Mosasaur skeleton displayed at the Texas Science and Natural History Museum in Austin

Hill Country · Historic Sites & Museums

Texas Science & Natural History Museum

Texas Science & Natural History Museum on the University of Texas campus interprets the state's fossils, wildlife, geology and natural systems, including major paleontology displays drawn from the former Texas Memorial Museum collections.

Photography: RABaker96 · Wikimedia Commons · reusable licensed media

Plan the visit

Texas Science & Natural History Museum at a glance

Where is Texas Science & Natural History Museum?: Texas Science & Natural History Museum is near Austin, Texas, in Travis County.
When is the best time to visit Texas Science & Natural History Museum?: Year-round indoor museum; verify the calendar during football season because the museum closes on University of Texas home-game days.
Do I need to plan ahead for Texas Science & Natural History Museum?: The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and closed Mondays. It also closes on Texas football home-game dates and selected holidays, so consult the official closure calendar before planning a campus visit.
Who manages Texas Science & Natural History Museum?: The University of Texas at Austin

The place

Why Texas Science & Natural History Museum belongs on the list

Texas Science & Natural History Museum uses the state's own landscape as the organizing idea. Fossils, rocks, animals and environmental exhibits connect deep geological time with modern Texas ecosystems, giving visitors a way to understand why the state's plains, coasts, rivers and ancient seas produced such different forms of life.

Paleontology is a major draw. Large fossil mounts and specimens turn abstract time periods into physical evidence, while newer exhibits connect those remains with scientific research and present-day natural systems. Families can use the museum as an indoor science stop, but the collection is also valuable for adults interested in Texas geology and the history of life in the region.

The museum sits on the eastern side of the University of Texas campus near the LBJ Presidential Library and within walking distance of the Bullock and Blanton. Visitors should pay special attention to the closure calendar in fall because UT home football games affect museum operations and campus access in ways that ordinary weekday planning does not.

The details

Plan the visit

Nearest town: Near Austin, Texas
Best season: Year-round indoor museum; verify the calendar during football season because the museum closes on University of Texas home-game days.
County: Travis County
Address: 2400 Trinity St, Austin, TX 78712
Entry & reservations: The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and closed Mondays. It also closes on Texas football home-game dates and selected holidays, so consult the official closure calendar before planning a campus visit.

Official visitor information

Tours & bookable experiences

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Quick answer

Planning a visit to Texas Science & Natural History Museum

What is Texas Science & Natural History Museum?: Texas Science & Natural History Museum on the University of Texas campus interprets the state's fossils, wildlife, geology and natural systems, including major paleontology displays drawn from the former Texas Memorial Museum collections.
When is the best time to go?: Year-round indoor museum; verify the calendar during football season because the museum closes on University of Texas home-game days.
What should I know before arriving?: The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and closed Mondays. It also closes on Texas football home-game dates and selected holidays, so consult the official closure calendar before planning a campus visit.
Where is it?: Near Austin, Texas, in Travis County.

Field notes

What to know before you go

Conditions, closures, fees and availability can change. Use these notes to plan, then confirm the latest details with the official site before making the drive.

Things to do

Wildlife and geology

Don’t miss

Texas fossils and paleontology
Natural history collections
UT Austin campus museum

Good to know

Best time to go: Year-round indoor museum; verify the calendar during football season because the museum closes on University of Texas home-game days..
The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and closed Mondays. It also closes on Texas football home-game dates and selected holidays, so consult the official closure calendar before planning a campus visit.

Build the trip

Places that pair well with this stop

Nearby places, worthwhile detours and combinations for adding water, history, outdoors or a full weekend around this destination.

Close enough for the same trip

Nearby places

Places ordered by straight-line distance when reliable coordinates are available.

Austin · Travis County · Hill Country
LBJ Presidential Library
The LBJ Presidential Library on the University of Texas campus preserves the presidency, archives and public life of Lyndon B. Johnson through immersive galleries on civil rights, the Great Society, Vietnam, the 1960s and presidential decision-making.
Best season: Year-round indoor museum; spring and fall are especially comfortable for combining the library with the University of Texas campus and nearby state-history sites.Updated Aug 2026
- Presidential history
- Civil rights and Great Society exhibits
- Vietnam War context
Explore this place
Approx. 1 miles away
Austin · Travis County · Hill Country
Blanton Museum of Art
The Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin combines European, Latin American, American and contemporary collections with major installations and a redesigned outdoor museum grounds just north of the Texas Capitol.
Best season: Year-round indoor museum; fall through spring is most comfortable for enjoying the redesigned outdoor grounds and walking to nearby Capitol-area attractions.Updated Aug 2026
- European and Latin American art
- Ellsworth Kelly's Austin
- UT Austin art museum
Explore this place
Approx. 1 miles away
Austin · Travis County · Hill Country
Harry Ransom Center
The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin is a humanities research library and museum whose public exhibitions draw from major collections in literature, photography, film, theater, art and cultural history.
Best season: Year-round indoor museum and exhibition space; spring and fall are best for combining it with a longer walk across the UT campus.Updated Aug 2026
- Rare books and manuscripts
- Photography and film collections
- Changing humanities exhibitions
Explore this place
Approx. 1 miles away
Austin · Travis County · Hill Country
Bullock Texas State History Museum
Austin's state history museum beside the Capitol Mall, using three floors of artifacts, immersive galleries, films and changing exhibitions to connect Indigenous Texas, exploration, revolution, statehood, ranching, energy, immigration and modern life into one broad statewide narrative.
Best season: Year-round; especially useful during summer heat or wet weather, and easy to combine with the Capitol and University of Texas museums in any seasonUpdated Aug 2026
- Three floors tracing major eras of Texas history
- La Belle shipwreck artifacts and colonial-era interpretation
- Texas Revolution, statehood and twentieth-century galleries
Explore this place
Approx. 1 miles away
Austin · Travis County · Hill Country
Texas State Capitol
Austin's landmark pink-granite Capitol, where free public tours, legislative chambers, historic grounds and exhibits connect Texas government with the architecture and civic history of the state in the center of Downtown Austin.
Best season: Year-round; spring and fall are especially comfortable for combining the interior with the Capitol grounds and nearby museums on footUpdated Aug 2026
- Texas Senate and House chambers
- Rotunda, dome and historic portraits
- Free guided Capitol tours
Explore this place
Approx. 1 miles away
Austin · Travis County · Hill Country
Neill-Cochran House Museum
The Neill-Cochran House Museum preserves an 1856 Greek Revival Austin landmark and the city's only intact slave quarters, interpreting local life, architecture, enslavement and social change from Austin's early decades into the twentieth century.
Best season: Year-round house museum; spring and fall are most comfortable for combining the interior tour with the grounds and a walk toward the UT campus.Updated Aug 2026
- 1856 Greek Revival architecture
- Intact slave quarters
- Austin social history
Explore this place
Approx. 1 miles away

Around Austin

More near the closest town

Other destinations connected to Austin.

Austin · Williamson County · Hill Country
Austin Aquarium
A northwest Austin interactive aquarium with marine-life exhibits plus birds, reptiles and mammal encounters, built around hands-on family experiences.
Best season: Year-round; the indoor format is particularly useful during summer heat or rainy weather.Updated Aug 2026
- Marine-life exhibits
- Interactive encounters
- Birds and reptiles
Explore this place
Approx. 12 miles away
Austin · Travis County · Hill Country
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
The University of Texas at Austin's native-plant botanical garden in South Austin, where designed gardens, prairie restoration, an arboretum, family garden and nature trails show how Texas wildflowers and native landscapes can be beautiful, resilient and ecologically useful year-round.
Best season: Spring for wildflowers, fall for comfortable trails and native grasses, and year-round for designed native gardens; bloom timing always depends on weather rather than a fixed calendar dateUpdated Aug 2026
- Texas native-plant gardens and ecological landscape design
- Seasonal wildflower displays and bluebonnet areas
- Texas Arboretum and walking trails
Explore this place
Approx. 11 miles away
Austin · Travis County
McKinney Falls State Park
An Austin state park where Onion Creek drops over broad limestone ledges at Upper and Lower Falls, with swimming holes, trails, camping and reminders of Central Texas history only minutes from the city.
Best season: Spring and fall for hiking; swimming depends on current creek conditions
- Upper and Lower Falls on Onion Creek
- Swimming and fishing when water conditions allow
- Rock Shelter Trail and traces of early Central Texas settlement
Explore this place
Approx. 7 miles away
Austin · Travis County
Barton Springs Pool
Austin's landmark spring-fed swimming pool in Zilker Park, supplied by the Edwards Aquifer and holding near 68–70 degrees year-round beneath limestone slopes and mature pecan trees.
Best season: Year-round, with summer the busiest season and cooler mornings quieter
- Spring-fed year-round swimming
- Zilker Park setting
- Edwards Aquifer springs
Explore this place
Approx. 3 miles away
Austin · Travis County · Hill Country
French Legation State Historic Site
One of Austin's oldest surviving residences began as a diplomatic property tied to France's recognition of the Republic of Texas. The house brings international diplomacy down to neighborhood scale and offers a striking counterpoint to the nearby Capitol complex.
Best season: Year-round; spring and fall are usually the most comfortable for outdoor portions of a visit.Updated Aug 2026
- Republic diplomacy
- Austin history
- historic architecture
Explore this place
Approx. 1 miles away
Austin · Travis County
Texas Military Forces Museum
Camp Mabry's museum of Texas militia, National Guard, State Guard and wartime service from the early nineteenth century to modern deployments.
Best season: Year-round indoor museum; verify Camp Mabry access requirements before leaving home.Updated Aug 2026
- Texas National Guard
- 36th Infantry Division
- Military vehicles
Explore this place
Approx. 3 miles away

Build a better day

Pair this stop with something different

Nearby parks, water, towns, history and outdoor places that complement this destination.

Bastrop · Bastrop County
Bastrop
Bastrop is a Colorado River town east of Austin where one of Texas' oldest communities, a preserved downtown, the Old Iron Bridge and the isolated Lost Pines forest create a rare mix of history and outdoor recreation.
Best season: Fall through spring for downtown walking, hiking and paddling; summer works best with early outdoor starts and heat-conscious river or shaded-forest plansUpdated Sep 2026
- Historic Downtown Bastrop
- Colorado River
- Old Iron Bridge
Explore this place
Approx. 28 miles away
Bastrop · Bastrop County
Bastrop State Park
A historic Lost Pines park east of Austin where CCC stonework, loblolly pine forest and an evolving wildfire-recovery landscape frame hiking, camping and a scenic connection to Buescher State Park.
Best season: Fall through spring for hiking and camping
- Lost Pines loblolly forest
- CCC-built cabins and stone architecture
- Hiking through a visible wildfire-recovery landscape
Explore this place
Approx. 29 miles away
Wimberley · Hays County · Hill Country
Wimberley
A small Hill Country town on Cypress Creek and the Blanco River, known for spring-fed swimming, galleries, markets, shaded roads and nearby natural areas.
Best season: Spring through fall for water recreation; fall and winter are quieter for town walks and scenic drivesUpdated Sep 2026
- Blue Hole Regional Park
- Cypress Creek town center
- Jacob's Well Natural Area
Explore this place
Approx. 30 miles away
Lockhart · Caldwell County
Lockhart State Park
A small Central Texas state park beside Clear Fork Creek, notable for wooded trails, a historic CCC-built recreation landscape and the only golf course in the Texas State Park system.
Best season: Fall through spring for hiking and golf; summer visits are best early or late in the day
- Historic nine-hole state-park golf course
- Civilian Conservation Corps structures
- Short wooded and creekside trails
Explore this place
Approx. 30 miles away
San Marcos · Hays County · Hill Country
San Marcos
A Central Texas city built around powerful artesian springs and the clear San Marcos River, with tubing, paddling, a walkable downtown and a major university presence.
Best season: Year-round for spring-fed water; warm months are busiest for river recreationUpdated Sep 2026
- San Marcos River tubing
- City Park public river access
- Spring Lake and The Meadows Center
Explore this place
Approx. 31 miles away
Smithville · Bastrop County
Buescher State Park
A wooded park near Smithville connected to Bastrop State Park by a scenic road, with a small lake, CCC history and trails through recovering Lost Pines habitat.
Best season: Fall through spring for hiking and cycling; warm months work well for paddling and fishing
- Scenic Park Road 1C connection with Bastrop State Park
- Small lake for paddling and fishing
- CCC-era park structures
Explore this place
Approx. 38 miles away

Add some water

Nearby water stops

Lakes, rivers, springs and coastal places that can fit into the same trip.

Dripping Springs · Travis County · Hill Country
Hamilton Pool Preserve
A protected Hill Country canyon and collapsed limestone grotto west of Austin, where Hamilton Creek drops into a jade-green pool beneath a broad rock overhang, reached by a rugged trail and managed through required reservations to protect sensitive habitat.
Best season: Spring and fall for comfortable hiking; summer reservations are popular but swimming is never guaranteed because water quality and safety conditions can changeUpdated Aug 2026
- Collapsed limestone grotto and overhanging rock shelter
- Hamilton Creek waterfall and natural pool
- Protected Balcones Canyonlands Preserve habitat
Explore this place
Approx. 24 miles away
Spicewood · Burnet County · Hill Country
Krause Springs
A privately operated Hill Country swimming destination near Spicewood with spring-fed pools, a small waterfall, cypress trees, gardens and camping on a family-owned property.
Best season: Late spring through early fall for swimming
- Spring-fed swimming pool
- Natural swimming hole and waterfall
- Cypress-shaded grounds
Explore this place
Approx. 28 miles away
Wimberley · Hill Country
Blue Hole, Wimberley
A spring-fed swimming area on Cypress Creek inside Wimberley's Blue Hole Regional Park, shaded by mature cypress trees and managed through a seasonal reservation system that protects the experience from uncontrolled crowding.
Best season: May through early September for reserved swimming; the surrounding regional park is open year-roundUpdated Aug 2026
- Spring-fed Cypress Creek swimming beneath mature cypress trees
- Reservation-controlled seasonal swim sessions
- Shaded lawns and regional-park recreation outside the swim area
Explore this place
Approx. 29 miles away
Wimberley · Hays County · Hill Country
Jacob's Well Natural Area
A deep artesian spring and karst opening near Wimberley that forms the headwaters of Cypress Creek, protected within a Hays County natural area with trails and tightly managed water access.
Best season: Fall through spring for trails; the natural area remains a hiking destination while swimming is closedUpdated Sep 2026
- Artesian spring opening
- Cypress Creek headwaters
- Hill Country karst geology
Explore this place
Approx. 29 miles away

Keep the day outside

More outdoors nearby

Parks, caverns and outdoor destinations that pair naturally with this stop.

Georgetown · Williamson County · Hill Country
Inner Space Cavern
A limestone show cave beside Interstate 35 in Georgetown, where guided tours descend into decorated chambers, fossil-rich passages and active formations on routes ranging from the paved Adventure Tour to more rugged flashlight and wild-cave experiences.
Best season: Year-round; the cavern stays around 72°F with high humidity, making it especially useful during Central Texas summer heat or rainy weatherUpdated Aug 2026
- Classic one-mile Adventure Tour on a paved, lighted cavern route
- Large decorated rooms and active limestone formations
- Hidden Passages flashlight tour on a more rugged route
Explore this place
Approx. 22 miles away
Burnet · Burnet County · Hill Country
Longhorn Cavern State Park
A Hill Country cavern carved by ancient underground water, explored on guided tours beneath a historic 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps park landscape near Burnet.
Best season: Year-round; the cavern offers a naturally cooler underground outing during hot weather
- Guided walking tours through Longhorn Cavern
- Distinctive water-carved underground passages
- CCC-era stone architecture above ground
Explore this place
Approx. 46 miles away

Make a weekend of it

Build a full weekend

A mix of towns, food, history, parks and water that can turn one stop into a fuller itinerary.

Austin · Travis County · Hill Country
George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural and Genealogy Center
Austin's George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural and Genealogy Center preserves and celebrates African American history, art and community life through permanent exhibitions, rotating galleries, public programs and genealogy resources.
Best season: Year-round indoor museum; spring and fall are comfortable for combining the visit with a broader East Austin history and cultural itinerary.Updated Aug 2026
- African American Austin history
- Black art and culture
- Genealogy resources
Explore this place
Approx. 1 miles away

People also visit

Similar destinations, favoring the same region and the shortest available distance.

Fredericksburg · Gillespie County · Hill Country
Fredericksburg Historic District
Fredericksburg's National Historic District centers on a broad Hill Country Main Street lined with limestone commercial buildings, German-Texan landmarks, museums, churches and more than 80 points of historic interest that turn the town's nineteenth-century immigrant story into a walkable living district.
Best season: Fall through spring for comfortable walking; spring wildflowers and the winter holiday season add atmosphere, while summer mornings are better than exposed afternoonsUpdated Aug 2026
- Historic limestone buildings along Main Street
- More than 80 documented points of historic interest
- Vereins Kirche and Marktplatz in the center of town
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Approx. 68 miles away
New Braunfels · Comal County · Hill Country
Gruene Historic District
A compact National Historic District on the Guadalupe River in New Braunfels where nineteenth-century German-Texan buildings now hold Gruene Hall, shops, restaurants, lodging and live music, preserving the scale of the original township while remaining an active entertainment district.
Best season: Spring and fall for comfortable walking and river weather; summer is lively but crowded and hot, while evenings are attractive year-round when live music is part of the planUpdated Aug 2026
- Gruene Hall and its long-running live-music tradition
- Walkable nineteenth-century commercial buildings
- Guadalupe River access and Hill Country river culture
Explore this place
Approx. 44 miles away
Johnson City · Blanco County · Hill Country
Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park
A two-part Hill Country national historical park connecting Lyndon B. Johnson's boyhood in Johnson City with the LBJ Ranch near Stonewall, where presidential history, ranch life and the Pedernales River landscape come together.
Best season: Fall through spring for comfortable walking and ranch touring
- LBJ Ranch and Texas White House landscape
- Johnson boyhood home
- Junction School and family history
Explore this place
Approx. 53 miles away
Fredericksburg · Gillespie County · Hill Country
Fort Martin Scott State Historic Site
Fort Martin Scott was established in 1848 and became an early U.S. Army post on the expanding Texas frontier. Its Fredericksburg location makes it easy to connect German immigration, federal military expansion and Hill Country settlement in a single day.
Best season: Year-round; spring and fall are usually the most comfortable for outdoor portions of a visit.Updated Aug 2026
- frontier forts
- Fredericksburg
- German Texas
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Approx. 67 miles away
Fort McKavett · Menard County · Hill Country
Fort McKavett State Historic Site
The remarkably preserved West Texas post interprets U.S. Army life and conflict on the 19th-century frontier, including the service of Buffalo Soldiers. Its surviving buildings and remote setting create one of Texas' clearest physical impressions of an Indian Wars-era military post.
Best season: Year-round; spring and fall are usually the most comfortable for outdoor portions of a visit.Updated Aug 2026
- Buffalo Soldiers
- frontier forts
- military history
Explore this place
Approx. 146 miles away
La Grange · Fayette County · Hill Country
Kreische Brewery State Historic Site
Ruins on the bluff above La Grange preserve one of Texas' earliest commercial breweries and the story of German immigrant entrepreneur Heinrich Kreische. Because it shares a landscape with Monument Hill, the stop combines immigration, industry and Texas military memory in one visit.
Best season: Year-round; spring and fall are usually the most comfortable for outdoor portions of a visit.Updated Aug 2026
- German Texas
- brewing history
- La Grange
Explore this place
Approx. 58 miles away

Keep exploring the region

More in this part of Texas

Additional places from the same Texas region.

Glen Rose · Somervell County · Hill Country
Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
A drive-through conservation center near Glen Rose where giraffes, rhinos, antelope and other species roam large Hill Country pastures tied to endangered-species breeding and education.
Best season: Fall through spring for cooler driving and more active animalsUpdated Sep 2026
- Drive-through wildlife safari
- Giraffe and rhino encounters
- Conservation breeding programs
Explore this place
Approx. 131 miles away
San Antonio · Comal County · Hill Country
Natural Bridge Caverns
A major Hill Country cave attraction north-east of San Antonio where guided routes descend through enormous limestone rooms, stalactites, stalagmites and flowstone, with multiple cavern experiences and above-ground family attractions surrounding the natural limestone bridge that gave the site its name.
Best season: Year-round underground, where cavern temperatures stay comparatively stable; spring and fall are most comfortable for combining cave tours with above-ground attractionsUpdated Aug 2026
- Discovery Tour through the original cavern rooms
- Hidden Wonders tour and large underground chambers
- Natural limestone bridge at the cavern entrance
Explore this place
Approx. 55 miles away
San Antonio · Comal County · Hill Country
Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch
A 500-acre drive-through safari beside Natural Bridge Caverns where visitors travel in their own enclosed vehicles among more than 500 animals from dozens of species, then continue through walkable animal areas and optional guided safari experiences.
Best season: Fall through spring for comfortable temperatures; the ranch recommends morning arrival for animal activity and lighter crowds, especially on weekends, holidays and summer daysUpdated Aug 2026
- Self-guided drive-through safari across 500 acres
- More than 500 animals representing roughly 40 species
- Giraffes, antelope, bison and other free-ranging hoofstock
Explore this place
Approx. 55 miles away
Fredericksburg · Gillespie County · Hill Country
Enchanted Rock State Natural Area
A massive pink-granite dome north of Fredericksburg with nearly 21 miles of hiking, a famous summit climb, rock climbing, stargazing and a newly opened backcountry trail system.
Best season: Fall through spring for cooler hiking; summer heat and exposed granite can be intense
- Summit Trail to broad Hill Country views from the granite dome
- Nearly 21 miles of hiking trails, including new backcountry routes
- Rock climbing and bouldering with required check-in at headquarters
Explore this place
Approx. 67 miles away
Concan · Uvalde County · Hill Country
Garner State Park
A Hill Country favorite on the Frio River, where limestone hills, cypress-lined water, Old Baldy and the park’s long-running summer dances make the destination as social as it is scenic.
Best season: Late spring through early fall for river time; fall and winter are quieter for hiking
- Frio River swimming, tubing and paddling beneath bald cypress trees
- Old Baldy and Hill Country overlooks above the river valley
- Summer evening dances, a Garner tradition dating back generations
Explore this place
Approx. 130 miles away
Bend · San Saba County · Hill Country
Colorado Bend State Park
A rugged Colorado River park northwest of Austin with 70-foot Gorman Falls, spring-fed pools, cave tours and more than 35 miles of hike-and-bike trails through limestone canyon country.
Best season: Fall through spring for hiking; spring flow and recent rainfall can affect waterfalls and pools
- Gorman Falls, a 70-foot spring-fed travertine waterfall
- More than 35 miles of hiking and biking trails
- Spicewood Springs pools and Colorado River access
Explore this place
Approx. 66 miles away