08.04.2023

Today’s Forecast

105º | Partly cloudy | 7% chance of rain | Sunrise 6:51 a.m. | Sunset 8:22 p.m.

🧠 Broaden your mind

23 museums in Austin

Large, petal-shaped sculptures over the plaza with chairs in the foreground.

The Blanton Museum’s brand new Moody Plaza is a result of a recent renovation. | Photo by ATXtoday

Museums are the cultural hubs of Austin. Whether you’re looking to learn something new about the Capital City or plotting a way to spend your Saturday afternoon, here are 23 museums to visit in ATX.

Note: All ticket pricing reflects a standard adult ticket.

Blanton Museum of Art, 200 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. | $15 or free on Tuesdays
Check out the mesmerizing Moody Patio at this newly renovated art museum on the UT campus. Make sure to stop inside Ellsworth Kelly’s “Austin” art installation while you’re there.

Jourdan-Bachman Pioneer Farms, 10621 Pioneer Farms Dr. | $8
Exploring 19th century villages, homesteads, and farms is cool enough, but you might want to check out this spot’s events calendar, too. Pioneer Farms is known for offering unique classes on skills like archery, basic weaving, blacksmithing, and natural dying, in addition to hosting regular events.

Kids standing in front of a table at the Thinkery. — Kids can learn hands-on at the Thinkery.
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Photo by @brindisirahne/@brindisirahnephotography

Thinkery, 1830 Simond Ave. | $18
Although considered a children’s museum, this Mueller center for all things science and exploration is anything but rudimentary. Kids can explore STEAM-based, interactive exhibits like the Innovator’s Workshop and light lab.

LBJ Presidential Library, 2313 Red River St. | $13 or half-price on Tuesdays
Explore 45 million pages of historical documents, listen to recordings of former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s political career, and walk through a replica of the president’s Oval Office.

A spinning, colorful tunnel with a walkway leading through it — Your brain will trick you into thinking your falling in this rotating tunnel room at the Museum of Illusions.
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Photo by ATXtoday

Museum of Illusions, 11010 Domain Dr. #100 | $25
This newly opened museum will boggle your mind and senses with visual and interactive illusions.

Harry Ransom Center, 300 W. 21st St. | Free
This internationally renowned UT research center contains an extensive collection of artifacts related to literature, photography, film, and the performing arts. Highlights include Edgar Allan Poe’s writing desk, a 500-year-old Gutenberg Bible, and the entire archive of Robert De Niro’s film career.

17 more museums

Asked

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Events

Friday, Aug. 4

“Wizard of Oz” | Now-Sunday, Aug. 6 | Times vary | McCullough Theatre, 2375 Robert Dedman Dr., Austin | $35-$45 | Texas Performing Arts and Summer Stock Austin partnered to perform the classic story with Dorothy, Toto, and the Wicked Witch of the West.
Nat Geo Live Speaker Series: Photographer Brian Skerry | Friday, Aug. 4 | 7:30 p.m. | The Long Center, 701 W. Riverside Dr., Austin | $31-$52 | Skerry has four decades of photographing ocean life under his belt.

Saturday, Aug. 5

We Are Blood x Texas Stars Blood Drive | Saturday, Aug. 5 | 10 a.m. | H-E-B Center at Cedar Park, 2100 Ave. of the Stars, Cedar Park | Free | Blood donors will be entered to win a suite at the Cedar Park Rodeo.
Oklahoma City Spark vs. Texas Smoke | Saturday, Aug. 5-Monday, Aug. 7 | Times vary | Concordia University, 11400 Concordia University Dr., Austin | $10-$57 | Cheer on Austin’s new pro softball team at this three-game series.

Sunday, Aug. 6

This is Your Sign: Astrology Themed Comedy | Sunday, Aug. 6 | 7:30-8:30 p.m. | Fallout Theater, 616 Lavaca St., Austin | $8 | Join in on this comedy show, hosted by Jenn Rosario, about the signs.

Events calendar here

Click here to have your event featured.

News Notes

Biz

Waymo, a self-driving car company and Google subsidiary, plans to make Austin its fourth city to offer ride hailing services. Although the company has not announced a start date for the program, it is expected to operate in a “large portion” of the city. (Austin American-Statesman)

Environment

Southwest Austin is now in an extreme drought stage, alongside West Lake Hills, Bee Cave, and Lakeway. Under the new restrictions, residents may not refill swimming pools or wash buildings or driveways, and are restricted to watering landscaping once every five-to-seven days between 8 p.m. and midnight. (Community Impact Austin)

Sports

Horns up, wheels up. United Airlines will offer two nonstop flights to Birmingham for the UT-Alabama game taking place on Saturday, Sept. 9. Tickets are now available for the flights, which leave on Friday, Sept. 8 at 1:20 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. (KXAN)

Travel

Speaking of nonstop flights, Southwest Airlines announced it will offer new nonstop flights beginning in March to Charlotte, North Carolina and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Start planning your spring break. (CultureMap Austin)

Coming Soon

Paris 13, a French farmers market stand, will open at Ghostline Kitchens at 3400 Comsouth Dr. on Tuesday, Aug. 15. Customers will be able to order dishes like quiches, crepes, and samosas for pick-up or delivery. (Eater Austin)

Real Estate

Imagine waking up on a 1.8-acre Spanish-style estate, before walking through your 5,058-sqft home to your outdoor kitchen and beach-entry pool. This dream can be all yours — for the price of $3.75 million, that is. Take a look at this on-the-market home in Lakeway. (Austin Home)

Job

We’re hiring a Branded Copywriter. This team member will directly support the strategy, creation, and placement of branded content campaigns for 6AM City’s clients, including creating dynamic content (including written articles and social) within the 6AM tone and style. Learn more + apply.

Weather

🌡 Beat the heat

Checking in on Austin’s 100º day count

A graphic showing the number of 100º by month in 2011, 2022, and 2023.

Compared to last year and to 2011 — the year with the most recorded 100º in Austin — 2023 has had fewer triple-digit days so far. | Graphic by ATXtoday, all data from the National Weather Service

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s been pretty hot lately.

We started our summer with a little game to find out which of our readers can get the closest to predicting the number of triple-digit days recorded in ATX in 2023.

Now we’re halfway through the season and have already broken multiple heat records — including the potential record for longest streak of 100º days, which will likely be broken today — so let’s check in on where our readers stand.

According to data from the National Weather Service, the Austin area has seen 43 triple-digit days this year, including yesterday.

Already, that kicks 26% of our respondents out of the running, but don’t worry: more than 70 of you are still in the game.

However, as 100º days remain in the forecast for the foreseeable future, it’s possible ATX will see more than 65 triple-digit days before September comes, which would leave just 29 readers in the running.

Answered

🏆 Top scorers on our July news quiz

A graphic of a newspaper reading "ATXtoday news quiz"

Shout out to Nick Van Buren, the top-scorer on our July news quiz.

This month’s hardest question — with just 29% of respondents answering correctly — was:
Q: Which new concept from the Gabriela’s Group opened downtown in July?
A: Mala Fama

Take the quiz yourself

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The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
London

From the editor

After weeks of waiting for reasonable ticket times, I finally saw “Barbie” last night at the South Lamar Alamo Drafthouse.

I gotta say, I think the Drafthouse has ruined me for any other movie-going experience. I mean, where else can I settle in for a film with such high-quality presentation and a delicious plate of buffalo cauliflower wings?

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