What do you think of when you think of museums? 

Some people might think they're stuffy, antiquated, or, dare we even say it … boring? When we think of museums, we think of culture, knowledge, art, opportunity, exploration, technology and innovation! Living in Central Texas offers the convenience of proximity to a large variety of museums, whether you're interested in art, history, nature, culture, science, technology, or a special niche, there is something for everyone in the state. 

We'll focus on museums close to these  Waco homes for sale, and give you just a taste of what is available to explore just a short drive away! Whether you're a Central Texas local, a transplant, or a tourist, these museums will delight you, and we promise you'll visit again and again.

Our agents offered recommendations, hidden gems, and even threw some in from their 'to-visit' list! ;) 

Let's take a look at the Dallas Arts District …

Just a short drive away from Waco and surrounding areas is an incredible complex, At 118 acres, the Dallas Arts District is the largest urban arts district in the United States, with the crown jewel being the Dallas Museum of Art. Offering everything from visual arts, performing arts, gathering spaces for the community, restaurants, and events, this area is abuzz with creativity and excitement. For in-depth information, we recommend taking a look at the visitors guide, equipped with everything from maps, and descriptions to upcoming attractions and important dates!

• Dallas Museum of Art - 1717 N. Harwood, Dallas, TX 75201
  The Dallas Museum of Art hosts an impressive collection with more than 25,000 works that span a time period of 5,000 years, making each visit a different experience. Hours are 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday except Friday, when doors close at 9 p.m. Admission is free, but a reserved ticket is required for entry, read more about how to reserve a complimentary general admission entrance here. Special exhibits will require a separate ticket.
  
  
• Nasher Sculpture Center - 2001 Flora St, Dallas, TX 75201
  Featuring works by Calder, de Kooning, Kelly, Matisse, Miró, Moore, Picasso, Rodin, Serra, and Shapiro, among others, the 300+ masterpiece collection is heralded as one of the finest collections of modern and contemporary sculpture in the world. The Nasher Sculpture Center also offers artist talks, symposiums, classes, chamber music concerts, etc. We hope you'll take the time to visit the 55,000-square-foot building, which integrates with the 1.4-acre sculpture garden.
  
  The Dallas Arts District is quite impressive, and many museums form part of it, as well as organizations and galleries that partner to bring opportunities to artists and the community. The Crow Museum of Asian Art, aims to support, through its exhibitions, the research and preservation of Asian cultures. The Green Family Art Foundation ("GFAF"), offers opportunities and grants to underserved artists. In their own words, "All programming is free and open to the public. The GFAF presents three exhibitions per year featuring works by emerging and established artists that the foundation chooses to support for aesthetic, expository, and illustrative purposes." Don't forget that as part of the allure of the Dallas Arts District, there are galleries and retail spaces that make it possible for you to bring a piece home.

If you're in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, there are so many other gems to consider, such as:

• Perot Museum of Nature and Science - 2201 N Field St, Dallas, TX
  Adjacent to The Dallas Arts District is this wonderful museum where you can explore prehistoric worlds, gems, and even space! If you've ever driven by it, we're sure you've noticed the striking, award-winning building, whose design allows you to peek at one of its prehistoric residents from the road. The Perot Museum of Nature and Science has something for everyone, from Virtual T-rex races, to skyscraper building contests, Live National Geographic Speaker Series, and 'Thursdays on Tap' - when the museum becomes a social hub filled with food trucks, outdoor games and live music for its 21+yrs. of age (and older) patrons to enjoy from 6pm-10pm. 
  
  
• Kimbell Art Museum - 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107
  Named after the founding family, the Kimbell Art Museum offers curated works that focus on Asian and European art and artifacts. Hours are 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, noon - 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday, and noon - 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $14-$18
  
  
• Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth - 3200 Darnell St., Fort Worth, TX 76107
  Ironically, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth is the oldest museum in Texas. Often referred to as simply 'The Modern', it was chartered in 1892 as the Fort Worth Public Library and Art Gallery,  it's name and collections have evolved over the years to reflect changing ideas in art. The collection focuses on works post-WWII to the present day. Francis Bacon, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko are just a few of the artists represented in the collection of paintings, photos, and sculptures. The Modern is much more than just a museum, and seeks to engage audiences by offering tours and talks by artists, cultivating relationships with living artists, offering workshops, camps and classes, etc. Hours are 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, with extended hours until 8 p.m. on Friday. Admission is $10-$16, with free admission on Friday and half-price on Sunday.

Other museums in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area that you check out are: Frontiers of Flight Museum – A Smithsonian Affiliate, where you might even catch a candle-lit string quartet concert –, The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza -dedicated to the life and death of President JFK-, and the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum -using a blend of accounts, photos and technology, the museum helps illustrate the history of the Holocaust and it's devastating consequences-. In the mood for something lighter and interactive? Make sure to drop by Meow Wolf.

Further South, all the way in San Antonio you will also find a slew of museums and galleries, as well as historic sites to delight everyone in your party.

• San Antonio Museum of Art - 200 W. Jones Ave., San Antonio, TX 78215
  The grounds holding the San Antonio Museum of Art have their own eclectic history, having been home to the Lone Star Brewery, a cotton mill, and several other commercial businesses. SAMA's extensive holdings include collections of American, Asian, Latin American, and African art. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., with extended hours until 7 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday. Admission is $10-$20, with no charge for Bexar County residents from 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. Tuesday and 10 a.m. - noon Sunday.
  
  
• McNay Art Museum - 6000 N New Braunfels Ave. San Antonio, TX 78209
  The McNay Art Museum was created by Marion Koogler McNay, an American painter and teacher whose inherited oil fortune, as well as her mansion, was employed to make this museum a reality. The museum focuses primarily on 19th- and 20th-century European and American art, whose impressive collection houses works by Diego Rivera, Georgia O'Keeffe, Edward Hooper and Pablo Picasso. Traveling and special exhibits are always the talk of the town, with the current exhibit 'Dreamland | Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas' generating quite a stir. Enjoy free general admission every Thursday from 4-9 p.m., courtesy of H-E-B, and the first Sunday of every month from Noon to 5 p.m., courtesy of the Dickson Allen Foundation. Special Exhibition access is $10 during these times.
  
  
• The Witte Museum - 3801 Broadway, San Antonio, Texas 78209
  Another Smithsonian Affiliate on this list, the Witte Museum is self-proclaimed to be the space where nature, science and culture meet. The 10-acre campus is located between the San Antonio River and historic Broadway Street. The Witte has a Texas State and Federally-certified curatorial collection repository and labs in archeology, history, geology and paleontology. This truly is a one-of-a-kind experience, and we hope you take some time to enjoy it. On Tuesdays The Witte Museum offers free admission.

Of course, there are many other museums, galleries and interactive spaces in San Antonio, that we encourage you to #explore. Perhaps you'll visit some of these? The DoSeum- an interactive museum that focuses on learning -, The Briscoe Western Art Museum -where the West comes to life -, not to mention all the historical sites and monuments in the area.

Down in Houston, a vibrant scene awaits, here are just some of the museums you can explore in the area:

• The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston - 1001 Bissonnet St, Houston, TX 77005
  The 12th largest art museum in the world, based on square feet of gallery space, it houses over 70,000 works spanning 6 continents and over 6,000 years of history. Like many museums in Texas, this one saw itself in a past life as a public art school, later becoming a museum. The spaces have evolved with the times, the vision for its future, and the growing collection of works. The large majority of its collection focuses on, Italian Renaissance painting, French Impressionism, photography, American and European decorative arts, African and pre-Columbian gold, American art, and post-1945 European and American painting and sculpture. We hope you'll visit MFAH.

• The Menil Collection - 1533 Sul Ross St., Houston, TX 77006
  The Menil Collection consists of a main gallery surrounded by four additional buildings. In accordance with The Menil's philosophy, the goal of the museum's design and holdings is to encourage visitors to experience art on a personal level, with works from locales and genres such as Medieval and Byzantine, Surrealism, the Pacific Islands, and the Ancient World. The Menil is open 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, and there is no charge for admission.
  
  
• Houston Museum of Natural Science, 5555 Hermann Park Dr, Houston, TX
  The Houston Museum of Natural Science is one of the largest and most comprehensive natural history museums in the United States. It is home to over 60 million specimens and artifacts, including a dinosaur hall, a planetarium, and an aquarium.

Of course, there are a plethora of museums in the Houston area, and we couldn't possibly cover them all. Here are just a few more to pique your interest: Contemporary Arts Museum Houston - also located in the Houston Museum District, this museum offers free admission! Of course we would be remiss if we did not mention another Smithsonian Affiliate, Space Center Houston, which displays over 400 artifacts directly linked to space exploration. It serves as NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston official visitors center. It houses the Mercury 9, Gemini 5, and Apollo 17 space capsules. If you find yourself in the Houston area, make sure to visit The Rothko Chapel to experience stillness…that moves.

Moving along the state…Tyler, Texas offers…The Tyler Museum of Art -located at 1300 S Mahon Ave, Tyler, TX 75701. On view from the end of September until January 2024 will be "A Pop of Color: Works by Jeffie Brewer", a local Texas artists whose whimsical works adorn public and commercial spaces across the U.S.

Austin, the Live Music Capital of the World has plenty of entertainment. Make a point to visit the Capitol, take in a live show, and explore the vibrant art scene. When looking for something more structured, here are just a few of the museums you can find there…

• The Contemporary Austin - Jones Center
  Comprised of 2 locations and an art school, even the building serves as an exhibit space as it is equipped with a projector screen, visible from the street at night.
  
  
• Blanton Museum of Art - 200 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Austin, TX 78712
  The University of Texas at Austin boasts one of the country's premier university art facilities with the Blanton Museum of Art. Highlights among the 21,000+ works in the collection include European paintings, along with contemporary American and Latin American art. Hours are 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sunday.

Many other museums and spaces exist in Austin, and there's something for everyone, from the Bullock Texas State History Museum to the Museum of Ice Cream.

Of course, Waco Texas has it's own slew of museums, that we're sure you've visited before…right?! If you haven't, make sure to read our previous blog post that goes over the Waco area specific offerings!

If you'd like to move closer to ANY of these wonderful museums, make sure to contact us. We can assist you with relocating through our very own relocation department, and our affiliation to Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, which offer us access to agents, their expertise and listings in over 70 countries! Contact us at Kelly, Realtors for experienced help with all your real estate needs.