My wife and I went to the museum at Texas Tech University and it is truly magnificent! It's clean and beautiful, with very nice exhibits. Love the taxidermy exhibit, especially the bears. The best part is that the museum has free entry. The Planetarium is not worth the $5. It was blurry and dim, and the star gazing show was incredibly boring.
I loved this museum so much, I returned for a second day. There is a wonderful natural history section with animals of Texas, past and present. Really interesting dinosaur exhibit. There is interactive display of plate tectonics that mesmerized me for about an hour. And then, there is fabulous art exhibits that focus on artists of TX NM AZ. Texas Tech has done a great job with this museum.
The museum has a World Class Gallery of Southwest Indian Art as well as a renowned permanent collection of early 20th century Wyeth works. A Must see on any visit to Lubbock
This museum had at least a little of everything: regional natural history (including dinosaurs), local history, American art, and international art and artifacts. We ended up spending more time than I expected--a good hour and a half. And that included just skimming a couple of galleries. I especially enjoyed some of the western art and the art by illustrator/artist N.C. Wyeth. Admission was free, and the staff was friendly. I wish we'd had time to check out the planetarium--hopefully next time.
Always knowing this museum was here in Lubbock but never really taking time to appreciate it, we came in one cool afternoon for something to occupy out time. We were not lead astray by our trip. Only having time for part of the multi gallery museum, we were able to see a very wide selection of Native American pottery and art work from the southwest and South America. We cannot wait to return to finish walking around this free and cultural enriching center.
The old pioneer portion located outside was really neat to see. Also a very nice display of artifacts inside. The staff really took a lot of time and effort to make this a pleasaent experience. Great presentation!!
If you like Remington pieces or paintings that capture life of the American West and cowboys, this museum is for you! There are all sorts of artifacts to look at. Everything from early Native American pieces, to ancient animals who roamed this land before settlers arrived, to daily living pieces like clothing, machinery and work implements. I have been coming to this museum for more than 20 years, and I always learn something new. There is a planetarium on site that is both informative and affordable. An excellent way to spend a hot, Texas afternoon!
You can't compare this to a world class museum like the British Museum or anything like that. However, it has free entry and a wide variety of exhibits. The first, central gallery has displays of full-size T. rex and Triceratops skeletal replicas. Then the other galleries have lots of art collections and other topics related to Lubbock and Texas - southern plains cultures, Lubbock history, Ice age on the plains, etc. Overall, this is a great museum that's very educational. Second floor is currently closed.
The Museum of Texas Tech University is awesome. It is free. Great exhibits. The grounds are beautiful. It should be on your list to do when you visit Lubbock. A great asset to Lubbock.
On occasion there is a good temporary display, and the area dedicated to the history of Lubbock is interesting, but the staff is disengaged and a lot of the regular collection is uninspiring. I did enjoy the "Little Black Dress" display although most of the dresses were full-length gowns and there was an exhibit made up of press photos of US presidents that was excellent.