was a substance of the sun, for its spiritual power and fashioned all manner of wonderful things out of it. The gold from Colombia and Peru in the Glassell Collection looks so yellow and beautiful! Glassell also collected gold objects from Africa and Indonesia. You can just get lost in their details.
There is also Olmec jade, Maya stone sculpture, and textiles from Central and South America in the museum. African masks and headdresses, and art and objects from Oceania, as well as intricate architectural elements from India round out the collection.
The two sides of the museum are connected by underground tunnels that are lit up with colored LED lights. Kids enjoy this!
The museum's cafe is a pleasant place to eat, a big open space with good food. The prices are expensive though.
The Museum of Fine Arts is located near Houston's main park, Hermann Park, and many other excellent museums such as the Houston Museum of Natural Science (don't miss!) and the Children's Museum of Houston.
Houston has a major traffic problem so plan your driving to avoid rush hour.

Directions

Museum of Fine Arts is located at 1001 Bissonnet St, Houston TX 77005, call (713) 639-7300.
Hours are Tues and Wed 10-5, Thurs 10-9, Fri and Sat 10-7, and Sunday 12:15-7.
Admission is $15, $10 for seniors and military, $7.50 for students and teens, free for children aged 12 and under. Admission is free on Thursdays, courtesy of Shell.

Click on map for interactive view