An exhibit showcasing 250 years of Texas history through artifacts, photographs, maps, and documents, highlighting contributions from cowboys to astronauts.
Texas America250 is on display at the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building in downtown Austin, and it's one of those exhibits that stays open long enough to visit whenever you can fit it in. It runs from Monday, January 26, through Thursday, December 31, 2026, so you've got the whole year to work around.
The exhibit pulls from the State Archives' collections to put a spotlight on the people and places where Texans' contributions stand out. It covers a wide range of ground, from cowboys and astronauts to specific spots like Beaumont and Big Bend. You'll see early 20th-century spurs and cowbells alongside the State of Texas Medal of Valor, which Governor Preston Smith presented to Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins in 1971. It's a strange, good kind of contrast—ranch gear and space history in the same room.
From there, the exhibit branches out into Texas music, the energy industry, politics, and the outdoors. It's built from a mix of historic photographs, artifacts, maps, sheet music, documents, printed volumes, postcards, and state records. If you're into the way a state's identity gets pieced together from the things it keeps, there's plenty here to dig into.
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Finding it is easy: the building is at 1201 Brazos Street, right downtown and next door to the Capitol. It's open Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM, and on the second Saturday of each month from 9 AM to 4 PM. Admission is free.
Date
21 July – 31 December
08:00
Price
Free
Recommended Age
+14 years
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