Homeschool Day

Event Details

Join us for hands-on activities and special fungi-related classes that celebrate our newest IMAX^® documentary, Fungi: The Web of Life. This exciting documentary explores the mystery and science of fungi, an essential part of life on the planet that is more important to our daily lives than many realize.

Museum admission is free for homeschool families and RSVPs are not required. Discounted school group rates for films in the IMAX Theatre and Texas Spirit Theatre are available from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; film tickets may be purchased in advance online and at the Museum on Homeschool Day. Check in at the table in the Grand Lobby upon arrival. Directions and parking information can be found here.

Attend scheduled activities and paid classes

• 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Participate in a special paid class with Central Texas Mycological Society to learn about how mushrooms grow and to make your own mushroom-growing block using recycled materials.
• 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Join Austin Public Library for a fungi-themed story time.
• 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Join award-winning author Alisha Gabriel to learn all about fungi by dissecting a plush mushroom, building your own fungi-journal, and going on an exciting fungi scavenger hunt to document some unusual fungi you can find in your own neighborhood.
• Watch IMAX documentaries. Tickets and info: Fungi: The Web of Life, Serengeti, Secrets of the Sea, and tickets to the Texas Spirit Theater films Shipwrecked and Star of Destiny.

Drop in anytime between 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. for activities, resources, and exhibitions

• Get an up-close look at fungi under microscopes with Girlstart.
• Craft your own mushroom hat.
• Make your own art and learn about the anatomy of different fungi using mushroom cap stamps.
• Explore the different ways that fungi influence your life, from medicine to building materials, to some of your favorite foods with an interactive touch (and smell) table.
• Experience historic breadmaking first-hand, discover what gives bread its distinctive shape, texture and flavor, and walk away with directions for making your own sourdough starter kit!
• Discover new stories and engage in the interactive activities in the galleries.
• Explore Museum exhibitions with educational activity guides and hands-on Discovery Centers.
• Pick up educator resources to supplement your at-home curriculum provided by the Bullock Museum and community partners.

Available Classes

Hands-on classes taught by local authors and partner organizations give your students an opportunity to spend more time exploring topics that relate to fungi and how they impact our world.

Classes are $10 per student. Accompanying adults do not need tickets. Due to demand and class capacity reservations are recommended. On the morning of Homeschool Day, online class registration will close, but tickets can be purchased at the Museum while available. Class information and tickets below.

• Meet Mushrooms: Build Your Own Mushroom Block
  (recommended ages: 6 and up)
  Buy Tickets
  10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Watch your own mushrooms grow right before your eyes! Join Central Texas Mycological Society to learn about mushrooms, why they are important parts of the world around us, and how they grow. Then, gain hands-on experience making your own mushroom-growing block using recycled materials that you can take home with you and use to grow all the mushrooms you want!
• Funky Fungi! How to Have Fun with Mold 
  (recommended ages: 6 and up)
  Buy Tickets
  12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Jump headfirst into the world of fungi with award-winning author Alisha Gabriel. Want to learn more about fungi, including the parts of them? Want to start your journey to becoming a fungi expert who can track and discover fungi everywhere from the local park to the supermarket? This class will start you on your journey in mycology (the study of fungi). You will experience a plush mushroom dissection, build your own fungi journal, and use it in a hands-on fungi scavenger hunt using your new exploration skills!

School Programs are generously funded by Featured sponsor The Marie M. and James H. Galloway Foundation, Supporting sponsor The Lange Family Foundation, and Contributing sponsors The Honorable Kent R. Hance and Bella and Chase Cooley.

The Bullock Museum, a division of the Texas State Preservation Board, is funded by Museum members, donors, and patrons, the Texas State History Museum Foundation, and the State of Texas.