School Field Trips at San Felipe de Austin

Bookings for the 2023-2024 school year are open! Tour options are detailed below. For more information or to book your tour, contact Nicole at nicole.shadle@thc.texas.gov or call 979-885-2181 x2

At San Felipe de Austin, we educate people of all ages on the story of Mexican Texas. A school tour with us here at San Felipe de Austin can be a great accompaniment to any Texas history curriculum, including for students in 4th Grade and 7th Grade. We offer a variety of school tour options to fit the educational goals of your classroom and educate students via first-person narratives, interactive media and discussions, and visual aids. Learn more about the individual options we offer below.

School Tour Options

We offer three different tour options to connect with the educational goals of any classroom. Looking to schedule a tour for homeschool groups? Click here!

Museum Gallery Tour

Total Time: 2 Hours

Cost: $4 per Student

Our Museum Gallery Tour is best fit for teachers looking to strengthen their students' understanding of the timeline and major events of Mexican Texas history as well as the story of Texas Independence. In this tour, students learn Stephen F. Austin's role in bringing new residents to Texas, early conflicts between the Mexican government and Texans, progression to war, the Runaway Scrape, and eventual destruction of the town of San Felipe de Austin. Students learn these concepts through interactive discussions and media as well as first-person narratives of those living during this time. The tour is conducted via 6 separate stations each lasting 20 minutes. This tour does not include our outdoor exhibit, the Villa de Austin.

Villa de Austin Tour

Total Time: 2 Hours

Cost: $4 per Student

Our Villa de Austin Tour is best suited for teachers looking to bolster their students' understanding of what life was like for those living in the San Felipe de Austin community 200 years ago. Students are led through various businesses of the town including the printing office, Farmer's Hotel, courthouse, commercial kitchen and bake oven, and more. While learning about these businesses, students also gain understanding on how these businesses benefited the town and the people living there. This tour is conducted via 6 separate stations, each lasting 20 minutes. Students are taken outdoors into our non-temperature regulated buildings. This tour does not include time in the indoor museum gallery.

Comprehensive Museum Tour

Total Time: 3 Hours

Cost: $6 per Student

A combination of our Museum Gallery and Villa de Austin Tours, our Comprehensive Museum Tour is best suited for teachers looking to give their students a well-rounded and comprehensive understanding of the events happening in and around San Felipe de Austin as well as the stories of those behind these events. Students explore both the indoor museum gallery and the outdoor Villa de Austin. The tour is conducted through 9 stations each lasting 20 minutes.

Additional Information

Tours are given on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9am to 5pm. Tours can be booked for either morning or afternoon time slots.
Students can bring a picnic lunch or school-provided sack lunch to enjoy on our outdoor, covered map plaza or outdoor picnic tables either before or after their tour.
Teachers, 1-to-1 Student Aids, and bus drivers are all free of charge. We also allow one free chaperone per every 10 students. Additional chaperones are charged $5 each.
Teachers and chaperones may be asked to help facilitate aspects of the tour.
No food or drinks are allowed inside the museum gallery. Water may be carried while touring our outdoor exhibits.