Experience Texas History at the Bullock Museum

The Bullock Museum in Austin is the state’s official history museum. Located just north of the Texas Capitol, visitors can’t miss the red granite building that’s topped with a majestic copper dome and features a monumental, 35-foot-tall bronze star stationed in the Museum’s Lone Star Plaza. But the real attraction here is the three floors of Texas History Galleries that take visitors on a one-of-a-kind journey through more than 16,000 years of Texas history. 

In the Texas History Galleries, visitors learn about everything from the region's earliest inhabitants to the Texas Revolution, space exploration and pop culture. Artifacts in the Texas History Galleries change regularly, so there is always something new to see. The Texas History Galleries also feature innovative multimedia interactives, including immersive theaters and augmented reality experiences. 

Looking up at the giant iron star in front of the Bullock Museum, with a purple hued sky in the background.

FIRST FLOOR

The Museum's first-floor Texas History Gallery features Becoming Texas, which explores Texas’s earliest history, from its first American Indian inhabitants to Mexican Independence in 1821. The Becoming Texas exhibition includes the 300-year-old hull of the French colonial shipwreck La Belle, a life-size bison statue, and a 16,000-year-old projectile point that changed our understanding of when humans arrived in the Americas. 

Also on the first floor is the entrance to the Bullock Museum IMAX® Theatre, home of the largest screen in Texas, soaring six stories tall. The IMAX® Theatre offers a thrilling cinematic experience, presenting award-winning documentaries and first-run feature films.

And be sure to stop by the Bullock Museum Store, offering everything from books and toys to local foods and art.

Couple walking through exhibit modeled after ancient ruins at the Bullock Museum.

SECOND FLOOR

The Museum's second-floor Texas History Gallery showcases artifacts and stories that illustrate the history of Texas from 1821 to 1936. See a facade of The Alamo, a statue of Sam Houston by German sculptor Elisabet Ney, and the 16-foot-tall Goddess of Liberty statue that originally sat atop the Texas Capitol. The Texas Spirit Theater features surprising special effects and hosts daily screenings of the Museum's signature films, The Star of Destiny and Shipwrecked. 

Adults and children walking through an interactive exhibit at Bullock Museum.

THIRD FLOOR

The Museum's third-floor Texas History Gallery highlights industry, scientific developments, struggles for equality and Texas’s emergence onto the national stage. Visitors will also explore the iconic music, cinema and sports that have helped shape the Lone Star State. The third floor features the Museum's Austin City Limits Theater (with exciting concert clips), a working oil pump jack, a mission control console and astronaut tableau, and an AT-6A WWII "Texan" airplane suspended from the Museum's atrium.

In addition to the Museum’s Texas History Galleries, look for short-run, special exhibitions featuring rich historical artifacts, immersive multimedia installations, and engaging experiences for all ages

Father and son interacting with space exhibit at Bullock Museum.

PROGRAMS & EVENTS

The Bullock Museum offers a full calendar of programs and events year-round that explore all things Texas, including music, arts, science and more. There’s something for everyone — talks and lectures, live music, interactive activities for families and young children, film screenings and large-scale community events. 

Plan your visit to the Bullock Museum today!

Photography courtesy of the Bullock Museum.