Homeschool Day

Event Details

Interact with educators and community partners to explore Texas’s many cultural traditions. Join us in hands-on activities and special culture-related classes that celebrate some of the many groups that have shaped Texas’s history and cultures. ​​ ​​

Program is free for homeschool families. Discounted school group rates for films in the IMAX^® Theatre and Texas Spirit Theater are available from 10 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 special hands-on activities between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

• 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Create your own wooden hamsa at this special paid class while hearing the history of Jewish Texans, one of the groups in the Lone Star State that make hamsas in the present day.
• 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. Enjoy a Texas story with the Austin Public Library.
• 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Fold paper into a work of art with an origami class and enjoy a multisensory lesson about Japanese culture at this special paid class.
• Buy tickets to see IMAX documentaries Deep Sky, Secrets of the Sea, Fungi: The Web of Life, Train Time and tickets to the Texas Spirit Theater films Shipwrecked and Star of Destiny.

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

• Go on a scavenger hunt in the Museum galleries to discover the stories, traditions, and customs of the variety of cultural groups in Texas.
• Write your name in Arabic with the University of Texas Department of Middle Eastern Studies.
• Play Mound Builder culture games with Central Texas Cherokee Township.
• Discover the importance of corn in Mexican American culture, and craft your own corn husk doll with the Mexican American Cultural Center.
• Make a St. Bridget’s cross and discover the many contributions of Irish women to Texas’s history with the Consulate General of Ireland.
• Make your own moving paper horse and discover the importance of horses for the Comanche people with GirlStart.
• Build your own family history book with a family tree and questions you might ask people in your family about your heritage.
• Explore the exciting history of Polish Texans with Austin Rising School
• Discover more about Lunar New Year with the Asian American Resource Center
• Craft your own paper firecrackers while learning about Tết the Vietnamese Lunar New Year
• Make a bird mask while hearing about Birds’ Wedding in Wendish Texan communities.
• Explore Museum exhibitions with educational activity guides.

Available Classes

Hands-on classes give your students an opportunity to spend more time exploring topics that relate to the art and culture of the numerous communities and cultures in Texas.

Handy Hamsas

(recommended for all ages)

10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

What is a hamsa? Why do people make them? What has been their significance for several cultures who made Texas their home? Discover the history of the hamsa. Explore the history of Jewish Texans, one of the groups that would have helped bring hamsas to Texas. Then design and decorate your own wooden hamsa.

Origami Fun!

(recommended for all ages)

12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

What can you create by folding paper? Explore Japanese culture, including music, puppets, and vocabulary, while folding your own piece of origami art.

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 Bella and Chase Cooley, Dian Graves Owen Foundation, and Roger and Marianne Staubach.

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.