Have you printed your Summer Fun Checklist yet? There are 10 items on the checklist each month- June, July and August- with recommendations for activities to keep your kids active and engaged in the Austin community this summer. It’s FREE, printable, and the kids can earn rewards all summer long when they complete 5 of the 10 items on the checklist each month!
Taking a tour of the Capitol is one of the items on the checklist for the month of June. Quel from Homegirlblog was kind enough to share an article that she wrote that originally appeared on Do512Family.
A visit to the Texas State Capitol Building
offers not only a great opportunity to get a crash course on the inner
workings of Texas politics, it also provides a close-up look at the pink
granite structure during an architectural tour of one of the most
distinct buildings in Texas. The Capitol sits on wonderful park-like
grounds that demand you relax on the grass for some people watching. If
you’re lucky, you’ll witness a wedding party posing for photos.
The Visitors Center is the first thing you’ll encounter when you
enter the Capitol. It contains a gift shop and many exhibits, including
photos, videos and artifacts. There are travel counselors from the Texas
Department of Transportation there who can provide free maps,
literature, and information about destinations around Texas.
history, you should also be sure to explore the Capitol itself.
Self-guided tours of the grounds and Capitol building are available
during business hours. If you’d rather be shown around, there are free
daily tours of the Capitol, which teach you about the building, the
Texas legislature, and some Texas history. Tours last about 45 minutes;
they start in the Main Foyer and end in the Capitol Extension building.Free Capitol tours are available during these times:Monday-Friday: 8:30 am – 4:30 pmSaturday: 9:30 am – 3:30 pm
Sunday: Noon – 3:30 pm
For those with very young children, don’t shy away from taking them
to the Capitol for a visit. My son was three years old his first visit,
and still very much a mini version of the Tasmanian Devil from those
Warner Brothers cartoons– not the best candidate for a calm tour of the
Capitol Building. His favorite part of the day was likely getting an up
close look at the monuments on the grounds, chasing squirrels around and
running up the grassy hills just to roll down them again.
When he was four he enjoyed all the same running around on the lawn,
but was most intrigued by the lady on top of the building–The Goddess of
Liberty. He was so full of questions about the six flags built into the
Capitol and thought the lady on top was the Statue of Liberty. His
follow-up response to my inability to answer his questions to his
satisfaction was to ask me to Google the lady and the flags, which I
did. We actually never set foot inside the building (fortunately for
everyone inside), but we both ended up learning quite a lot about the
six flags and The Goddess of Liberty. We also scored and got to watch a
“princess” bride and groom pose for pictures. If you’re interested, you
should check out the site we found which gives extremely succinct
summaries about the six flags and not only The Goddess of Liberty, but
all the female statues that top all our state capitol buildings here.
Parking at the Capitol
There are many street parking meters available around the Capitol
area. There is also the Capitol Visitors Parking Garage at 1201 San
Jacinto (between Trinity and San Jacinto Streets at 12th and 13th
Streets). For the first two hours, parking is free; after that, it costs
75 cents for every 30 minutes (up to $6).
Enjoy!
For your chance to win a $25 gift card to Galaxy Cafe, Zocalo Cafe, or Top Notch, tag your photos on Instagram with the #AustinSummerFun hashtag! We will be picking a winner tomorrow!
