Don't Forget the Gift Shop

Take a tour of Texas' world-class, wondrous, and wacky museums

Dinosaurs and cowboys can be found at a lot of the museums.

Courtesy of the Witte Museum

Some things you just have to see in person. From history-making locations like the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas to Claude Monet's Water Lilies at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, art and history abound across Texas.

Whether the museums are showcasing our state's prehistoric history or displaying works from contemporary Texas artists — plus chronicling a president or two — there's an exhibition for everybody.

Here's where to while away a few hours in five top Texas cities:

Dallas
Stroll around the largest arts district in the country by area and you'll find the heavy-hitters: Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, Crow Museum of Asian Art, and Perot Museum of Nature and Science, the last one complete with a giant dinosaur skeleton towering over the Woodall Rodgers Freeway.

Nearby in the city's West End, you can spend a few reflective hours in the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum and then cross the street to Dealey Plaza, the site of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The Sixth Floor Museum — named for the perch in the Texas School Book Depository where Lee Harvey Oswald camped out — chronicles the shooting, conspiracy, and legacy of the 35th U.S. president.

In Fair Park, visit the African American Museum of Dallas for one of the largest African American folk art collections in the U.S., or head north for the Museum of Biblical Art, which is also home to the National Center for Jewish Art.

On the Southern Methodist University campus you'll find the Meadows Museum, nicknamed "Prado on the Prairie" for its impressive collection of works centered on the art and culture of Spain.

The George W. Bush Presidential Center is also on the college campus, and looks at the life and career of No. 43 through 43,000 artifacts, gifts, and documents collected during his presidency.

On the southeastern corner of Love Field airport, the Frontiers of Flight Museum displays the collection of noted aviation historian George Haddaway along with more than 40 air and space vehicles. The Apollo 7 Command Module, a model of the 1903 Wright flyer, and the V-173 “Flying Pancake” are just a few examples of aerocrafts found within the hangar.

If you're looking for something a little more niche, duck into the Harwood District restaurant St. Ann and head upstairs to see nearly 1,000 examples of Japanese samurai armor at the free Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Museum.

Likewise, a trip to Frisco can bring out the kid in everyone with a stop at the National Videogame Museum to learn about the industry's history and play the games of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Fort Worth
The Fort Worth Cultural District is where you'll find the city's major museums, from the architecturally striking Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and Kimbell Art Museum to the towering orange building that holds the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.

The Amon Carter Museum of American Art is also a stone's throw away, as is the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, the only building in the world dedicated to honoring trailblazing women of the American West.

In Sundance Square sits the Sid Richardson Museum, which holds a comprehensive group of works by Frederic Remington, Charles Russell, and more depicting the American West.

Austin
The big one here is the Blanton Museum of Art, but you can also visit The Contemporary Austin and the UMLAUF Sculpture Garden + Museum for more incredible art.

Named after the state’s 38th Lieutenant Governor, Bob Bullock, the Bullock Texas State History Museum traces the Lone Star State's history from its first inhabitants through to the 21st century.

Located on the grounds of the University of Texas at Austin, the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum walks visitors through choices and decisions made by the 36th president. Insider tip: Anyone with “Lyndon” anywhere in their name gets free admission.

Houston
Boasting 19 museums in four walkable zones, the Houston Museum District is easy to navigate.

Zone 1 contains the Menil Collection, while Zone 2 has Asia Society Texas, the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, Czech Center Museum Houston, Holocaust Museum Houston, and the Houston Museum of African American Culture.

Head over to Zone 3 and find the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, which houses Claude Monet's famous Water Lilies.

Zone 4 is home to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Children's Museum Houston, and the Health Museum, where you can get an up-close look at the human body from wild angles.

San Antonio
Browse the most comprehensive collection of ancient Roman, Greek, and Egyptian art in the southern U.S. at the San Antonio Museum of Art, or hit up the first modern art museum in Texas, the McNay Art Museum. Ruby City is another contemporary must-stop.

The San Antonio Art League & Museum is the oldest arts organization in the Alamo City and focuses exclusively on Texas artists.

Villa Finale Museum & Gardens contains a vast collection of oddities, especially an excess of 19th- and early 20th-century Napoleon Bonaparte artifacts — 843 to be exact — including a bronze death mask.

Cowboys and Western art abound at the Briscoe Western Art Museum, while a massive collection of taxidermy animals and proud Texas narratives about the Texas Rangers awaits at The Buckhorn Saloon & Museum and The Texas Ranger Museum.

At the Texas Transportation Museum, you can take a train ride and ogle retro train carts, model trains, old cars, and more.

The San Antonio Fire Museum, operated by the San Antonio Fire Museum Society, displays artifacts and photos dating back to the 1800s. Kids can even climb on a 1953 International fire truck, built by the Simms Fire Equipment Company.

The DoSeum also lets kids get hands-on with interactive exhibits.

The Witte Museum spans dinosaurs to cowboys and explores the history, culture, and natural science of South Texas, with several rotating exhibits.

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Now hear this

New Texas museum shines spotlight on Tejano music history

Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum, San Antonio, tejano music

Photo by Edmond Ortiz

Roger Hernandez serves as board president of the Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum.

For a city that proudly calls itself the capital of Tejano music, San Antonio has long been missing a permanent place to honor the genre’s pioneers and preserve its history. That gap officially closed In December with the opening of the Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum at 1414 Fredericksburg Rd.

The music couldn’t have found a better steward than its founder and board president. Roger Hernandez has had his finger on the pulse of Tejano music for decades. His company, En Caliente Productions, has provided a platform for countless performing artists and songwriters in Tejano, conjunto, and regional Mexican music since 1982.

Hernandez says his wife, who ran a shop at Market Square years ago, would often get questions from visitors about the location of a physical Tejano music museum, a thing that simply did not exist. In 2022, he banded together with friends, family, and other local Tejano music supporters to make the nonprofit Hall of Fame a reality.

“I decided I've been in the music scene for over 40 years, it's time to do a museum,” Hernandez recalls.

Hernandez says a brick-and-mortar Tejano music museum has long been needed to remember musical acts and other individuals who grew the genre across Texas and northern Mexico, especially those who are aging. Recently, the community lost famed Tejano music producer Manny Guerra and Abraham Quintanilla, the renowned Tejano singer/songwriter and father of the late superstar Selena Quintanilla-Perez. Both deaths occurred roughly one week after the Totally Tejano museum opened to the public.

“They're all dying. They're all getting older, and we need to acknowledge all these people,” Hernandez says.

The Totally Tejano Museum — named after Hernandez’s Totally Tejano Television Roku streaming — has 5,000 square feet of space packed with plaques, photos, promotional posters, musical instruments, and other memorabilia honoring the pioneers and stars of the beloved genre. Mannequins wear stage outfits from icons like Laura Canales and Flaco Jimenez, and a wall of photos remembers late greats. Totally Tejano Television plays legendary performances on a loop, bringing the exhibits to life.

The newly opened Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum includes a growing collection of memorabilia. Photo by Edmond Ortiz

Hernandez says the museum will soon welcome permanent and rotating exhibits, including traveling shows, a Hall of Fame section, and an area paying homage to Chicano music crossovers, such as the late Johnny Rodriguez, the South Texas singer-songwriter who blended country with Tex-Mex music. Plans call for the organization to hold its inaugural Hall of Fame induction in February 2026.

Eventually, a 2,000 square feet back room will be converted into additional display space and host industry gatherings, community symposiums, and record and video release parties. The museum also plans to add a gift and record shop and a music learning room where visitors can listen to early Tejano music and browse archival photos. Hernandez is already talking with local school districts about educational field trips.

Much like Tejano itself, the museum is a grassroots production. Hernandez and fellow board members have used their own money to rent, renovate, develop, and maintain the museum space. The board also leads the selection of the Hall of Fame honorees and curates the exhibits.

Hernandez has been heartened by the museum’s reception, both from media outlets and music fans around Texas and beyond.

“We had a radio station come in this morning from Houston to interview us,” he says. “People have come in from Lubbock, Texas. We have had people from Midland, Texas. We have another person who emailed us who’s coming in from New York. People are learning all about us.”

That includes many of the musicians who helped shape the genre. Johnny Hernandez, Sunny Ozuna, Elida Reyna, and Danny Martinez from Danny and The Tejanos are among the luminaries who have already graced the halls.

The Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum is now open 10 am-6 pm, Tuesday-Sunday, and closed Monday. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged. Fans can call 210-314-1310 for more information.

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