When it comes to cool places to go and exciting things to do, Lubbock offers an assortment of interesting attractions all year round. Check out the list below for a few of our favorites.

Buddy Holly Center

Chock full of photos and artifacts of Lubbock’s hometown boy and his band before his life was tragically cut short. Get the most of your visit by exploring all of the center, as well as the Buddy and Maria Elena Holly Plaza and the West Texas Walk of Fame, home of the Buddy Holly statue. Additionally, the center hosts special events throughout the year, including concerts, summer camps, and more.

Lubbock Lake National Historic Landmark

Explore the evidence of more than 12,000 years of occupation by human life at one of the primary sites in North America for natural history and Archeology.

National Ranching Heritage Center

Get an idea of what the Wild West was really like with examples of genuine ranch life. This timber and stone building offers rotating exhibits that feature everything from farm machinery to firearms.

When Texas Tech University voice teacher and former opera performer Gerald Dolter had an idea in 2005 for Moonlight Musicals, he had no idea it would become a reality so soon. The idea was to find a way for voice students to add valuable on-stage experience to their resumes, preferably at a nearby venue. It would only be a year later when MM would present their inaugural performance of Oklahoma! at the Mackenzie Park Amphitheatre, which has since been the setting for more than 30 additional MM productions. Over the years, Moonlight Musicals has also garnered a reputation for charming, audience-pleasing, and professional-quality performances.

Additionally, a new series of productions was later begun and performed indoors due to incidents of inclement weather. Les Miserables was performed at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center as the inaugural production of Moonlight Broadway, followed by CATS, Mary Poppins, Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and others. Since then, MM has added a new series for more mature theatergoers entitled Moonlight After Dark, while the Moonlight Musicals series continue to provide top-quality theatrical entertainment all year round.

For educational, family-friendly, and amazingly fun activities, it’s hard to beat the Science Spectrum and OMNI Theater. Come wander, explore, and learn at this complex which features Lubbock’s only public aquarium, three floors full of exhibits and experiments, daily live science shows, and the giant-screened OMNI Theater. Also, the Science Spectrum frequently plays host to a variety of traveling exhibits throughout the year. It’s easy to see why they have become the Hub City’s main destination for fun facts and scientific knowledge.

The Science Spectrum is also popular with families for its entertaining public events, such as BubbleFest and the Creative Learners Reading Fair. The OMNI Theater is one of the primary attractions in the region, and with good reason. With a domed screen that measures almost 60 feet and 18,000 watts of crisp, pure, digital sound, the OMNI offers a movie-going experience unlike any other. Come out and see for yourself what the Science Spectrum and OMNI Theater have to offer—whether you’re in elementary school or a senior citizen, you’re sure to have a blast!

Folks who have never visited Lubbock’s Texas Tech University Museum are often surprised to find out just how much space it covers, but the thing to remember is that a lot of room is essential when you’re housing over six million exhibits in the humanities, arts, and sciences. And, although the place is huge, it’s actually a total of several different entities, including the renowned Moody Planetarium, which hosts laser shows as well as daily star-gazing shows. Others include the Helen DeVitt Jones Auditorium and Sculpture Court, the Natural Science Research Laboratory, the Diamond M Gallery, and the Museum of TTU.

With a unique collection of sculpture and other artwork in a variety of mediums, including paintings by such famous artists as Monet, the museum is able to offer gallery showings and unique educational programs with a focus on a particular period in art history. Additional educational offerings include Reel to Reel, a film-oriented offering, and such specialty programs such as Hack the Museum, and the I Wanna Be an Astronaut series. No matter your age or level of interest, our museum is sure to have something just for you.

Whether you’re a newbie to stargazing or an enthusiastic amateur astronomer, you’ll find the stars really are big and bright in Texas, especially at Texas Tech University’s Moody Planetarium. They welcome stargazers at every level of skill and interest, and offer a special program every Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday, for those interested in viewing the daily transitions of the stars and planets. Various programs such as “Astrobreak,” “Black Holes,” “Laser Queen,” and “Wildest Weather in the Universe” are featured, along with seasonal stargazing offerings.

While “Astrobreak” and “Black Holes” offer straightforward science, the hour-long “Laser Queen” uses the accompaniment of Freddie Mercury and Queen’s biggest hits to entertain and educate. Don’t forget to include the entire family for the showing of “Wildest Weather in the Universe,” which features a visual trek through the heavens to show us such phenomena as a 400-year-old hurricane, a massive dust tempest capable of encompassing a planet, and a storm as big as a 100-megaton hydrogen bomb. The Moody Planetarium’s shows change seasonally, so be sure to check back for the latest programs and schedules.

In 1959, Buddy Holly was riding high with a hit single that had just reached number one on the charts. “That’ll be the Day,” was a breakthrough for Holly and the Crickets after a rapidly-skyrocketing career that included opening for Elvis Presley in 1955, and previous hits such as “Peggy Sue,” and “Maybe Baby.” Holly’s inimitable style, a mix of rockabilly, country, and rhythm and blues combined with his distinctive vocals and teen-love lyrics to make him an adolescent heart-throb. Later, Holly would be recognized as a musical pioneer, performing with his iconic 1958 Fender Stratocaster and inspiring the many artists who arrived on the music scene after his death.

Holly was the focus of many musical tributes, but perhaps the most notable of these was Don McLean’s famous 1971 release “American Pie,” which refers to the date of the plane crash in which Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" J. P. Richardson died, along with pilot Roger Peterson. Holly’s legacy lives on at Lubbock’s renowned Buddy Holly Center, whose mission is to promote this legacy, preserve his music, and maintain the exhibits on Contemporary Visual Arts and Music.

Ever since Buddy Holly and the Crickets hit the charts with such hits as “Peggy Sue,” Lubbock has become known as a haven for musicians of every stripe, and the music they created. Over the years, the Hub City has become as famous for being mentioned in songs as it has been for the artists that call Lubbock home. An abundant array of country, rock, and other genres of music can claim song titles and/or lyrics that include “Lubbock” or “Lubbock, Texas.” One of the most renowned is Lubbock’s own singer/songwriter Mac Davis’ “Texas In My Rear View Window,” which reached number nine on 1980’s country charts.

Other terrific examples of songs that speak of Lubbock include Terry Allen’s “Lubbock Woman,” Aaron Watson’s “Lonely Lubbock Lights,” and Tommy Newsom’s “Lucky Me, I Live in Lubbock.” And, don’t forget the Dixie Chicks “Lubbock or Leave It,” and Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Got Lucky Last Night,” which, although it doesn’t have the city’s name in the title, is acclaimed for being penned as “a song about Lubbock, Texas and how much fun you can have with no money and no brains.”

Basketball, volleyball, shows, concerts, and ceremonies – it’s all happening here at the United Supermarkets Arena. Formerly known as the United Spirit Arena, the Arena seats 15,000 and is located on the campus of Texas Tech University. Ten permanent concession stands on the concourse level provide a variety of eats, along with a food court for all-conference play during Red Raider and Lady Raider basketball games. While all of the University’s athletic games are popular with locals and visitors alike, the USA hosts an impressive array of musical entertainers.

Previous performers have included such country and western luminaries Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, along with many other local favorites. Upcoming performances include Metallica on their World-Wired Tour, the Harlem Globetrotters, Reel Big Fish, and many more musical and entertainment heavy-hitters. Some acts provide a pre-show party and live performance prefacing the main act, while others entertain audiences with a DJ before the show. Many of these shows sell out fast, so snag your tickets soon.