Witte Museum welcomes families to new, improved campus

Ribbon-cutting held to kick off grand opening

SAN ANTONIO – The Witte Museum is welcoming families to check out its new and improved campus. Museum volunteers and staff held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to kick off its grand opening.

Children walking through the doors of the Witte on Saturday were filled with excitement.

“The pterodactyl, T. rex and the velociraptor,” 3-year-old Aiden shouted in amazement.

“It’s amazing because the dinosaurs are being brought to life in his eyes, and he’s very, very fascinated with it,” said Jessica Pacheco, Aiden’s mother.

The Witte Museum has undergone a $100 million transformation. It not only has a new look, but it’s also bigger than ever before.

“We’re thrilled to have them, to have them experience dinosaurs of Texas, the prehistoric people from thousands of years ago and of course, our great history of Texas,” said Marise McDermott, president and CEO of the Witte Museum.

The museum is all about bringing nature, science and culture together to create a one of a kind experience for its visitors.

The Witte tries to make the experience as interactive as possible for children. In every gallery, there is a lab, and children are able to dig for fossils.

From a big dinosaur gallery to a rock art and local wildlife, the Witte covers the past, present and future.

“What we wanted to do was call it a ‘new Witte’ because it’s still our great museum with all our fabulous artifacts, but the edifice, the ability to accommodate more people in a growing city, a city on the rise, that’s what we hoped people will understand. This is their museum in a growing city,” McDermott said.

McDermott said there’s still one more phase of the Witte to be completed, which includes the center for rivers and aquifers. 

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