Free Family Day: Archaeology Adventures

The San Antonio Museum of Art is hosting a Free Family Day on Saturday, October 17, from 10 AM to 3 PM, with the day built around Archaeology Adventures. It's timed to mark International Archaeology Day, so the whole thing leans into the dig side of things rather than just looking at pieces behind glass.

If you're bringing kids, there's a scavenger-hunt gallery guide to keep them moving through the museum, and hands-on art activities to do along the way. There are also archaeologist meet-and-greets, so you can actually talk to the people who do this for a living instead of just reading the placards. It's the kind of day that works whether you're there for an hour or stay for the whole window.

It's a good excuse to spend some time with the collection, too. The museum is housed in the old Lone Star Brewery complex on the Museum Reach of the River Walk, and it holds more than 30,000 works spanning 5,000 years. It's known for the most comprehensive ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian art collection in the southern United States, and the Nelson A. Rockefeller Latin American art wing runs from the ancient Americas right up to the present. There's an Asian art wing with work from Korea, India, and Japan—including a significant Chinese ceramics collection—alongside contemporary art and American paintings.

Admission is free for the day, so you can walk in without worrying about tickets. It runs from 10 AM to 3 PM at the museum, 200 W Jones Ave, in San Antonio.