Witte Museum

I’ve been spoiled most of my life by museums in the Midwest, but in my opinion the Witte isn’t much of a museum. We spent more time trying to park than we did in the museum. It’s $ 10 for adults for general admission, and $ 20+ dollars after that for the good exhibits. They need to change the name to include «Kids», because each of the several «free» exhibits were for children. Very disappointing; I’ve paid less to get into the Field Museum in Chicago.

I really hate to give this museum the 3 stars, I feel it should give. I am giving it back one star because there was a large school group on the day I was there. The kids really took up a lot of the interactive exhibits. This museum is very kid friendly. the museum store had mostly educational toy type stuff. I went to see the Mayan exhibit and the frontier exhibit. I will say that I did step aside and let the children experience most of the exhibits.
I will tell you be prepared to walk a little, many of the exhibits you have to walk between 3 buildings.
It can be pricey to get in $ 23 but it was cool.

Fun and interactive museum. Very informative.
The parking and grounds are confusing and noisy due to construction.

Came on a Tuesday when it’s free from a certain time was an ok museum with a interactive area for kids. It’s mostly the history o Cowboys and stuff in that general area. Was a ok thing to do to kill some time

Pretty cool place! Bodies exhibit was amazing! Four stars because the price is a little steep for an hour or two of entertainment. But it worth going to see. They’re expanding and I will be interested to see what more they’re adding. Much better place to visit with out of town family then the grungy river walk!

They lie to you on phone prices, very disappointed. First thy say it’s 10 for general admission, and say for bodies revealed on 10 dollars but they never say they must be bought to both. Took my family here expecting to pay 30 dollars ended with a 60 dollar bill. Horrible customer service.

Free admission on Tuesdays 3−8pm and parking is free too. This museum is really cool with lots of fun things to do and learn. There’s also a gift shop that has cute & affordable stuff! Highly recommend going here, especially take advantage of the free Tuesday’s

Have only been here a coupla times in the past 3 years. First visit was for Mummies of the World. Today was for Bodies Revealed. This is a great historic building that is well preserved. The Witte has a bit of everything for all ages. Prices are reasonable and include a military discount. The layout both times was excellent, with plenty of room for wandering and reading. Crowd control is optimized by timed admissions. Staff are friendly. We definitely need to visit more often.

My most recent visit was for a Halloween party they had. It was put together very nicely, but I think they are more deserving of a typical museum visit.
Took my son there many times when he was a youngun, and always found it kid friendly and interactive to keep them interested. Usually science oriented as well.
If you are visiting from out of town, make sure you stop by the Witte. Not as extravagant or large as museums in other big cities, but we are proud to call it our own…

With most of the site under construction and a reduced amount of space to explore than normal, admission prices should reflect that you are not getting the full experience. Finding where to enter the parking garage was difficult with little signage since the main entrance is closed for now. After many turn-​arounds I found myself being scolded by the staff for ending up in a private lot.
The little-​er kids area of the museum in the basement was dirty and there were apple sauce containers scattered around.
Not a place I would recommend visiting until their renovations are complete.

Took us about 45min to go through the whole thing, including the Ice Age exhibit and had to pay an extra $ 5 for it. Spent $ 45 on me my wife and son (six years old). It’s currently under construction so maybe that had something to do with what exhibits were open. Liked the potential in the health exhibits. Probably will be back after construction is complete.

Whether your taking your kids or satisfying the kid at heart in yourself, you will find all kinds of wonderful and interesting things to see.
The witte rivals many of the museums I’ve been to both in content of it’s exhibits and in the way those exhibits are put together.
Every effort is made to make the experience a supremely interactive and engaging one, and it clearly shows. This applies not only to the special exhibits but to the permanent ones as well.
If you’ve never been before, give it a try. One thing is for certain, you will probably be back.
Great job guys!

Despite all the closed exhibits and construction, we really enjoyed our visit. They have a great collection of historical Texas pieces that were pretty cool. My son really enjoyed their interactive children’s area. The covered parking was free and convenient. It’s also right next to Breckenridge Park. This place is going to be awesome when the renovations are completed. It looks like the Mays Family Center should open some time in 2016 and the main building should open in 2017.

There was nothing on the website which indicated that practically NONE of the exhibits were open due to the construction work. I used to work in IT, and it would take no more than 15 minutes to put this on the website.

When they give you the reduced construction price, it should be FREE. The parking garage was empty on a Saturday afternoon and we were unsure why. But after paying admission and realizing that the main portion of the museum is closed and will be for 2 years… ugh. Not worth it. Sorry, Whitte. I hate giving museums such bad ratings but it should be called the HEB museum. Strange marketing ploy and not worth the price of admission.

Decent place to bring the family for edu-​tainment visit but desperately in need of renovation. I’ve only been once and that was plenty… The exhibits are actually good and there is plenty to learn for kids & adults on natural history as well as Texas culture. The most distracting thing that turned me off was a lingering smell that I believe was from the outdated carpet. Again, it’s not a bad place it’s just in need of some TLC. One good thing about it is that it’s very affordable ($ 10 – 15 if I can remember) and if you search online you may even find discount passes too.

I truly enjoyed my time while walking through the Witte Musem a few days back. The grounds are well kept, facilities are clean and the staff is courteous and helpful. Also, price of admittance is suitable.
My favorite part of the museum was the heritage building. Inside, the museum does a great job telling the tale of the early interaction between settlers and Native Americans. There are great pictures and artifacts from that era to help tell the story as well.
Definitely take a couple hours out of your day and spend $ 10-​$ 15 to go see the displays and learn a bit. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

The Witte and I have had a complex relationship dating back to when I was in elementary school. In the beginning, everything was shiny and new. Oh look, dino bones and a g*ddamn mummy! Then, the HEB tree house opened and I promptly lost my adolescent sh*t. Interactive stuff!
Fast-​forward about 20 years from my first Witte visit and I can’t muster enough excitement to make it past the featured exhibit. Everything, including the mummy, seems dustier and the HEB tree house is in sad shape (but it looks like they were doing some construction on it). Sure, you can chalk it up to the cynicism that developed in my mid-​teens, but I don’t look forward to wandering around the Witte anymore. It’s the same stuff that’s been there for decades.
The featured exhibits is where it’s (normally) at when it comes to the Witte. Most recently, the Alien & Androids exhibit. While some of the interactive stuff was broken, the videos offered really interesting info. My favorite part was the meteorite room, so cool being able to see and touch something that was in deep space!

My review is for the Sunday jazz series at the Witte. We ended up purchasing a family pass that’s good for a year so once we tour the entire place I will update my review (get the family pass… After 4 visits it pays itself off).
For $ 10/​per person you can come to the museum which will also get you access to listen to live jazz in a newly transformed «theater». There are huge boulders for the audience to sit but chairs and blankets are encouraged. Seating fills up fast so get there at 3! The concert lasts until 6pm, an hour after the museum closes so it’s safe to get there just before 5 so you can hear the last portion and not get locked out :-)
Picante Grill, which is just across the street, sets up a few tables at this venue and serves tacos and fajitas, they have alcohol as well. Sangria which was poured from a store bought bottle was $ 5 (basically, it’s something I could buy at HEB). Beer was $ 4. We didn’t have any food so I can’t report on those prices.
This next part is why I gave only 3 stars… This particular day an award was being presented to a local musician which took up about 25 minutes and then the band took another 15 minute break. We got there at 3 and had evening plans so we needed to leave at 5. With the presentation & extra band break, we caught 1 hour of music. Very disappointing. As a musician, people pay to hear you… Not watch you hand out awards that most of the audience doesn’t even know about. The band should have used that presentation as their break and went back to playing.
Anyway, the seating area was nicely shaded– huge trees to block that nasty summer sun. The website says no outside food or drink but it looked like water bottles were allowed, bring one — it still gets pretty hot.
This concert series is every 2^nd Sunday except for Nov Dec Jan and Feb. Each concert has a different «theme» however this weekend was a tribute to the Great American Songbook, a lot of Gershwin was played and next month is a tribute to Gershwin. Great musician but that’s too much for me, lol. I’ll still be back to support the local artists. Hopefully they play more than this past weekends band.
The annoying bit: there’s a park behind the museum with picnic tables and grills, families were set up (maybe for Mother’s Day or just because)… Some had music blasting which would interfere with the band. How rude! On top of that, those picnic goers brought their chairs closer to the band (on the other side of the river) so they could listen to the band for free. Way to mooch… It disgusts me when people think music should be free. Hello, the musicians make this career! The museum could have earned another $ 200 easily if those cheapskates actually came to pay.
Sorry — any time music is involved I tend to go on a rant. Can’t help it, I’m passionate about my career.

If you live long enough in this city at some point in your life you will go to the Witte Museum. Period. Whether it be on a field trip with your elementary school class, with a community group to chaperon kids or as a parent to take your own children at some point in your life, you will go here. Let me put this disclaimer out first if you are hoping to see a Matisse, Warhol, David, Avant-​Garde, Postmodern or any other pieces etc. that you are accustomed to see at other places, this might not be the museum for you. But if you or your children have a curiosity for science, nature or you want to go to a place to be engaged without the use of some electronic device, this is a cool place to start.
The Witte is quite vast but it’s not going to kill your feet. They have exhibit rooms that house Texas artifacts, mummies, butterflies contingent on the season. What I mean to say is that the exhibits rotate periodically based on a theme, for example they had one on Charles Darwin. Another exhibit on South American Mummies. South American Mummies? They had an extensive one on dinosaurs. The human body. CSI. These special exhibits do have a fee, coinciding with the normal admission to get in, which can be pricey. However, on Tuesday from 3 pm to 8pm is the best way to go since it is free (you still have to pay a fee for the special exhibits).
The museum opens up and it is quite exquisite. There is a patio, an open area outside and it’s really nice to look out at it. There are work areas where they teach kids how to make fossils, among other educational endeavors. But the main attraction by and far is their, «tree house.» It is big enough for teenagers to handle but not overwhelming to dissuade the smallest children.
There are stations to engage and be engaged. For example there are periscopes to look out of. Cute pathways that connect one point of the tree house to another. There are perfect opportunities for parents and adults also to engage in dialogue with their kids, as most of the museum is interactive. And above all very user friendly. In addition the museum staff are very friendly and extremely knowledgeable.
I know there have been some misgivings about what the Witte is and what it is not. I think this museum is geared toward children, field trips for school-​aged kids and their parents. It certainly has a vibe that lends to that. It’s nice to see there are still places where kids can put down there IPods, IPads even for a nanosecond. And create new memories with their friends and family.
For Egyptian Tombs and Italian Frescos might I suggest The San Antonio Museum of Art. For exhibits on Frida Kahlo or Van Gogh please refer to The McNay. In search of a big tree house and new wonderment, by all means take your kids to the Witte Museum. This might just be your spot (museum).