Ely’s Salon

One spark of inspiration is all you need for your next big idea at the Thinkery, where each exhibit is hands-on, play-based learning, with activities and content appropriate for visitors of all ages. Create colorful works of art, take apart toys or build and launch gliders at the Spark Shop. See, feel and hear the connections between water and sound at the Currents exhibit. Find out how color, light, and shadows impact the environment at the Light Lab. Participate in sensory exploration, chemical reactions, and edible minerals in the Kitchen Lab. Imagine buying and selling delicious fruits and vegetables or collecting eggs from a pretend chicken coop in Fresh! Farmers’ Market. Step outside to the Backyard and scale the heights of a universally-accessible, custom-designed climber, or rest under the branches of a native elm tree.

Encounter The Scottish Rite Children's Theater, known as Austin's oldest live theater venue, where you can experience high-quality productions that showcase the traditional theater lifestyle, period costumes, and hand-painted backdrops that were used during the late 1800s. The original plays are from well-known children's fairy tales with a modern twist, which is written to be interactive with the children in the audience and include positive life lessons. Throughout each play, children are encouraged to help the hero defeat the villain and participate in the fun.

Experience your city, your art, and your museum at the world-class Blanton Museum of Art, which features the largest and most comprehensive collections of more than 21,000 works that showcase art from across the ages, from ancient Greek pottery to abstract expressionism. With a year-round schedule of traveling exhibitions, art lovers are sure to discover new and old favorites from European paintings, an encyclopedic collection of prints and drawings, and modern and contemporary American and Latin American art.