FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Austin Museum Partnership Celebrates The 15th Annual Austin Museum Day on September 23, 2012 Media Contact: Alex Freeman (832) 715-2741 or [email protected] Austin, TX — The Austin Museum Partnership is proud to host the 15th annual Austin Museum Day - a free, community-wide rediscovery of Austin museums. On Sunday, September 23, take the entire family out on the town to enjoy local exhibits and activities at nearly 40 participating institutions! Special activities planned include: hands-on activities at various locations including the Austin Children’s Museum, Blanton Museum of Art, and the Visual Arts Center; meet women scientists at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center; celebrate life at Mexic-Arte Museum’s annual Day of the Dead exhibition, take in some tunes at the Texas Music Museum; and enjoy a healthy MamboBerry treat onsite at AMOA-Arthouse at Laguna Gloria. The Austin Museum Partnership is a consortium of Austin-area museums organized in 1998 to promote collaborations for the mutual benefit of the public and the museums. The membership includes art and science museums; historic sites and history museums; nature preserves, natural habitats, and botanical gardens; the University of Texas library and art repositories; a children's museum; a museum about Texas music; and the spectacular Texas State Capitol. And best of all, its all right here in Austin, Texas! Find the participating sites and 2012 Museum Day activities below and at www.austinmuseums.org. Special thanks to our sponsors the Austin Chronicle, Cap Metro, H-E-B, and YNN (Your News Now) / Time Warner Cable AMOA-Arthouse at Laguna Gloria 3809 West 35th Street (512) 458-8191 12 - 4 PM Come explore the beautiful grounds of Laguna Gloria, design your own artist sketchbook, embark on a sculpture scavenger hunt, and make your artistic mark on our collaborative collage! See live artist demonstrations, and enjoy dynamic performances by the U Better Sing! youth chorus. Finish your visit with a healthy MamboBerry treat. Austin Children’s Museum 201 Colorado Street (512) 472-2499 10 AM – 5 PM Join us for the last day of our feature exhibit, 123 Geometry Lane, where math leaps off the page and takes shape in beautiful and practical ways. Museum educators will facilitate a collaborative building activity and present Story time every hour. Enjoy other exhibit favorites such as Funstruction Zone, Tinkerer’s Workshop, Global City and more. Come explore, learn and play! Austin History Center 810 Guadalupe Street (512) 974-7480 12 - 6 PM Get a sneak preview of the new exhibit “Building a Community: The First Century of African Americans in Travis County,” which officially opens on Tuesday, September 25. Come learn about O. Henry, aka William Sydney Porter, in the exhibit “O. Henry: A Short Story.” This exhibit chronicles his life through family photos and personal writings. Stop by our Reading Room to learn more about Austin’s history! Austin Nature and Science Center 301 Nature Center Drive (512) 974-3888 12 – 4 PM Explore the workings of communities in nature at the Austin Nature and Science Center. Observe bees in our observation hive and learn about how each member of this community contributes to the overall success of the resident population. Discover creatures and plants that make up an aquatic community while collecting live specimens from our ponds. Austin Tour Guide Association Booths at Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum & Brush Square, 409 E. 5th Street (512) 627-4097 11 – 4 PM Certified Professional Guides will staff booths near the Bullock Museum and Brush Square, providing information about the wide variety of excursions and hikes we lead throughout the metro area. We’ll also offer free, 30-minute walking tours of significant sites near the Museum and downtown. Even long-time Austinites will find our stories fascinating!" Blanton Museum of Art 200 East MLK Blvd (512) 471-7324 12-5 PM Some artists have a flair for the dramatic. From theatrical portraits to large-scale sculptures to exciting images of athletes in motion, discover artworks with a sense of drama through making your own marionette, a live theatrical performance, a scavenger hunt, and many other fun activities. Admission and all activities are free. Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum 1800 N. Congress Avenue (512) 936-8746 12 – 4PM Investigate the legacy that space exploration has had on earth’s orbits. Experience mind-boggling collisions, both natural and man-made during a FREE screening of Space Junk 3D in the IMAX Theatre. Then, examine real space junk, explore the challenges we face in protecting our planet’s orbit, and become part of a new age of space discovery with activities from NASA, the Austin Planetarium, and more! Teachers - earn CPE hours by attending the mid-morning teacher workshop and enjoy time with your families during the hands-on activities. " Capitol Visitors Center 112 E. 11th Street (512) 305-8400 12 – 5 PM Come view our new exhibit, “Welcome Home” and learn about the recently completed Governor’s Mansion Restoration. Examine artifacts discovered during the project, learn about green initiatives at the Mansion and even try your hand at piecing together an architectural puzzle. French Legation Museum 802 San Marcos Street (512) 472-8180 Grounds & house open from 10 AM – 5 PM Kids activities & music from 11AM – 3 PM Join the French Legation Museum as we celebrate our Grand Re-Opening following the quarter million dollar house restoration. Learn to play petanque with the Heart of Texas Petanque Club or have a picnic under the oak trees while enjoying live music, kids activities, and some of Austin’s finest food vendors. George Washington Carver Museum 1165 Angelina Street (512) 974-4926 1-5PM Celebrate Museum Day with “Whispers of Africa” which will showcase the pride, passion and magnificent talents of the many people of Africa. The Day will be filled with African drumming, folktales, and dancing. Come and make a Sankofa medallion or an elephant mask. You could even walk away wearing a colorful African Headdress. The Sankofa will lead you to a wonderful part of the world in the Carver’s “Whispers of Africa.” German-Texan Heritage Society / German Free School 507 E. 10th Street (512) 482-0927 11 AM – 4 PM The historic German Free School, built 1857 by German immigrants, the first school chartered in Austin, now home to German-Texan Heritage Society, Texas non-profit dedicated to preserving German heritage of Texas. Building tours, genealogy, and refreshments. Goodwill Computer Museum 1015 Norwood Park Blvd. (512) 637-7539 10 AM – 5 PM Don’t miss the new exhibit, Digital Discourse: A Brief History of the Information Age, featuring computer technology from the 1960s to today. Enjoy vintage video games, tours of Goodwill’s GreenWorks program, and de-manufacturing computers for resale and recycling. Harry Ransom Center 300 W. 21st Street (512) 471-8944 Noon-5 PM; Tours at 2 PM & 4 PM Visit the Ransom Center's new exhibition “I Have Seen the Future: Norman Bel Geddes Designs America” on Austin Museum Day. Docent-led tours begin at noon, 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. Admission is free. Your donation supports the Ransom Center's exhibitions and public programs. Humanities Texas 1410 Rio Grande Street (512) 440-1991 10 AM – 3 PM Come tour the newly-restored historic Byrne-Reed House, learn about Humanities Texas public programs, and view our newest traveling exhibition, Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World, produced by The Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary, Philadelphia, and the American Library Association. Joseph & Susanna Dickinson Hannig Museum 411 East 5th Street (512) 974-3830 12 - 5 PM The Joseph and Susanna Dickinson Museum will have the final day of the beautiful exhibit called Gone to Texas: Women and Quilts. Eight antique quilts from the 19th century are on display inside the museum. For a very special event, we will host Austin Quilt Historian Marcia Kaylakie, who will do a "Bed Turning" in our courtyard at 1 pm and 3 pm. She will show ten more antique quilts from her collection and teach about the history and culture of each quilt and era when they were created. Jourdan-Bachman Pioneer Farms 10621 Pioneer Farms Drive (512) 837-1215 10 AM – 5 PM Experience Texas history like no place else! Don't miss our feature exhibit, Wheels of Time, a rare collection of historic Austin carriages, buggies and wagons. Interactive areas, music, food, historic shopping and more. Five restored historic sites feature costumed interpreters, Longhorn cattle and farm animals. Come explore Texas' colorful past at Central Texas' premier living history park." Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center 4801 La Crosse Avenue (512) 232-0100 9 AM to 5:30 PM Join the Wildflower Center for our annual Women in Science program, which encourages and inspires young women (and boys) to pursue science careers. Meet women scientists from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Visitors Gallery. Docent-led garden tours offered and special discounts available in the store. Landmarks, The Public Art Program of The University of Texas at Austin UT Campus 9 AM - 8 PM Enjoy a self-guided tour of public art on the UT campus and engage your children with Landmarks activity guides. Activity guides are available for three stages of development: younger children, older children, and adolescents. The guides provide an overview of the artworks and demonstrate relevant themes and activities. To print the guides before your tour, please visit http://www.landmarks.utexas.edu/education/activity_guides. To plan your tour, download a Landmarks map at http://www.landmarks.utexas.edu." Mexican American Cultural Center Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center 600 River Street (512) 974-3772 1 - 5 PM; Music at 3 PM Main Gallery: Jose Antonio Garciaguerra “La Epoca de la Independencia de Mexico” The Era Mexico’s Independence.