Bullock Texas State History Museum

Located right in downtown Austin, the Bullock Museum offers you a greater understanding of Texas history. Your tour begins with the museum’s earliest indigenous artifacts, starting Texas’ historical journey over 14,000 years ago. As you climb each floor, you learn about the state’s journey to independence, the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, NASA Mission Control, and more.

You can purchase tickets to see one of the historical films in the Texas Spirit Theater, which engages your senses with seat vibrations, wind, and other 4-D features. Various documentaries and first-run films are also screened daily at the IMAX theater. And you don’t have to visit the museum in order to see a show.

• The Bullock Museum is a very family-friendly venue and great for anyone interested in learning more about Texas history.

• Admission discounts are available for military members, senior citizens, students, and children.

• Museum admission does not include movie tickets or special exhibitions.

• The first floor features a gift shop, with unique Texas gifts, and there’s a café on the museum’s second floor.

• The museum is accessible to wheelchairs and strollers. Wheelchairs are available for no fee.

The Bullock Texas State History Museum is located on Congress Avenue at 18th Street in downtown Austin, about a 10-minute walk from the Texas State Capitol. The museum has a paid parking garage, and there is also paid parking in nearby lots and on the street. Several CapMetro buses stop within two blocks of the Bullock; city bike rental is another option.

The Bullock Museum is open 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and 12pm to 5pm Sunday, except for major holidays. The first Sunday of every month, admission is free—which means the museum may be more crowded than usual. Weekdays are much quieter and offer a more relaxed way to explore the museum. Note that on home-game days for the University of Texas at Austin, parking is more expensive and harder to find.

The Bullock Museum is named in honor of Texas’s 38th lieutenant governor, Bob Bullock, who made it his cause to preserve and honor Texas history. As part of this effort, he helped establish the museum in 2001. Bullock served two terms as lieutenant governor and is remembered for his bipartisanship and the way he insisted on a government that worked best for Texas.