Museums Near Me in Lakehills
Agricultural Heritage Museum
102 City Park Road, Boerne, TX
Mission:
Our mission is to educate visitors about the agricultural and rural life of the Texas Hill Country through the collection and preservation of artifacts and sharing of stories that represent our rich and diverse history.
About Us:
•The Agricultural Heritage Museum is a Non-Profit 501(c)3 Organization. All donations are tax deductible.
•The Agricultural Heritage Museum: Located in Boerne City Park on over five acres. It includes a blacksmith shop, woodworking shop, pioneer house, wagon house, main museum building and many outdoor exhibits showcase antique farm machinery and implements. Blacksmiths work on Saturdays and demonstrate.
•Artifacts Collections: Antique farm machinery and tools include a thresher machine, combines, wagons, corn shellers, fruit juicers, plows, binders, and much, much more.
•Governance: Operated by volunteers and a board of Directors. Director meetings are held at 6 pm on the 2nd Tuesday of every other month (odd numbered months) in the Pioneer House. All meetings are open to the public.
•Educational Programs: Educational tours for groups are available by appointment.
The Briscoe Western Art Museum
210 West Market Street, San Antonio, TX
Mission
Through the preservation of the art, history and culture of the American West, the Briscoe Western Art Museum inspires and educates the public with engaging exhibitions, educational programs and public events reflective of the region's rich traditions and shared heritage.
Core Values
INTEGRITY - We value honesty, fairness and transparency with our stakeholders, colleagues and members of the community and strive for the highest level of excellence.
RESPECT - We value mutual respect in our relationships with stakeholders, staff, and the community at large, as well as with the art and artifacts under our stewardship.
CREATIVITY - We value creativity in the art and culture of the American West, as demonstrated in our collections, programs and exhibitions.
LEADERSHIP - We value leadership and will demonstrate the highest standards and best practices with all professional endeavors — both internally as an institution and in our personal relationships with the community.
The Alamo
300 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, TX
For over 300 years, the Alamo has been a crossroads for history. From its early days as a Spanish mission and site of the 1836 battle that enshrined it in the hearts of Texans, to its role in the commercial development of an American city, the Alamo is a place like no other. More than 2.5 million visitors come to the Alamo every year. Each will find something different, fascinating and perhaps inspirational.
Mcnay Art Museum
6000 North New Braunfels Avenue, San Antonio, TX
Mcnay Mission Statement:
The McNay Art Museum engages a diverse community in the discovery and enjoyment of the visual arts.
Witte Museum
3801 Broadway, San Antonio, TX
The History of the Witte Museum
The Beginning
Botanist and high school teacher Ellen Schultz began her goal of starting a museum for the growing city of San Antonio in 1923. She began fundraising to acquire the well-known H.P. Attwater natural history collection the same year. Schultz and other interested local citizens including Lena McAllister, Ethel Drought and Mayor John Tobin formed the San Antonio Museum Association. Schultz organized schoolchildren to raise funds to acquire the Attwater Collection by selling bluebonnets and cakes and doing historical performances of Los Pastores. They raised enough funds and the natural history collection was purchased and installed at Main Avenue High School on October 8, 1923.
San Antonio businessman Alfred W. Witte died September 22, 1925, leaving $65,000 to fund a museum in Brackenridge Park. The gift was unexpected and the members of the San Antonio Museum Association went to work with Mayor Tobin and Architect Robert Ayers on the new museum named for Witte’s parents. The site chosen was the location of the original Spanish Acequia Madre de Valero, or irrigation canal, that supplied water to the Alamo mission and the surrounding colonial farms. The Witte Museum opened just over a year later to a huge community celebration on October 8, 1926.
A Growing Institution
Through the late 1920s and 1930s Ellen Schultz Quillin worked for a dollar-a-year salary and managed a total operating budget of $100. While always short of funds, the museum grew rapidly adding paintings and historical artifacts. The collection additions included some of the most important pieces in the now vast Witte holdings.
Both the San Antonio Art League and the San Antonio Conservation Society operated out of the Witte Museum. Throughout the 1930s the Witte Museum became a gathering place for artists, researchers, scholars, and the general community. To raise money, dances, chuck wagon dinners, and classes on a number of subjects were scheduled and became increasingly popular. Some of the most popular classes were art instructional classes led by some of the most important artists in the area. The art classes continued for decades and some now well-known Texas artists took their first art lessons at the Witte Museum.
During the 1930s, the Witte began supporting archeological research in the canyons of the Lower Pecos area and the almost inaccessible areas of the Big Bend. The pioneering expeditions were led by the Southwest Texas Archeological Society with support and staffing from the Witte Museum. The efforts led to the building of new galleries at the Witte and expanded financial support, not to mention the important research findings and addition to the collections, now the finest of their kind in the world.
The Reptile Garden, another fundraising plan by Ellen Schultz Quillin, opened in the 1930s. Eight-hundred visitors attended opening day paying ten cents each to see the program. A professional herpetologist demonstrated milking rattlesnakes in the outdoor facility and did continuing research to develop an anti-venom serum. The Reptile Garden programs were a hit with the public and a great source of income through and after the depression. Fried rattlesnake was also served at the Reptile Garden and the Rattlesnake Dinners continued as a fundraising event for sixteen years.
National Museum of the Pacific War
311 E Austin St, Fredericksburg, TX
The National Museum of the Pacific War (NMPW) is recognized today as a world-class, cultural institution. A Smithsonian Affiliate and accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, NMPW provides the nation's most comprehensive account of World War II in the Asiatic-Pacific theater.
Remaining true to its promise to Admiral Nimitz: to honor all who served and supported the war effort in the Pacific, the Museum proudly presents the facts, stories, and authentic artifacts of the Pacific War for today and generations to come.
Our Vision
Honor Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and the men and women who served in and supported WW-II Asiatic-Pacific Theater Operations by educating and inspiring future generations.
The Foundation
The Admiral Nimitz Foundation is a Texas 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation headquartered in Fredericksburg whose sole purpose is to support and operate the National Museum of the Pacific War.
Our Mission
Operate and support the State-owned Museum experience through its extensive collection, to educate and inspire present and future generations about World War II in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and the continued global relevance of its lessons.
Bullock Texas State History Museum
1800 North Congress Avenue, Austin, TX
Mission:
The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum is a dynamic educational institution that engages visitors in the exciting Story of Texas through a variety of program and exhibit experiences. The Museum provides a new kind of history experience -- one that recognizes that Texas is unique because of its history.
Blanton Museum of Art
200 East Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard, Austin, TX
Mission:
A welcoming center and vital cultural resource for Austin and the University of Texas community, the Blanton Museum of Art provides personally moving, thought provoking and visually arresting experiences with art. Through its exhibitions and programs, the museum inspires an increasingly diverse audience to see beyond their world, make deeper connections to the past, present, and future, and rediscover the life-enhancing power of art every time they visit.
LBJ Presidential Library
2313 Red River Street, Austin, TX
The LBJ Presidential Library is one of thirteen Presidential libraries administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. The library houses forty five million pages of historical documents which include the papers from the entire public career of Lyndon Baines Johnson and also from those of close associates.
Bastrop County Historical Society Museum
904 Main Street, Bastrop, TX
Our Mission
What We're About
BCHS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the history of Bastrop and Bastrop County. The Society is a group of energetic trustees, volunteers, and staff who operate the Society’s museum with monies from the City of Bastrop, from dues paid by individual and business members, and from sponsors who generously underwrite the Society’s annual events and activities.
USS Lexington Museum On The Bay
2914 North Shoreline Boluevard, Corpus Christi, TX
To improve the quality of life of the community by establishing and maintaining a major educational and entertaining museum focusing on naval aviation and the role of the aircraft carrier in the national defense.
To preserve, for the enjoyment and education of future generations, the nation's longest serving and most historically significant aircraft carrier, the USS LEXINGTON.
To become a premier community educational facility by developing and utilizing the ship's unique size and range of facilities in support of science, math, history and geography curricula.
To instill pride and patriotism in the public, particularly the youth, through displays, ceremonies and educational programs that emphasize the heroism and sacrifice of those who have served the nation in the Navy and the Marine Corps. This "lesson of patriotism" is a little-taught ethic in today's America and it is essential we continue teaching it to future generations.
Lexington is a valuable national treasure having played a significant role in the nation's defense for nearly 50 years. Her World War II record is second to none and as a place where Americans died in defense of freedom, she is a memorial worth preserving. She continues to serve today as a museum and educational facility.
Brazos Valley Museum Of Natural History
3232 Briarcrest Drive, Bryan, TX
Mission
The Museum's current mission is to preserve and protect natural and cultural history, to stimulate its understanding, and to encourage responsible stewardship of all natural and cultural resources.
It accomplishes this through:
1.The preservation of artifacts and natural specimens;
2.The presentation of exhibits and educational programming;
3.Cooperative partnerships with arts and cultural organizations, community oriented entities, and academic institutions throughout the Brazos Valley.
The Grace Museum
102 Cypress Street, Abilene, TX
Mission:
The Grace Museum builds connections through new experiences in art, science and history within the evolving Texas story through exhibitions, programs and collections.
History:
The Grace Museum maintains a unique position among West Texas attractions. Housed in a historically significant 105 year-old building, The Grace Museum is recognized as an asset for its cultural heritage as well as its educational opportunities. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), The Grace conforms to the highest operational and professional standards. The museum is dear to the people of Abilene, and is respected throughout the state for its outstanding exhibitions and programs.
The historic building that currently houses The Grace Museum was built in 1909 as the Grace Hotel, a large full service hotel and the finest located on the railroad line between Fort Worth and El Paso. The hotel was renamed The Drake in 1946 and flourished until the 1960s as downtown Abilene declined, and as passenger train travel greatly diminished. The hotel closed permanently in 1973. By the 1980s the building was in ruin and inhabited by rats, vagrants, and cats. In the 1980s a group of visionaries sought to restore downtown Abilene beginning with the historic Paramount Theater.
Roadside America Museum
212 East Elm Street, Hillsboro, TX
Amon Carter Museum of American Art
3501 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX
Mission:
The Amon Carter Museum was established through the generosity of Amon G. Carter Sr. (1879–1955) to house his collection of paintings and sculpture by Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell; to collect, preserve, and exhibit the finest examples of American art; and to serve an educational role through exhibitions, publications, and programs devoted to the study of American art.
Modern Art Museum Of Fort Worth
3200 Darnell Street, Fort Worth, TX
Mission:
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth is dedicated to collecting, presenting, and interpreting international developments in post–World War II art in all media and creating a welcoming environment for its public appreciation. The Modern promotes understanding and interest in art and artists through curatorial research and publications, and a variety of educational programs, including lectures, guided tours, classes, and workshops.
The collection of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth is comprised of nearly 3,000 objects, including paintings, sculptures, videos, photographs, and prints. The majority of works in the collection are dated between 1945 and the present. All major, international movements are represented, including Abstract Expressionism; British, German, French, and American Pop; Color Field Painting; Minimalism; Conceptualism; Post-Minimalism; New Image Painting, and Neo-Expressionism. Pop and Minimalism are particularly strong, as is German art of the 1970s and 1980s.
National Museum Of Funeral History
415 Barren Springs Drive, Houston, TX
History:
The National Museum of Funeral History was founded in 1992 by Mr. Robert L. Waltrip, who spent 25 years dreaming of an institution which would educate the public and preserve the heritage of death care. With over 35,500 sq. ft. of exhibition space, the Museum has since grown to become the largest educational center on funerary customs in the United States and perhaps the world.
In 2005, the Museum began collaborating with the Vatican for what would become its hallmark exhibit, Celebrating the Lives and Deaths of the Popes. A collection of authentic items were acquired for display, including the Popemobile used by Pope John Paul II in 1982, original uniforms worn by The Swiss Guard (responsible for the Pope's personal security) and vestments from the tailor shop in Rome which has clothed the last seven Popes. A 10,500 sq. ft. expansion was carried out to accommodate the exhibit, which included premium sound and lighting, three-dimensional scenes and audio/visual multi-media presentations providing visitors with a true sense of attending a Pope's funeral. The exhibit was opened to the public in 2008.
Today, the Museum continues in its mission to enlighten visitors on one of man's oldest cultural rituals and celebrate the rich history of funeral service.
Art Car Museum
140 Heights Boulevard, Houston, TX
The Art Car Museum is a private institution dedicated to contemporary art. It is an exhibition forum for local,national and international artists with an emphasis on art cars, other fine arts and artists that are rarely, if ever, acknowledged by other cultural institutions. The museum’s goal is to encourage the public’s awareness of the cultural, political, economic and personal dimensions of art.
The Art Car Museum, or “Garage Mahal” as many know it, opened in February 1998. It was founded as a not-for-profit arts organization by Ann Harithas, artist and long-time supporter of the Art Car movement, and James Harithas, currently Director of the Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston, Texas.
The Museum has its conceptual origins in the 1984 Collision show curated by Ann Harithas at the Lawndale Art Center. Collision unveiled Larry Fuente’s “Mad Cad” art car which has since been featured in museums and cultural institutions across the country. The Collision exhibition provid- ed enthusiastic fuel for the art car movement in Houston and eventually precipitated the Art Car Parade and the international Art Car movement.
The art car movement is influenced by the modern tradition in art emphasizing personal expression and a choice of imagery or subject matter selected from popular culture. The art car artist is a pioneer of a new image of the automobile, an image which in its diversity reflects fundamental changes in popular consciousness, changes based on the desire for greater independence and individual rights. All art cars are subversive and have in common the transformation of the vehicle from a factory-made commodity into a personal statement or expression.
The aesthetic of the Art Car Museum draws from a fusion of the traditions of fine, folk and public art. The Museum features the most imaginative, elaborate and artfully constructed art cars, low riders and mobile contraptions as well as revolving exhibitions of art by local, national and international artists of all media. In addition to curated exhibitions, a unique opportunity is provided through the annual open call show for the artistic community to voice their response, via their artwork, to a topic of importance presented by the Museum.
Museum Of Fine Arts
1001 Bissonnet Street, Houston, TX
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is the largest art museum in America south of Chicago, west of Washington, D.C., and east of Los Angeles.There are two major museum buildings, the Caroline Wiess Law Building and the Audrey Jones Beck Building; two facilities for the Glassell School ofArt, the Studio School for Adults and the Glassell Junior School; two house museums that exhibit decorative arts, Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens and Rienzi; the Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden; and 18 acres of public gardens.A total of 300,000 square feet of space is dedicated to the display of art.The Hirsch Library is one of the largest art libraries in the Southwest.More than 2.5 million people visit the MFAH each year. Community outreach programs touch the lives of more than 670,000 people each year.
The collection contains more than 53,000 artworks, which date from antiquity to the present. The major civilizations of Europe, Asia, North and South America, and Africa are represented. Italian Renaissance paintings, French Impressionist works, photographs, American and European decorative arts, African and Pre-Columbian gold, American art, and European and American paintings and sculpture from post-1945 are particularly strong holdings.The museum and the Glassell School of Art present more than thirty changing exhibitions each year. The MFAH has published more than forty scholarly books in the last decade.
Holocaust Museum Houston
5401 Caroline Street, Houston, TX
Our Mission
Holocaust Museum Houston is dedicated to educating people about the Holocaust, remembering the 6 million Jews and other innocent victims and honoring the survivors' legacy. Using the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides, we teach the dangers of hatred, prejudice and apathy.
History:
In 1981, Siegi Izakson, a Holocaust survivor and long-time Houston resident, had an epiphany. After attending an international gathering of Holocaust survivors in Israel, Izakson realized his peers were getting older, and as they passed away their stories and memories of unchecked prejudice would go with them. He returned to Houston, convinced that the city needed a Holocaust education center and memorial that would preserve for future generations the memory of those who had perished and the stories of those who had survived.
Shortly after his return from Israel, Izakson organized the Houston Council of Jewish Holocaust Survivors to help him implement his vision. He organized a speakers bureau of local Holocaust survivors to go out into the community and address students in their classrooms. Although the Houston Jewish Federation leadership did not initially commit to his dream, Izakson would keep working hard to further the concept.
Then, in 1990, Sandra Weiner, the president of Houston’s Jewish Federation, embraced Izakson’s idea. She used her considerable influence to invigorate the project and established the Holocaust Education Center and Memorial Museum with Martin Fein, the son of survivors, as its founding board chair and Lidya Osadchey as the center’s first director.