Austin Guide » Attractions & Activities » Museums
Austin Attractions & ActivitiesMuseums
If you're a history buff, art aficionado, archaeology fiend, or dabbler in the sciences, our museum picks are perfect for a rainy day or afternoon excursion! Our selections center around notable collections of historical and cultural items. Many have excellent rotating displays in addition to exceptional permanent collections.
Address: 201 Colorado St, Austin, TX 78701
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If you have kids to entertain, don't miss this museum. Exhibits are slyly educational and lots of fun. Austin Kiddie Limits, for example, lets your rising rocker or budding crooner experience the thrill of live performance, while Funstruction Zone encourages problem-solving and hones math skills. The Japan and Nature...
Austin Museum of Art at Laguna Gloria
Address: 3809 W 35th St, Austin, TX 78703
Housed in a Mediterranean-style villa built in 1916 and surrounded by lush gardens, this branch of AMOA features art by diverse 20th-century artists from Austin and around the world. Among its permanent holdings are works by Robert Rauschenberg, Chuck Close, and Ed Ruscha. Past exhibits have included the presence of...
Austin Museum of Art – Downtown
Address: 823 Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701
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This offshoot museum was opened in 1996 to handle overflow from the original Laguna Gloria location. It now presents 12,000 square feet of space dedicated primarily to important 20th-century visual art. The museum has more visibility in its downtown location than its parent does, and it offers tours, lectures, and...
Address: 200 E Martin Luther King Blvd, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78701
The Blanton ranks as the nation's largest university art museum, and its outstanding permanent collection – the largest in Central Texas – is comprised of more than 17,000 pieces, from priceless antiquities to more modern works. Strong holdings of American, Latin American, and European art, along with prints and...
Address: 304 E 44th St, Austin, TX 78751
This museum is housed in Ney's beautiful studio, a picturesque, castle-like stone structure. The famous sculptor, a charismatic woman devoted to the transformative effects of art and beauty, fashioned the likenesses of European kings and philosphers along with those of notable Texas frontiersmen. Today, fifty portrait...
Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
Address: Guadalupe and 21st St, Univ of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78713
This fascinating center features outstanding selections of modern American paintings, including the Mari and James A. Michener Collection of 20th Century Art. It also showcases a Gutenberg Bible, an impressive photography archive (including the first photograph ever produced), and a recreation of the study in which...
Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum
Address: 2313 Red River St, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78705
This facility – housed in a contemporary, ten-story, travertine-clad structure – is a virtual treasure trove of papers and memorabilia from the often flamboyant and much beloved former president's life. Exhibits include a replica of the Oval Office from LBJ's era, along with gifts of state received by him, displays...
Address: 419 Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701
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Offering a plethora of cultural programs and art exhibitions showcasing the work of Latino and Mexican artists, this downtown museum has become a vital part of the community. In the museum's main gallery, traveling exhibitions and shows curated in-house are both on display, and the back gallery features works by...
Address: 409 E 5th St, Austin, TX 78701
Housed in this museum is memorabilia relating to short-story writer William Sydney Porter, who lived in Austin and took the nom de plume, O. Henry. The cottage in which Porter lived appears much as it did during the time he spent here from 1893 to 1895. Writing workshops are offered regularly for folks who want to...
Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum
Address: 605 Robert E Lee Rd, Austin, TX 78704
The outdoor garden portion of this complex displays 62 of sculptor Charles Umlauf's works in bronze and cast-stone. The museum, constructed in 1991, contains more than 200 additional pieces. The sculptor also worked in wood, marble, and terra cotta during his career and chose as his subject matter mythology, animals,...
