Off to the Witte!

You can visit the Witte Museum in San Antonio in one of two ways. Here are the possible scenarios:

First, drive into the heart of downtown San Antonio. Circle the Alamo area like a vulture several times before locating a parking garage, where you will cough up ten dollars for the privilege of its use. Walk about three blocks to the Alamo, in search of the Guinness World Records Museum. Question your spouse several times as to whether he really knows where he is going. Field your children’s complaints about the heat and questions about how much further they must walk.

Upon arriving at the Guinness Museum, discover that it will cost your family of five over seventy dollars to enter. Decide that there is no way on God’s green earth that you are going to fork over that kind of money to enter a crowded building that smells like movie popcorn and will retain its appeal for maybe one hour. Pacify your disappointed children with ice cream from the nearby Haagen-Dazs while your spouse fetches the car. That’s one very expensive half hour of parking.

Or … you could simply drive directly to the Witte Museum, slightly north of downtown, park for free in its ample, shaded lot, and get that same family of five into the building for less than thirty dollars.

Your choice. (I recommend scenario #2.)

The Witte, positioned appealingly in the expansive Brackenridge Park (picnic spots available), describes itself as “San Antonio's premiere museum of South Texas history, culture, and natural science.” It’s a description that’s absolutely accurate, but you might want to revise it for your children to something more like: “This museum has dinosaur skeletons! Real mummies and caveman drawings! Princess costumes! And a huge treehouse to play in, just like the Swiss Family Robinson!”

On our visit, we debated whether to pay a tiny bit extra to enter the “Playing with Time” special exhibit, but decided to hold off and see whether we had enough time to play with. We ended up filling our whole afternoon with the regular attractions, but plan to return in the Fall for the next special exhibit, called “Circus Folk: Secrets Behind the Big Top.” (See http://www.wittemuseum.org for a calendar of special events.)

After enjoying the displays in the main building, we headed out to the HEB Science Treehouse, which, from the moment we stepped in the door, offered treats for the kinesthetic learner of every age. Children played a high-tech version of musical chairs in the foyer. They experimented with air pressure, wind energy, and gravity. They climbed the outdoor treehouse, looking for native birds and plants. They sloshed water around using an Archimedes screw and a series of water wheels. And my nine year old got to bicycle along a high wire – safely harnessed, of course.

As my kids and I ambled over to the pioneer cabins, we reveled in the beauty of the Museum grounds. Perhaps we just caught a particularly uncongested Saturday afternoon, but the whole place, with its graceful architecture enclosing verdant grounds, felt like a kind of sanctuary. We’ll be back, for sure. And next time, we’ll come here first.