As one of the most heavily attended museums in the United States, and one of the most attended venues in Houston, the Museum is in the distinguished company of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History, both in New York City. The Museum houses the Burke Baker Planetarium, Wortham IMAX? Theatre, Cockrell Butterfly Center and over a dozen permanent exhibit areas that examine astronomy, space science, Native Americans, paleontology, energy, chemistry, gems and minerals, seashells, Texas wildlife and more.