Texas Memorial Museum -- The University of Texas, Austin TX
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member Benchmark Blasterz
N 30° 17.218 W 097° 43.934
14R E 621924 N 3351264
The Texas Memorial Museum, an outstanding Paleontology, Natural History, and Earth science museum on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin
Waymark Code: WMVQKX
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 05/18/2017
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member lumbricus
Views: 4

The Texas Memorial Museum opened in 1936 in this beautiful building of Texas Shell Limestone designed by noted architect Paul Cret, who designed the University of Texas campus master plan in the 1930s. The Texas Memorial Museum is also Austin's first science museum.

From the museum website: (visit link)

History of the Texas Memorial Museum
While preparing for the 1936 Texas Centennial Celebrations, politicians and other citizens realized that Texas did not have a state museum. It was not the first time this had been noticed, however. Faculty at The University of Texas at Austin sounded the alarm in the 1910s as East Coast institutions took research collections out of Texas due to the lack of facilities in Texas. “If a Texas student or professor of Geology has need to examine a specimen of Dimetrodon, found ONLY in Texas Permian beds, he would have to visit a museum in Chicago, Michigan, or the East,” wrote Professor F.L. Whitney of The University of Texas at Austin in the 1920s.

In the early 1930s, James E. Pearce, The University of Texas at Austin Chair of Anthropology, later named the museum's first director, and A. Garland Adair, department historian for the Texas American Legion, joined forces to establish a state museum. They wanted the museum to contribute to the conservation of the historic treasures of Texas and also to the educational system of the state. With this joint effort, the Texas Memorial Museum (TMM) was born. It was, at first, a state museum, but was transferred to The University of Texas at Austin museum of natural and cultural sciences. Both because it is a museum of The University of Texas at Austin and because it receives some direct state support, it remains committed to being a museum for all of Texas.

Exhibits

All exhibits are based on the 5.7 million collected specimens from research conducted at the university. Exhibits focus on prehistoric life, evolution, rocks and minerals, and Texas wildlife.

Visit the Texas Memorial Museum

Permanent exhibits include fossils and prehistoric life; native Texas wildlife; gems, minerals and meteorites; and biological evolution. Spotlighted in the museum are spectacular specimens found in Texas, including the largest flying creature ever found—the Texas Pterosaur, with a wingspan of nearly 40 feet, and a 30-foot mosasaur that swam the shallow sea that once covered most of the state."
Name: Texas Memorial Museum

Location/Address:
2400 Trinity Street
University of Texas
Austin, TX


Telephone Number: 512-471-1604

Web Site: [Web Link]

Type/Specialty: prehistoric life, evolution, rocks and minerals, and Texas wildlife

Agency/Ownership: University of Texas

Educational programs: talks, classes, camps

Theater: None

Hours of operation: Tuesday–Saturday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Admission Fee: $4 for adults, $1-2 for children, free for students

Gift Shop: yes

Cafe/Restaurant: no

Other Features: Largest pterosaur ever found in Texas, Rocks, Gems and Minerals

Visit Instructions:
Post one photo of the museum that is a different view from the one on the page, and describe your visit. Add any additional information that you may have about this building. A GPSr photo is NOT required.
Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest Science Museums
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
Date Logged Log User Rating  
WalksfarTX visited Texas Memorial Museum -- The University of Texas, Austin TX 04/14/2019 WalksfarTX visited it
Raven visited Texas Memorial Museum -- The University of Texas, Austin TX 03/31/2018 Raven visited it
Benchmark Blasterz visited Texas Memorial Museum -- The University of Texas, Austin TX 03/17/2017 Benchmark Blasterz visited it

View all visits/logs