Austin History Center Presents: Families in the Archives on Austin Museum Day

As the local history collection of the Austin Public Library, the Austin History Center provides the public with information about the history, current events and activities of Austin and Travis County.

Join the Austin History Center on Austin Museum Day, Sunday September 17 from 1-4 PM for a variety of activities all about Families in the Archives.

Learn how to save your family history at our preservation station, participate in a community pop-up exhibit, create a family tree at our kids table and record your family history at our oral history booth.

Two exhibits, Finding Refuge in Austin 1848-1980 and Austin at Mid-Century: Photographs by Dewey Mears will be on view all day from 12-6 PM. The event is free and open to the public and light refreshments will be served. For more information call 512-974-7480 or visit austinhistorycenter.org.

Preservation Station and Pop-up Exhibit
To learn how to preserve your family heirlooms, photographs, and letters, bring an item that is special to you to our preservation station. Professional archivists will give you advice on how to take care of your family memorabilia. Then, display your history in our pop-up exhibit! This is a temporary exhibit created by visitors who bring a family object to share, like a community show-and-tell! This can include photographs, letters, scrapbooks, books, you name it. Participants write a label for their object and leave it on display for a few minutes or a few hours. Participants can take their object with them when they leave, opt to donate the object to the Austin History Center, or pick up their item after the event.

Oral History Booth
Record your family’s story at our oral history booth. AHC volunteers will conduct 15-minute interviews about your family history or your favorite story about Austin. You’ll be able to keep a copy of your recording and it will be preserved in the archives.

Kids Table
Kids can get crafty with us! We will be making magnets and key-chains with historical images. You can also create a family tree comic book!

About the Austin History Center
As the local history collection of the Austin Public Library, the Austin History Center provides the public with information about the history, current events and activities of Austin and Travis County. The Center collects and preserves information about local governments, businesses, residents, institutions and neighborhoods so that generations to come will have access to their history.