Educator Field Trip Resources Guide
List of places to visit for educators in Texas - Connect to Archaeology
Archaeological sites to visit
Spring Lake
Address: 201 San Marcos Springs Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666
Hours of Operation: 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
Web Link: https://www.meadowscenter.txst.edu/
Admission: varies on event or activity
Culture of importance: Earliest evidence of earliest people of the Americas
Gault
Address: close to 3439 FM-2843 Florence, TX 76527
Hours of Operation: tour by reservation only
Web Link: https://www.gaultschool.org/tours
Admission: $10/person, free for schools
Culture of importance: Earliest evidence of earliest people of the Americas
Headwaters of the Comal
Place, address: 333 E Klingemann St, New Braunfels TX 78130
Hours of Operation: Monday-Friday 8:30 am - 4 pm Saturday 8:30 am-2 pm
Web Link: https://headwatersatthecomal.com/the-headwaters/plan-your-trip/
Admission: $5 for adults, $4 educators/students, $3 for youth 6-17, children and members free
Museums with Archaeological displays
TPWD Texas Parks Wildlife Department
TPWDiscover-all programs are free and TEKS-aligned
Web Link: https://tpwd.texas.gov/education/resources/tpwdiscover
Activities and Lessons for Science and History
Web Link: https://tpwd.texas.gov/education/resources/activities
State Parks with Interactive Displays
Goliad Area Historic Sites
Web Link: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/goliad/park_history
Culture of importance: 18th CE Spanish Colonial Mission and Presidio Fort Complex
Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum
Web Link: https://www.thetexasfreedomcoloniesproject.com/storyteller-project
Hueco Tanks
Web Link: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/hueco-tanks
Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site
Place, address: US-90, Comstock, TX 78837
Hours of Operation: Open Daily
Web Link: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/seminole-canyon/park_history
Admission $12 and under are free, 13+ are $4
Culture of importance: Archaic-Historic Railroad
Caddo Lake State Park History of Caddo Indians and early Texas
Web Link: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/caddo-lake/park_history
Historic Home Museums
Pioneer Museum in Fredericksburg
Place/site location: 325 W. Main Street, Fredericksburg, TX 78624
Hours of Operation: Mon-Sat: 10 am – 5 pm
Web Link: http://www.pioneermuseum.net/guided-tours-of-the-grounds.html
Admission: group and school tours vary, $3/student four out of Gillespie County schools, $10/person for group tours
Bob Bullock Museum - display on Ransom Williams site, another reconstruction era former slave site that produced pottery in the Austin area.
Ransom Williams
Web Link: https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/discover/artifacts/ransom-williams-family-recovered-artifacts
“The African American Story” online resource
Web Link: https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/discover/campfire-stories/african-americans
“Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow”
Web Link: https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/visit/exhibits/black-citizenship-in-age-of-jim-crow
Freedman Colony
Web Link: https://www.thetexasfreedomcoloniesproject.com/
Texas Freedom Colonies Storyteller Project works with the Bob Bullock Museum to raise awareness of freedom colonies and preserves, connects, educates, and honors the legacies of the colonies as a part of the History of Texas.
Web Link: https://www.thetexasfreedomcoloniesproject.com/storyteller-project
Place, address: 1800 Congress ANe, Austin, TX 78071
Hours of Operation: Wed-Sun 10 am – 5 pm
Field trips: https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/education/field-trips
Admission: Costs for various options available
Oakwood Cemetery Chapel is a Gothic revival building site that gives historical tours and exhibits.
Web Link: http://www.austintexas.gov/department/oakwood-cemetery-chapel
Panhandle Plains Historical Museum (PPHM) the largest history museum in Texas located in Canyon, Texas in the Panhandle, 7-8 hrs. away. We might want to link the virtual resources first.
Virtual exhibit: https://www.virtually-anywhere.net/tours/wtamu/pphm/vtour/index.html
Prehistory: Plains Village sites like Chimney Rock, Alibates Flint Quarry, Antelope Creek, and the local dry rock shelter. Texas Panhandle History including the Second Battle of Adobe Walls, Battles of the Red River War, and Historic sites Adobe Walls 1874 battlefield and Buffalo Wallow.
Permanent exhibits for field trips all meet TEKS requirements:
https://www.panhandleplains.org/p/education/field-trips/permanent-exhibits1
Museum of the Coastal Bend
Web Link: https://www.museumofthecoastalbend.org/
Virtual exhibit https://www.museumofthecoastalbend.org/virtual-exhibit
In-person https://www.museumofthecoastalbend.org/visit-mcb/group-tours/school-program
Place/site location: 2200 E Red River Street, Victoria TX 77901
Hours of Operation: reservations required,
Admission: $1.50/student
Culture of importance: Indigenous, French, Spanish
Cultural Events of Interest
Spring Lake Annual Pow-wow in October
Web Link: https://www.sspowwow.com/
TARL Archaeology Month Fair
Web Link: https://thc.texas.gov/preserve/archeology-texas/texas-archeology-month
American Indian Heritage event held by the Bob Bullock Museum annually on September 24th.
Web Link: https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/visit/calendar/education/american-indian-heritage-day-2021
Virtual option for “celebrating in the classroom” or planning a Field Trip. As well as “Hands-on Art Making”, “On Demand Videos” (10 videos from movies to short 1-5min videos), and “Learning Resources”.
List of Resources:
A learning and activity book Learning About Texas Indians 1996 TPWD
Web Link: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_p4000_0016.pdf
Caddo Voices
Web Link: file:///Users/brittanybailey/Downloads/01.pdf
Texas Indians.com is a good, yet old resource, especially on Myths and legends
Web Link: http://www.texasindians.com/myth.htm
Gives a myth for the Alabama Coushatta, Caddo, Comanche, Lipan Apache, and Wichita myths in a way that students can engage/discuss. Visit here for the intro to the site for educators for fourth-12th grade students. Web Links: http://www.texasindians.com/intro.htm and http://www.texasindians.com/cultanth.htm
Virtual learning - most are free for Texas schools and satisfy all TEKS requirements including Bob Bullock Museum, Don Harrington Discovery Center, and Amon Carter Museum of American Art.
https://www.connect2texas.net/pages/home/programs/
National Museum of the Pacific War
Field Trips are free and include access to multiple exhibits scheduled for Monday-Tuesday with flexible scheduling options throughout the week. Must be booked with a 2 weeks notice with min. of 12 students. Web Links: https://www.pacificwarmuseum.org/education/educators/field-trips
Virtual options: https://www.pacificwarmuseum.org/education/distance-learning
TPWD
TEKs-Aligned TPWD lessons
Web Links: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLANcqgdxvXhYamGiR55jtU6IZxMRzNBUE
Hueco Tanks
Web Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tRvVtUUIqY&list=PLANcqgdxvXhYamGiR55jtU6IZxMRzNBUE&index=36
TPWD YouTube videos are organized in a playlist (the above is one of them). In the description portion is an outline of all the TEKS connections to the lesson.
Posters, Maps, and publications
Web Link: https://tpwd.texas.gov/education/resources/posters-maps-publications
Red River Wars
Web Link: https://www.thc.texas.gov/public/upload/publications/red-river-war.pdf