SAN ANTONIO — The first thing you see when you enter the Institute of Texan Cultures is the neon Texas flag, but, this unique museum has so much more to offer than just Texas.
"There's about 26 original cultures that are here, we have the Czechs, the Germans, the Native Americans, the Tejanos, the Italian, Japanese, Chinese, African American as well." Director of Public Engagement, Christian Clark said.
The Institute of Texan Cultures is not like the typical museum where you walk around and learn on your own. They're an interactive museum giving you a more personal, first-hand experience with history.
"We have a pool of regular volunteers here and they all carry a piece of heritage with them. So we have quilters, and we have ones that know how to spin and weave, we have former ranchers, and other people that come in and so they interpret these areas in front of the chuckwagon that's behind me. We have a former rancher that comes in and talks about the history of ranching in South Texas." Clark said.
They also showcase local art through their rotating exhibits, getting San Antonio artists and schools involved.
The Museum wants to make sure you leave not only with history lessons and a greater knowledge of cultures that settled through Texas, but they want to make the experience as memorable as possible.
"If you want to learn about the history of the missions you'll find it here, if you want to learn about the history of San Antonio, you'll find it here, if you want to learn about all the different cultures and the different landscapes of Texas, you'll find it here. It's a really good place to learn about a variety of things especially if you're only going to go to one museum, this is the place where you can kind of get a lot of different things in one place." Clark said.