UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures

I came here for the Asian festival. Great variety of food.

As a former docent and volunteer with connections and emotional baggage tied to this venerable institution it is difficult to evaluate and review this museum fairly and objectively. The very first time I ever walked through the heavy glass doors of this museum I was a child holding my grandmother's hand. The occasion was the 1968 HemisFair World's Fair in San Antonio, Texas. I did not get to see all of the museum in 1968 and I made up for it by visiting it many times as adult and volunteering to work there in 2005. I have always enjoyed visiting the museum and I enjoyed my volunteer work there. The staff was always friendly and seemed to appreciate my being there. However, as the museum aged and the management changed there are many reasons to be concerned about its future. The Institute of Texan Cultures was created to be the Texas Museum and the stronghold of Texas history. Frankly it has failed in that mission and has conceded that mission to a museum in Austin, Texas. With that failure the management and operation of the Institute was given away to the University of Texas San Antonio. You would think that a institution of higher learning would have the ability to operate a museum but obviously that is not the case. The Institute of Texan Cultures is operated now like an illegitimate child to UTSA's primary mission of running a junior college. As such, the Institute receives more bureaucracy now than support. It is a convenient and luxurious dumping ground for school bureaucrats who don't contribute much to the the college's primary mission but can't be fired and replaced. Probably one of the easiest jobs in the world is to be an Institute manager. Because you don't have to do much. And they don't. Consequently the exhibits at the Institute of Texan Cultures tend to remain rather static and known. They are very good. Don't get me wrong. But they are product of the hard work of managers and docents who have worked at and for the Institute of Texan Cultures for the last 50 years. Not the dullards in charge now.

Alright so the people are nice and they give you a good clean background on the history of the state and the many people who lived in Texas but it’s all something that after you see it once, you don’t need to see again unless you go on a free Sunday.

If you have history junkies this is their paradise. There is even room for kids to roam when it's too hot to go outside venues. Then try Tower of America's for lunch. You are already next door and will save the parking fee.

My 3 and 5 year old lived this place! The Back 40 was a huge hit! Thank you to the docents on site who were ready to show and explain things to my kids.