Gas prices are nearing $4 a gallon and the economy is nearing the dreaded r-word, but it all doesn't mean you can't still have some spring fun.

WFAA Mobile Journalist Aaron Chimbel has this list of free, fun things to do in Dallas-Fort Worth you may have never heard of, unless of course you watched the stories on WFAA.com when they were originally posted.

1. The Cockroach Hall of Fame and Museum

Michael Bohdan thought cockroaches weren't getting their due, so in 1986 he decided to begin honoring the pests. He's an exterminator and turned his Plano pest shop into the world's only Cockroach Hall of Fame and Museum.

What to see: Ross Peroach, Liberoachi and Dallas' largest cockroach.

Address: 2231-B W. 15th St. in Plano.

Website: www.pestshop.com

MoJo video: Cockroach museum draws curious from around the world

2. Pecan art exhibit

You don't have to be nuts to enjoy the world's only pecan art exhibit at Denton's Courthouse-on-the-Square Museum. B.W. Crawford started his art 20-years ago while running a pecan cracking business. When he died the museum took over the collection.

What to see: Pecan Liberace, Johnny Carson, Smurfs and hundreds more.

Address: 110 West Hickory in Denton.

Website: www.dentoncounty.com/chos

MoJo video: Pecan Picasso collection only exhibit of its kind

3. Museum of Geometric and MADI Art

It's a deceiving bright spot in Dallas. The Museum of Geometric and MADI Art is hidden in an office in Uptown. Once inside, you'll see some of the most powerful art in the world. MADI art is distinguished by bright colors and bold forms. This is the only museum of its kind in the world.

What to see: Lots of bright colors and fun shapes.

Address: 3109 Carlisle Street in Dallas.

Website: www.madimuseumdallas.org

MoJo video: World's first museum of its kind a bright spot in Dallas

4. The House Moving Museum

H.D. Snow has had one job his entire life: Moving houses. It is the family business, so he thought it did not seem too much of a leap to start the world's only House Moving Museum. The museum is opened mostly by appointment, so check with the Snow House Moving before you go.

What to see: Dollies, jacks and the evolution of house moving.

Address: 12155 Bus. Hwy 287 North in Fort Worth.

Website: www.snowhousemoving.com

MoJo video: House Moving Museum at home in Fort Worth

5. Aurora alien grave

If the small Wise County Town of Aurora is known for anything it is being the final resting place for a visitor from outer space. The entire event, which led to a purported burial of an alien pilot, has been a tourist draw in Aurora for more than 100 years. It may be a little out of the way, but it sure makes for an interesting story to tell your friends.

What to see: Aurora Cemetery's Texas Historical Marker about an alien grave.

Address: 500 Cemetery Rd. in Aurora in Wise County.

MoJo video: Alien grave disputed legend in Aurora

6. Ice Cream Freezer Museum

For all those people who remember cranking out homemade ice cream on a hot summer day, there is a museum in McKinney that is just for you. Doc & Clyde's is a museum that features the largest collection of ice cream freezers in the world. It's hidden in the upstairs, back part of Clyde's on the Square, an antique shop, as the name says, on the square in McKinney.

What to see: Hundreds of ice cream freezers from generations past and anything else ice cream related.

Address: 102 E. Louisiana St. in McKinney.

MoJo video: McKinney ice cream freezer museum is world's largest

7. The Pate Museum of Transportation

The Pate Museum of Transportation is a place for planes, trains and automobiles, and anything else that moves. A.M. Pate started collecting cars in the 1940s and his collection grew to include all forms of transportation.

What to see: Dozens of cars and anything else that moves.

Address: 18501 Highway 377 S. in Cresson in Parker County.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 5 on Sunday.

MoJo video: Museum for anything that moves a "hidden treasure"

8. Texas Sculpture Garden

When Craig Hall looked at 162 acres in then rural Frisco a decade ago he saw a massive business complex with an equally massive art collection. With the addition of a 40-ton, 85-foot tall sculpture last summer, the Hall Office Park and its Texas Sculpture Garden are even more visible.

What to see: The work of 41 prominent Texas artists, both throughout the office park and in the lobby.

Address: 6801 Gaylord Parkway at the Dallas North Tollway in Frisco.

Website: www.texassculpturegarden.org

MoJo video: Jaguar latest, largest addition to rare art collection