Witte Museum facts for kids
The Witte Museum in San Antonio, Texas
|
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Established | 1926 |
|---|---|
| Location | 3801 Broadway, San Antonio, Texas,  United States |
| Type | Nature History Science |
| Visitors | 500,000 |
| Public transit access |   9, 10, 11A, & 14 |
The Witte Museum (pronounced WIT-ee) is a fun and educational museum in San Antonio, Texas. It opened in 1926 and is located in Brackenridge Park. The museum tells amazing stories about Texas, from ancient times to today.
You can see many cool things here. The museum has old artifacts, photos, Texas art, and even real dinosaur bones! They also have drawings from caves and displays of Texas wildlife. Plus, they often bring in special exhibits from other places.
The museum is named after Alfred G. Witte, a businessman from San Antonio. He left money to the city to build a museum. He wanted it to be about art, science, and nature, to remember his parents. The first person to lead the Witte Museum was Ellen Schulz Quillin.
Discovering the Witte Museum's History
The idea for the Witte Museum started with a large collection of natural history items. These belonged to Henry Philemon Attwater. Ellen Schulz Quillin, a teacher and plant expert, bought this collection for San Antonio for $5,000.
The collection grew so big it didn't fit in the high school anymore. So, Ellen Schulz and her supporters asked the city for money to build a new museum. With that money and $65,000 from Alfred G. Witte, the museum building was built. It was first called the Witte Memorial Museum. In 1984, its name was shortened to the Witte Museum.
At first, the Witte Museum had paintings, sculptures, and other art. In 1970, the museum director, Jack McGregor, suggested having a separate art museum. In 1972, the museum group bought an old brewery. This building was turned into the San Antonio Museum of Art, which opened in 1981. The Witte Museum's art collection now focuses on art made by Texas artists or art that shows Texas history and culture.
Exciting Changes and New Additions
The Witte Museum has grown and changed a lot over the years. Here are some of the cool additions:
1930s: Exploring Ancient Texas and Reptiles
The Witte Museum helped with important research in the Big Bend and Lower Pecos areas. This led to many new artifacts and new galleries to show them off. The museum also built a Reptile Garden. This was Ellen Schulz Quillin's idea. The Reptile Garden not only made money for the museum but also helped local ranchers. They sold rattlesnakes and rat snakes to the museum.
Two old log cabins were also built on the museum grounds. Young people from President Roosevelt's National Youth Administration program built them. These cabins are often used to teach students about what life was like for pioneers.
1940s: Historic Homes Join the Museum
Two historic houses from San Antonio were moved to the Witte Museum. One was the limestone home of John Twohig, a banker and merchant from Ireland. The other was the plastered stone home of José Francisco Ruiz. He was San Antonio's first schoolmaster and one of two Texans to sign the Texas Declaration of Independence.
1960s: New Exhibits and Art Spaces
More historic exhibits and better art galleries were added. This included the McFarlin Jewel Room and the Piper Memorial Wing. The Piper Wing is used for special temporary exhibits.
1970s: The Lone Star Hall of Wildlife
Thanks to William A. Burns, a museum director, the Lone Star Hall of Wildlife and Ecology opened in 1971. This hall has amazing dioramas, which are 3D scenes, showing Texas wildlife.
1980s: Texas Wild and Ancient Texans
Several big new exhibits were added. These included Texas Wild and Ancient Texans.
1990s: The H-E-B Science Treehouse
The H-E-B Science Treehouse opened. It overlooks the San Antonio River. This area has fun, hands-on science and physics exhibits. Many students visit the Witte to learn here.
2000s: Circus Wonders and Health Adventures
In 2003, the Hertzberg Circus Collection came to the Witte Museum. This was the wish of its owner, Harry Hertzberg. It's one of the oldest and largest public circus collections. It includes artifacts, programs, photos, music, and videos about the circus.
Marise McDermott became the President and CEO in 2004. She has led many new projects:
- The H-E-B Science Treehouse became the H-E-B Body Adventure. This was the first interactive health experience for young people in the United States.
- The B. Naylor Morton Research and Collections Center opened. It shows over 300,000 artifacts. It also gives space for experts and students to study the growing collection.
- The Mays Family Center opened. It's a large space for exhibitions and special events.
In 2012, the Robert J. and Helen C. Kleberg South Texas Heritage Center opened. This is a permanent home for the museum's South Texas collections. It has saddles, spurs, baskets, branding irons, old clothing, and firearms.
In 2014, the museum started a huge $100 million renovation. This project updated over 174,000 square feet of space. It added the Naylor Family Dinosaur Gallery and Dinosaur Lab, the Valero Great Hall, the McLean Family Texas Wild Gallery, and the Kittie West Nelson Ferguson People of the Pecos Gallery. A new parking garage was also built.
The design team, led by Patrick Gallagher, created new exhibit graphics, videos, and interactive displays. They also added sound installations. This project was designed to be environmentally friendly and sustainable, earning a special certification.
Valero Energy gave $4 million to help with the expansion. This money helped build the glass-enclosed Valero Great Hall. This main entry area has amazing replicas of dinosaurs. You can see an Acrocanthosaurus atokensis, a Tyrannosaurus rex, and a huge Quetzalcoatlus flying above. The Quetzalcoatlus has a wingspan of forty feet!
The "New Witte" officially opened on March 4, 2017. Many important people attended the ribbon cutting. After opening, the museum welcomed over 90,000 visitors in just one month!
