Texas Travel - End of Course Summary

This marks the end of my journey involving the Directed Independent Study in Library Science class.  I have visited several great museums and libraries over the course of a month.  The best part about the class was that I was able to involve my family in my travels.  I hope they had as much fun as I did.

I originally planned to visit several more places, but time did not allow for it.  These are the places I visited:

• Children's Museum of Houston
• Houston Museum of Natural Science
• Houston Public Libraries -- Smith Neighborhood Library and Central Library
• Bryan Public Libraries -- Clara B. Mounce Library and Carnegie History Center
• Children's Museum of Brazos Valley
• Texas Energy Museum
• Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum
• Tyrrell Historic Library

These are the places I visited using a virtual tour of their website:

• McFaddin-Ward House Museum
• Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig Museum
• The Library of Congress
• The British Museum

It is amazing to find so many educational and historical venues that are available to the public, many with free or very low admission fees.  With the help of the Internet, it's easy to locate places that you probably didn't even know existed.  Websites share information about hours of operation, admission fees, and directions as well background information to prepare you for your visit.

This has been a great experience.  I have been wanting to visit the Beaumont area for the longest time, hoping to learn more about Spindletop and perhaps even learn more about my grandfather.  By walking through the exhibits at the Gladys City Boomtown Museum, I got a feel for what life may have been like for him over 110 years ago.  The visit has sparked a desire in me to learn even more about my father's family, eventually creating a family tree for his side of the family.

Even though this class is over, I plan to continue to locate and visit libraries and museums around Texas.  And, I plan to write about them here.  So, there is more to come!