Austin: Attractions

5x7: Art Splurge and Exhibition Voted Most Fun Fund-Raiser by The Austin Chronicle Critics’ Choice Awards!

Benefit Party (ticketed event): Saturday, May 17 7:30 – 10 pm Sale begins at 9 pm The Jones Center, 700 Congress Avenue, Austin The exhibition and sale continue through June 1,2008

Laguna Gloria Grounded explores the lush twelve-acre grounds overlooking Lake Austin at the Austin Museum of Art-Laguna Gloria.

The picturesque formal gardens and wild places of this historical site served as the inspiration for the seventeen exhibited works. Ten featured Austin artists create art that expresses their personal connections with the landscape. Site-specific artworks, like Beverly Penn’s cast bronze botanicals and Martha Gannon’s constellation of photographs of Laguna Gloria’s flora and fauna, examine the relationship between nature and culture. This modest exhibition celebrates the grounds and revitalized historic gardens of Laguna Gloria with two-dimensional and three-dimensional works installed inside the Villa.

May 24 -August 17, 2008

Sol LeWitt x2

Sol LeWitt: Structure and Line Sol LeWitt is one of the most influential figures in the history of twentieth-century art. Working in New York City in the early 1960s, LeWitt was among the many young artists who challenged the prevailing art of the time by emphasizing that the idea behind the work of art was more important than the execution. This thinking is evident in the 41 works included in Sol LeWitt: Structure and Line. Created by LeWitt between 1965 and 2006, these works include detailed ink and pencil drawings, brilliantly colored goauches, and “structures” made of wood, aluminum, and fiberglass.

Many of these works demonstrate the meticulous execution of an idea. LeWitt’s focus on the artistic concept was also instrumental in his development of wall drawings: large-scale works of art that are completed directly on the walls of galleries and other public spaces. For many years, LeWitt executed these works himself, using written instructions that he had drafted. In recent decades, a team of assistants have painstakingly applied the bands of color and meticulous lines for the works.

We specialize in providing Austin in 90 Minutes —

A narrated Austin sightseeing tour that familiarizes you with over 30 of Austin's major historical, cultural, significant points of interest in just 90 minutes! This daily scheduled tour with satellite activated narration gives you a comprehensive overview of our great city. Tour departs from the Austin Visitor Information Center at 209 E. Sixth Street in downtown Austin.

Call (512) 659-9478 for reservations and information or register online

How do artists respond to calamity?

 In New Orleans, many resident artists and a number of those observing from outside have been moved by the need for community relief, healing, and support and have directed their work to address these immediate social and spiritual concerns. Whether through the commissioning of new cultural experiences that provide public forums for discussion and reflection, the inauguration of creativity workshops to provide encouragement for young people, or simply the creation of works that attempt to define and document the experience of catastrophe, artists can be a valiant force in the recovery of community-wide health and the forging of a future vision.

This group exhibition, the result of a year's research by curator Annette DiMeo Carlozzi, a former resident of the city, will feature film and video, drawings, photographs, and mixed media works .

At The University of Texas at Austin are many respected artists of national and international reputation, who successfully create their own bodies of work while teaching and supervising the work of the next generation of artists.

The Blanton's popular faculty exhibition resumes in the new museum on a triennial basis. This year's guest curator James Elaine, curator of the Hammer Projects series at the Hammer Museum of Art at UCLA, selects a diverse cross-section of styles and mediums from among the faculty's broad range of artistic production. 

Prints are the most frequently experienced but least understood works of art. In the history of art, and most exhibitions, the medium is usually presented in terms of its great masters, from Albrecht Dürer through Jasper Johns, or explained solely in terms of technique.

Instead, this exhibition explores the medium as a uniquely rich and largely collective system of expression--a "language"--with distinctive principles, persistent tendencies, and special processes that are shared across time and space.

 Planned to coincide with the annual meeting of the Print Council of America--the first ever in the state of Texas--the exhibition will feature around 100 of the collection's finest and most distinctive prints.

Argentine artist Fabián Bercic will provide a contemporary reinterpretation of the traditional Zen Garden in his site-specific installation for Workspace.

 As a critique of consumerism and the commercialization of culture, Bercic transforms the usually sacred rock garden, replacing its natural and organic elements with synthetic, day-go, plastic materials. The work, in this contemporary context, reflects the artist’s interest in product design, medieval manuscript illustrations and his own imagination, asking how one can create a meaningful Zen Garden with the materials of a late-capitalist society. The artist’s process of repetitively and painstakingly assembling his materials recaptures the traditional function and purpose of the Garden, in that the artist achieves the loss of self through these Zen actions. Conversely, it serves as a comment on disposable, industrial production. A seating area will be incorporated into the work, allowing viewers an area from which to contemplate the complex dichotomies of the Garden.

James A. Michener assembled one of the finest collections of Japanese woodblock prints in the country. The distinguished writer began his collection in the 1950’s and published The Floating World in 1954, one of the first book-length studies of Japanese prints published in English.

Much like his longstanding connection to the Blanton Museum, and his donation of 2oth century masterworks to the collection, Michener found the Honolulu Academy an ally in the study and advancement of another of his interests, Japanese prints. In 1988 and 1991, he donated his extensive collection to the Academy. Featuring some of the most beloved and familiar ukiyo-e (images of the floating world) prints, this exhibition of 50 works bring this quintessential Japanese tradition into the twentieth-century, with examples by leading Ukiyo-e artists Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858), and Kawase Hasui (1883-1957).

The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum features Austin's only IMAX Theatre. This 400-seat, state-of-the-art theatre uses innovative IMAX technology to create the ultimate film experience. Unlike many IMAX theatres, ours is equipped with an IMAX projector that has both 2-D and 3-D capabilities.

 The Theatre can also show special films on a movie-quality 35mm projector. The IMAX Theatre is a fully accessible facility. With its own separate entrance, the Theatre is able to operate independently of the Museum and remains open in the evenings, with extended hours on weekends. The IMAX Theatre Lobby is a distinctive, dramatic space with a carpet pattern that incorporates native Texas flora in the design. Both the Lobby and the Theatre can be rented for special events. Click HERE for a listing of showtimes at the IMAX Theatre. There is no late seating in the IMAX Theatre. Please arrive at least 20 minutes before your scheduled show time.

Visit the Pedernales River Valley of the Texas Hill Country, beautiful Fredericksburg Texas,and experience the excitement of Fredericksburg Trade Days at Sunday Farms!

It's something to Crow About! Shop with Over 350 Vendors! You will find 6 barns & acres of: Antiques, collectibles, shabby chic, primitives, antique tools & farm equipment, hunting supplies, jewelry & clothing, candles, linens & so much more. And Don't forget to visit the Biergarten! Try bier from around the world. Over 70 labels to choose from. or Relax & enjoy a cold one while listening to live music.

 Weekend of 3rd Saturday Every Month Hours: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Friday & Saturday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sunday We are Located: 7 miles East of Fredericksburg on Hwy 290 across from the Wildseed Farms.

Visit the Pedernales River Valley of the Texas Hill Country, beautiful Fredericksburg Texas,and experience the excitement of Fredericksburg Trade Days at Sunday Farms!

It's something to Crow About! Shop with Over 350 Vendors! You will find 6 barns & acres of: Antiques, collectibles, shabby chic, primitives, antique tools & farm equipment, hunting supplies, jewelry & clothing, candles, linens & so much more. And Don't forget to visit the Biergarten! Try bier from around the world. Over 70 labels to choose from. or Relax & enjoy a cold one while listening to live music.

Weekend of 3rd Saturday Every Month Hours: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Friday & Saturday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sunday We are Located: 7 miles East of Fredericksburg on Hwy 290 across from the Wildseed Farms.

Visit the Pedernales River Valley of the Texas Hill Country, beautiful Fredericksburg Texas,and experience the excitement of Fredericksburg Trade Days at Sunday Farms!

It's something to Crow About! Shop with Over 350 Vendors! You will find 6 barns & acres of: Antiques, collectibles, shabby chic, primitives, antique tools & farm equipment, hunting supplies, jewelry & clothing, candles, linens & so much more. And Don't forget to visit the Biergarten! Try bier from around the world. Over 70 labels to choose from. or Relax & enjoy a cold one while listening to live music.

 Weekend of 3rd Saturday Every Month Hours: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Friday & Saturday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sunday We are Located: 7 miles East of Fredericksburg on Hwy 290 across from the Wildseed Farms.

Visit the Pedernales River Valley of the Texas Hill Country, beautiful Fredericksburg Texas,and experience the excitement of Fredericksburg Trade Days at Sunday Farms!

It's something to Crow About! Shop with Over 350 Vendors! You will find 6 barns & acres of: Antiques, collectibles, shabby chic, primitives, antique tools & farm equipment, hunting supplies, jewelry & clothing, candles, linens & so much more. And Don't forget to visit the Biergarten! Try bier from around the world. Over 70 labels to choose from. or Relax & enjoy a cold one while listening to live music.

Weekend of 3rd Saturday Every Month Hours: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Friday & Saturday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sunday We are Located: 7 miles East of Fredericksburg on Hwy 290 across from the Wildseed Farms.

Visit the Pedernales River Valley of the Texas Hill Country, beautiful Fredericksburg Texas,and experience the excitement of Fredericksburg Trade Days at Sunday Farms!

It's something to Crow About! Shop with Over 350 Vendors! You will find 6 barns & acres of: Antiques, collectibles, shabby chic, primitives, antique tools & farm equipment, hunting supplies, jewelry & clothing, candles, linens & so much more. And Don't forget to visit the Biergarten! Try bier from around the world. Over 70 labels to choose from. or Relax & enjoy a cold one while listening to live music.

Weekend of 3rd Saturday Every Month Hours: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Friday & Saturday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sunday We are Located: 7 miles East of Fredericksburg on Hwy 290 across from the Wildseed Farms. 

Adventure Tour

 Standard 1 hour 15 min tour

Shou Ping Exhibit

Saturday, March 8, to Sunday, May 18 A return engagement of Shou Ping’s beautiful scissor art, hand cut watercolors of wildflowers! All items available for purchase. McDermott Learning Center.

Nature Nights

6 to 9 p.m. Friday, May 23 Learn about animals, plants, and ecology in Central Texas. $1 admission.

Floral Designs with Native Plants

 Bring your wildflowers inside and expand your appreciation of native plants by learning the basics of how to collect, prepare, and arrange them. You will have the opportunity to create a floral design during class. Wildflowers will be supplied by the Center.

Works of L.Ray

Opening Saturday, May 24 A fascinating exhibit of butterfly and dragonfly watercolor paintings. Experience the power and beauty of his startling work in diptych and triptych form. In the McDermott Learning Center through August 16.

Memorial Day

The Wildflower Center is open all day. Sidewalk Sale at the store with major reductions on gifts, apparel and books. 

Walk into a replica of the U.S. Senate Chamber for an unrehearsed, unpredictable     encounter with an actor (michael stuart) who looks, dresses, and talks like lyndon johnson as he was in the 1950s. in the lbj library's new exhibit, bills, bills, bills:  lyndon johnson as senate majority leader, visitors can talk to the senate majority leader about important legislation of the era, including the creation of nasa, the interstate highway bill, labor reform, social security reform, and statehood for alaska and hawaii.  under johnson's leadership, the first civil rights bill since reconstruction was passed into law.      

Johnson redefined the role of majority leader from merely a "go between" into the most powerful position in the senate. visitors may even get a taste of the "johnson treatment," lbj's unique, and highly effective, style of "persuasion."       

the exhibit covers lbj's entire senate career from his election in 1948 to his election to the vice-presidency in 1961 and will chronicle his rapid rise to power from an 87-vote margin of victory in 1948 - in which he was given the nickname "landslide lyndon" - to his selection as majority leader in 1955. 

there will be interactive touch screen computers detailing the major bills passed in the 1950s with explanations of how these laws impacted modern america.
a highlight: home movies narrated by lady bird johnson.

North Cavern Tour Departs every 30 minutes - duration 75 minutes - walking distance 3/4 mile

The most popular Tour introduces you to an underground world of natural beauty and amazement.

Jeremy Room is a stunning 120' deep chamber known for it's soda straws and delicate formations.
Small groups, eqch person given a flashlight for the tour.

Departs every 60 minutes, Tour duration 60 minutes - walking distance 1/2 mile

Experience what it was like for our discoverers of this natural treasure.

 Our experienced staff will guide you as you climb, hike, rappel and explore the natural beauty thousands of years in the making. No concrete. No handrails.

South Cavern Adventure Tour Much more than hands on. Get ready to get down and dirty. Experience a thrilling and physically demanding 3 to 4 hour excursion into one of the world’s premier caverns. Climb, crawl, rappel, explore – with only the light of your helmet to guide you. This is not for the weak of heart. Once outfitted with caving gear you'll be lowered by rope through a 160-foot well shaft. Travel approximately one mile, going down to 230 feet below surface level to the Fault Room which features one of the longest soda straw formations in North America – 14 feet in length.

Adventure Tours Experience what it was like for our discoverers of this natural treasure.

Our experienced staff will guide you as you climb, hike, rappel and explore the natural beauty thousands of years in the making. No concrete. No handrails. South Cavern Adventure Tour Much more than hands on. Get ready to get down and dirty. Experience a thrilling and physically demanding 3 to 4 hour excursion into one of the world’s premier caverns. Climb, crawl, rappel, explore – with only the light of your helmet to guide you. This is not for the weak of heart. Once outfitted with caving gear you'll be lowered by rope through a 160-foot well shaft. Travel approximately one mile, going down to 230 feet below surface level to the Fault Room which features one of the longest soda straw formations in North America – 14 feet in length. follow the path that the original discoverers took. This tour includes a half mile through wild cave and passages that have not changed since the caverns’ discovery. Total distance of the tour is 1.25 miles that begins under the Natural Bridge and follows the commercially developed path with hand rails and concrete trails. The tour then turns more adventurous as the physically challenging portion begins through the wild passage. Guests are provided with caving gear and are required to crawl, climb and slide over and through various obstacles. It’s a challenge and an experience that you will never forget. South Cavern Adventure Tour

Erle Stanley Gardner's Study Leeds Gallery *Fourth Floor* Flawn Academic Center

By appointment only; phone 232-7688. This replica of mystery writer Erle Stanley Gardner's study at his ranch home in Temecula, California, displays original memorabilia and artifacts from his career. Gardner was the creator of Perry Mason.

Scholars At Work: Books Based on the Center's Collections

 Hallway *Third Floor* Harry Ransom Center Monday-Friday, 8-5

The Gutenberg Bible is the first substantial book printed from movable type on a printing press. It was printed in Johann Gutenberg's shop in Mainz, Germany between 1450 and 1455. The Ransom Center holds one of five complete copies in the United States.

The First Photograph

 Harry Ransom Center Lobby   Gallery Hours (also Monday 10:00-5:00)

One of the finest pieces of the Ransom Center's Photography Collection is the first photograph which Frenchman Joseph Nicéphore Niépce produced in 1826. The 8" x 6.5" heliograph depicts a view just outside the workroom window of Niépce's estate in Gras in east central France. The image, on a pewter plate sensitized with bitumen of Judea, took a full eight hours of exposure to produce. Niépce's image forms part of the Gernsheim Collection -- an internationally-renowned photography archive encompassing the history of the medium -- which was acquired by the Ransom Center in 1964.

Located 450 feet above Lake Travis, The OASIS offers breathtaking views of the Texas Hill Country and spectacular sunsets!

 Enjoy the scenery from one of the 40 plus outdoor decks, or inside from one of the enchanting dining rooms.

What are your hours of operation? During Daylight Savings Time: Monday through Thursday 11:30AM – 10:00PM Friday 11:30AM – 11:00PM Saturday 11:00AM – 11:00PM Sunday 11:00AM – 10:00PM

On Sunday join us for "Brunch at The OASIS" from 11:00am-2:00pm.

It's Texas' Fault And We're Showing it Off!

 See Texas' most visited cave! Wonder World Park is a Texas Historical Site. The unique attractions here are entertaining and educational for the whole family. Enjoy guided tours through the nation's only earthquake-formed cave. Exit by elevator and catch a breathtaking view of the fault line's drop-off point from atop the Tejas Observation Tower. Play in our crazy Anti-Gravity House and take a train ride through the waterfalls of Mystery Mountain to meet and feed the friendly animals in the largest petting park in Texas!

open year round!

summer hours
memorial day - labor day
8:00 am - 8:00 pm

winter hours
september thru may
monday - friday: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
saturday and sunday: 9:00 am - 6:00 pm

closed on christmas eve and day -
weather conditions do not affect our tours.