By: Jaxie Pidgeon
The Bullock Texas State History Museum participated in Museum Day on Sunday, giving Austinites the opportunity to explore the museum and take part in family activities at no cost.
“Museum Day is a partnership amongst museums all throughout Austin,” said Angela Kennedy, family programs manager at the Bullock Museum. “We have museums that have free admission on this day, and it is a way to show the citizens of Austin and even visitors of Austin what our culture, art and science institutions have to offer.”
Austin Museum Day has been coordinated for 22 years by a nonprofit organization, the Austin Museum Partnership. This year, around 40 participating museums and cultural institutions offered free admission to motivate people of all ages to engage in art and history, while also bringing the community together.
Greg Caparis, IMAX theater manager at the Bullock Museum, said that Museum Day offers the community a chance to experience exhibits at Austin museums, including the Bullock’s newest exhibit, “Beyond Planet Earth,” with fewer economic barriers.
“Everyone who comes in is just super happy to be here,” Caparis said.
Lydia Ramos of Austin said the free admission is what drew her and her family to experience the Bullock Museum on Sunday.
“Being a low-income family, it is hard to go to places that are charging more than $10 admission because most of the time there are additional charges to get into different exhibits within the museum,” Ramos said.
“We don’t really go out that much as a family, so I am happy that we were able to go out today,” said her 10-year-old daughter, Sky Ramos.
Last year, over 28,000 people participated in Austin Museum Day across the city, according to KXAN. Kennedy estimated about 4,500 people come to the Bullock Museum each year on this day; on a typical Sunday, about 200 to 500 people would come to the museum, volunteer Kris Martin said.
The Villa family travelled approximately 35 miles from Lockhart, Texas, to come to the Bullock for Museum Day.
“We commuted in because it would be a lot cheaper than coming on a regular day,” said Diana Villa, who attended Museum Day with her husband and 9-year-old son. “We drove in, but still it is a lot less expensive when it is free because that way we don’t have to pay any extra to have a day of exploration for the family.”
For some families, Museum Day is an opportunity to bond, explore the things they are interested in and expand their cultural horizons.
“We look forward to Museum Day every year,” Brian Haddock said. “Sometimes the kids like to default to spending time on electronics, and this gives us a chance to put that away and do something fun together.”
His 7-year-old daughter, Aria Haddock, said she enjoyed the Sunday spent bonding with her family through the museum’s activities.
“I like that we get to spend time with each other, and we don’t really have to do much, we just get to have fun,” Aria said. “I hope my dad will take me back next year because it is a really cool place here.”
In addition to its usual exhibits on Texas history, the Bullock Museum offered activities for people of all ages. Visitors could design a spaceship, create an alien alter ego and learn about the connections between math, space and science fiction.
Giddyup Art Studio, created by artist and art educator Juliet Whitsett, facilitated a writing workshop that offered young museum-goers a hands-on activity to fit the space theme. She created a set of postcards from space that she called “doodle cards” on which she started the drawings for others to complete.
“I am really interested in kids and adults continuing to connect through writing and drawing to each other,” Whitsett said. “I am seeing strangers interact with each other, and I am seeing multi-generational interactions. I love that people are laughing, making and sharing together.”
This was Whitsett’s first Museum Day, and she said she enjoyed sharing her passion with attendees.
“Museum Day is an amazing way for the community to get to know their museums as resources and incredible places for families to explore, learn and have fun together,” Whitsett said. “It is a celebration of the place that we live and the community that we are a part of.”
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