HOUSTON -- Kids and parents looking to escape the dreary weather found shelter and a world of learning inside the Children's Museum of Houston, KPRC Local 2, Your Education Station, reported Monday.

First-time visitor Robbin Bailey said, "We came here from Plano, Texas, and we had planned to go to Galveston, but heard that the weather was going to be bad, so we stopped in Houston and decided to hit all the spots here."

Her daughter, Marian, said, "I think it's fun and interesting."

Weather is the hot topic at the museum's newest exhibit, Scholastic's The Magic School Bus Kicks Up a Storm.

Inside Ms. Fizzle's classroom, kids can check out her students' experiments, then travel in a magic school bus that becomes a weather observatory.

Children's Museum of Houston Director of Exhibit Development Keith Ostfeld said, "There are three ingredients to weather -- there's air, there's water and there's heat and so what they're doing is they're exploring how each of these interacts to make weather."

Want to see snow in Buffalo or a hurricane in Houston? An interactive playground provides all the answers.

For "future Frank Billingsleys" out there, kids can try their hand at forecasting for the Fizzle News Network.

Mom Lisa Birenbaum said it's been a great experience for her 5-year-old daughter, Sarah. She said, "It's really stimulating and she's learning all about the weather and the wind, all sorts of things."

The Magic School Bus exhibit runs through May 11.

Outside the museum, even more exciting things are on the horizon. A huge expansion is under way that will house exhibits specifically geared to those 8 years old and older.

Ostfeld said, "We're doubling our interior exhibit space. We're putting up five entirely new exhibits. We're redoing the entire courtyard area."

The expanded Children's Museum, located at 1500 Binz, will open next spring break, in March 2009.