FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Austin Museum Partnership Celebrates The 16th Annual Austin Museum Day on September 22, 2013 Media Contacts: Alex Freeman [email protected]; Abby Mechling [email protected] Austin, TX — The Austin Museum Partnership is proud to host the 16th annual Austin Museum Day ­ a free, community­wide rediscovery of Austin museums. On Sunday, September 22, take the entire family out on the town to enjoy local exhibits and activities at more than 40 participating institutions! Special activities planned include: hands­on activities at various locations including the Texas Natural Science Center, Blanton Museum of Art, and the Austin Nature and Science Center; design your own Flat LBJ at the LBJ Library and Museum, hop on a living history tour of downtown Austin, play with vintage computer games at the Goodwill Computer Museum, and cook up some grub in Willie's Chuck wagon at the Williamson Museum. The Austin Museum Partnership is a consortium of Austin­area 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 information on specific activities offered by member sites below, and plan your day with the official Austin Museum Day 2013 Mobile Guide at http://austinmuseumday.org. Special thanks to our sponsors the Austin Chronicle, Whataburger, Immedatag, Cap Metro, H­E­B, and Austin American­Statesmen Austin History Center 810 Guadalupe St. (512) 974­7480 12pm – 6pm Explore early Austin food, including what food was indeed local, how food was prepared, how people shopped for food, and what it cost in “How to Prepare a Possum: 19th Century Cuisine in Austin.” At 4:30 pm, author Beth Fowler will read from “Drawn” and discuss what inspired her writing. Austin Nature and Science Center 301 Nature Center Dr. (512) 974­3888 12pm ­ 5pm Celebrate Austin Museum Day with “Conservation Quest”, a new exhibit at the Austin Nature and Science Center. Interactive educational experiences engage families in learning about energy, what it is, where it comes from and how we use it. Additional exhibits open to the public include the Naturalist Workshop, Birds of Prey, the Dino Pit and the Zilker Nature Preserve. Austin Tour Guide Association Brushy Square on 5th St.; Congress Avenue at 11th St. 1pm ­ 4pm 30 minute walking tours and/or living history persona tours at both locations. Blanton Museum of Art 200 E Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. (512) 471­7324 1pm – 5pm This Austin Museum Day, ordinary objects inspire extraordinary creativity at the Blanton Museum of Art! View the special exhibition Lifelike to see how contemporary artists use unexpected methods and materials to depict everyday scenes, from running errands to waiting for an elevator. Then participate in special art­making and looking activities to see your world in a whole new way. Briscoe Center for American History at the LBJ Library and Museum and Bullock Texas State History Museum (512) 495­4515 UT Austin's Briscoe Center is partnering with the LBJ Library and the Bullock Museum to showcase its collections. At the LBJ, "News to History" uses the center's photojournalism archive to capture the iconic presidential moments. At the Bullock, "Texas Furniture" tells the Texas story through the historic craftsmanship of the center's Winedale collection. Bullock Texas State History Museum 1800 N. Congress Ave. (512) 936­8746 12pm ­ 6pm www.TheStoryofTexas.com The Bullock Texas State History Museum will host hands­on learning activities for children and families from 12 to 3 p.m. during Austin Museum Day. Visitors will receive free admission from 12 to 6 p.m. to the Museum's three floors of exhibits that tell the unfolding story of Texas history. Public Art Crawl with Art in Public Places & Landmarks San Jacinto & 23rd St. 10 am ­ noon (Guided Tour) http://landmarks.utexas.edu/tour Explore public art at UT and downtown with our public art crawl! The crawl starts on campus with notable pieces from the Landmarks collection then takes the #7 bus downtown for a mini­tour of 2nd Street District art. Download the map and take a self­guided tour or meet us at 10 am for a docent­led tour. Elisabet Ney Museum 304 E 44th St. (512) 458­2255 12pm – 5pm Come play with “Portraiture in the Park” at the home of one of Austin’s most colorful characters, Elisabet Ney. Explore new portrait methods. Listen to musical portraits. Learn about Cyanotypes, one of the first photographic processes. Watch sculptors at work, make your own clay creations, and take home a free caricature! French Legation Museum 802 San Marcos St. (512) 472­8180 1pm ­ 5pm Come tour the oldest house in Austin. Learn to play Petanque or have a picnic while enjoying the beautiful museum grounds and kids' activities. George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center 1165 Angelina St. (512) 974­4926 12pm­4pm Come celebrate the music, the dress, the making of the drums, the smell and the taste of Africa. “Sankofa!” the story of the culture, while we dance in celebration and take home the jewels of the day. The German Free School 507 E. 10th St. (512) 467­4569 12pm – 4pm The historic German Free School, built 1857 by German immigrants, the first school chartered in Austin, now home to German­Texan Heritage Society, Texas non­profit dedicated to preserving German heritage of Texas. Building tours, genealogy, refreshments. Goodwill Computer Museum 1015 Norwood Park Blvd. 11am ­ 6pm 512­637­7539 Don’t miss the exhibit, “Digital Discourse: A Brief History of the Information Age”, featuring computer technology from the 1960s to today. Interact with vintage video games and computer systems, and learn about computer technology from 1966 the film “The Computer Tutor…or How to Teach Your Computer to Read” from Texas Archive of the Moving Image. Harry Ransom Center 300 West 21st Street 512­471­8944 12pm – 5pm Visit the Harry Ransom Center's new exhibition Radical Transformation: Magnum Photos into the Digital Age. Docent­led tours begin at noon, 2pm, and 4pm. Jourdan­Bachman Pioneer Farms 10621 Pioneer Farms Dr. (512) 837­1215 10am ­ 5pm Celebrate Texas history where it happened, on five restored, working homesites, including an 1841 Tonkawa Indian Encampment, an 1868 German Emigrant Farm, an 1873 Texian Farm, an 1886 Cotton Planter's Farm and an 1899 country village.Farm animals, horse rides, new exhibits, more. Wildflower Center 4801 La Crosse Ave. (512) 232­0100 9am ­ 5pm Come learn all about the new Luci Baines Johnson and Ian Turpin Family Garden opening in 2014. From 1 to 3pm there will be children’s book signings in The Store with Allison Cunningham Amador, author of Goodnight Austin and Liz Scanlon, author of Noodle and Lou. Wildflower seeds are on sale all day with planting demonstrations at 11am and 1pm in The Store. Guided garden tours at 10am and 2pm. LBJ Presidential Library 2313 Red River (512) 721­0200 9am ­ 5pm Last chance to enjoy the exhibit News to History: Photojournalism and the Presidency. Experience the “Johnson Treatment” and get your photo taken with LBJ as a souvenir. Younger visitors are invited to color Flat LBJ and take him on an adventure. Enjoy free parking, live music, and new interactive exhibits. Special Activities 1pm–5pm. Mexic­Arte Museum 419 Congress Ave. (512) 480­9373 12pm ­ 5pm From 3pm to 5pm the museum will host a printing project based on our exhibition, Creating La Muerte: Jose Guadalupe Posada 100th Anniversary. The museum will celebrate the life of renowned Mexican printmaker, Jose Guadalupe Posada, known for his political, satirical drawings that were part of a movement to abate corruption in government. Mexican American Cultural Center 600 River St. (512) 974­3772 12pm – 5pm Visit An Awakening, by Jose Francisco Trevino, in the main gallery, then stop in the Community Gallery to view Hoyayer, by Luis Gutierrez. At 2pm, learn about the faith that has sustained a group of people during the White Shaman Panel by Dr. Mario Garza and Gary Perez. Neill­Cochran House Museum 2310 San Gabriel St. (512) 524­2345 12pm ­ 5pm See this Abner Cook mansion as never before. Watch historic re­enactors and admire the display of Cochran family furniture that tells the story of their sixty years in the NCHM on the second floor. The nuts and bolts of the historic structure and of the restoration process are laid bare in our new exhibition space. Cookies and ice cream will be on the front porch, and there is ample parking in the back. O.Henry, Susanna Dickinson, and Austin Fire Museums 401, 409, and 411 E. 5th St. (512) 472­1903 12pm ­ 5pm The O. Henry will pay homage to O. Henry’s handlebar mustache with the Austin Facial Hair Club. The Susanna Dickinson will feature tours by re­enactors. And the Fire Museum, only recently opened, will have its 1929 fire truck on site and showcase artifacts documenting their rich history as the city’s first­responders. Live music. Artillery demonstrations. Kids and adults welcome. Pump Project Art Complex 702 Shady Ln. (512) 351­8571 12pm­5pm The Pump Project gallery will feature "Fire Works" an exhibition of contemporary artwork and functional wares made from ceramics, glass and metals. Fifteen Austin artists with great creativity and craftsmanship will exhibit forms made using the element of fire as a primary tool.