Great Free Museums in Austin

An excellent museum located on the Texas Capitol grounds that chronicles the early history of Texas and provides an excellent view of the Capitol. Interactive activities include learning about the clothing worn in the West and stamping letters with the official seal of Texas.

A hidden gem located 3 minutes east of I-35. Here you can find a beautiful wall mural, and an exhibit on Juneteenth and prominent early African-American families in Austin.

This newish - museum is geared towards young children and they also host many interesting temporary exhibits as well.

Natural History Museum complete with dinosaur bones on UT campus. Here you will find a flying Pteranodon (like a Pteradactyl) skeleton and the crown jewel of the collection, a 30 foot long Mosasaur skeleton, found right here in Austin’s Onion Creek.

The Nature and Science Center is great for kids and families. The attraction includes mini zoo full of native Texas species, giant bronze dinosaur ribcage and the Dino Pit where kids can dig for “fossils”, and a learning center. The center also hosts temporary exhibits that rotate on a regular basis

Very interesting musuem inside the studio of the popular artist Elisabet Ney, who carved the statues of Stephen F Austin and Sam Houston in the Texas Capitol. Here you can see dozens of her works and see what life was like more than 100 years ago in Austin

Extensive military history museum with a large collection of jeeps, tanks, armored vehicles, and aircraft. Perhaps the most interesting pieces on display are an F-16 and F-5 jet on the exercise track.

The museum also honors many of the military men from Texas who have fought in various US wars.

Not only is this museum is home to a Gutenberg Bible and the first photograph ever made, it also plays host to world class exhibits on the regular. Exhibits in the past have included works by Ansel Adams and Frida Callou. This is my favorite free museum in Austin!

Worth checking out for the architecture itself, the Arthouse was newly renovated in 2010. The building features a very modern concrete and glass exterior with glass tiles jutting out of the walls of the building. Come at the right time of day, and see these translucent tiles glow from the light of the rising sun. Arthouse features contemporary art, much of it sourced from the Austin community.