Stargazing
The UT Department of Astronomy hosts free public viewing nights from two locations on campus; Painter Hall and Robert Lee Moore Hall. Summer viewing sessions run from early June to mid-August. No reservations are required for groups of under 15 people.
LBJ Presidential Library
| LBJ Presidential Library | 2313 Red River St. |
| Hours | Every day 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. |
| Cost |
UT faculty, students, staff: Free
Adults: $8 Seniors (62+): $5 College students with valid ID: $3 Youth (13-17): $3 Children 12 & under: Free |
At the LBJ Presidential Library, visitors can explore millions of historical documents, thousands of photos, and hours of recordings from President Johnson’s political career. It’s a great stop for anyone interested in the politics and culture of the 1960s. Permanent exhibits explore the civil rights movement, the assassination of President Kennedy, and a replica of the Oval Office that duplicates President Johnson’s office at 7/8th scale.
In addition to the permanent installations, two traveling exhibits related to the recent Vietnam War Summit are currently on display:
Vietnam: Evidence of War
On view through July 31.
Vietnam: Evidence of War showcases the rich archival resources available at The University of Texas at Austin’s Briscoe Center for American History and explores one of the most complicated, contested, and painful wars in our nation’s past.
The exhibit presents a mosaic of materials that speak to how the Vietnam War and its legacy were experienced. Evidence of War reflects an impressive array of unique sources for exploring the viewpoints of soldiers and veterans, politicians and constituents, reporters and photojournalists, advocates and protesters. The exhibit also displays valuable sources for research on how the war was reflected in art, music, and popular culture. Drawn from the extensive materials housed in the Briscoe Center’s archival collections, Vietnam: Evidence of War includes original photographs, artifacts, letters, publications, posters, oral history interviews, and more, many of which have never before been exhibited.
Vietnam: Turning Points of the War
On view through June 26.
Over the years, many historians and scholars have offered a myriad of reasons why the United States became involved in that small country in Southeast Asia. Since the fall of Saigon in April 1975, thousands of books and articles have been published about the Vietnam War. Many of these have tackled this question and explored the military, political, social, and personal histories of America’s involvement in Vietnam.
Vietnam: Turning Points of the War takes a brief look at this complex history through the lens of presidential decision-making. The choices made by six American presidents—Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford—played a major role in the establishment, the stability, and ultimately, the fall of South Vietnam. Grounded in the Cold War mentality that the United States must stop the expansion of communism at any price, these men, each in his own way, fundamentally changed the course of American and Vietnamese history.
Texas Memorial Museum
| Texas Memorial Museum | 2400 Trinity St. |
| Hours | Tuesday–Saturday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. |
| Cost |
UT faculty, students, staff: Free
Adults: $4 Military, active or retired: $1 College students with valid ID: $2 Children 2-12: $3 Children under 2: Free |
The exhibits at the Texas Memorial Museum focus on dinosaurs and fossils, Texas wildlife, gems and minerals, and a working paleontology lab where visitors can interact with scientists as they prepare fossil finds. Spotlighted in the exhibits are a number of spectacular specimens found in Texas, including the largest flying creature ever found — the Texas Pterosaur, with a wingspan of nearly 40 feet — and the 30-foot Onion Creek mosasaur that swam the shallow sea that once covered most of the state 80 million years ago.
If the dinosaurs don’t pique your interest, then check out the giant 1,778-carat blue topaz gemstone, which weighs more than a full can of soda, or the 140 mineral and gem specimens from around the world collected by a former Texas legislator who served under General Douglas MacArthur during World War II.
The Harry Ransom Center
| Harry Ransom Center | 300 West 21st Street (21st and Guadalupe) |
| Hours | Monday – Wednesday, Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Saturday – Sunday, noon – 5 p.m. |
| Cost | Admission is free. Your donation supports the Ransom Center’s exhibitions and public programs. |
Explore the arts and humanities at the Harry Ransom Center, with cultural materials like the Gutenberg Bible and the First Photograph on permanent display.
Summer Film Series
The Ransom Center Summer Film Series kicks off June 16 with a screening of Samuel Beckett’s sole film project, FILM, immediately followed by an experimental essay film entitled NOTFILM. On June 30, Vaudeville and Vitaphone will screen and there will be a viewing of Frida on July 14.
Frida Kahlo’s “Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird.”
On view through Dec. 31, 2017
In the Ransom Center lobby, visitors can see Mexican artist Frida Kahlo’s “Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird.” The Ransom Center celebrates the homecoming of this famous and frequently borrowed work of art. The painting was most recently on view at the New York Botanical Garden’s exhibition, “FRIDA KAHLO: Art, Garden, Life,” which had record-breaking attendance of more than 525,000 visitors.
Elliott Erwitt: Home Around the World
August 15, 2016 – January 1, 2017
Balancing journalistic, commercial, and artistic work over a career spanning seven decades, Elliott Erwitt has created some of the most celebrated photographs of the past century. Elliott Erwitt: Home Around the World will present more than 200 of these remarkable images, including rarely exhibited examples of his early work in California, his intimate family portraits in New York, his major magazine assignments, and his work as a filmmaker, as well as his ongoing personal investigations of public spaces and their transitory inhabitants around the world. The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue edited by Jessica S. McDonald and published by Aperture.
For information about parking, visit the Parking and Transportation Services website, check out the campus parking map and look for special-events parking updates.
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