Really Small Museum ATX

09/02/2026

Ralph Anthony Pacheco |
Modern & Historical Indigenous Ornimentation of Texas
Botanical jewelry
On View: September & October
Austin Nature & Science Center

A shadowbox installation by Austin based artist Ralph Anthony Pacheco, an 8th generation resident of San Antonio mission San Jose. His heritage is Texas Lipan Apaches, the mission Indian servants brought from the northern Mexican line of missions, and the local Indians found along the San Antonio River.

Central Texas was never rich in gemstones or precious metals, so unlike the silver and turquoise pieces seen in Arizona, they were little used here. From the earliest reports of the Spanish from Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in his journeys, most tribes he encountered wore “mescal beans” which were the seeds of the Texas Mountain Laurel tree as their ornamentation. Indeed they were traded among many tribes due to their vibrant colors.

Using the simple materials of his ancestors, Ralph presents three examples of traditional jewelry. The first is the oldest simplest style; the second, showing the impact of the Spaniards and the different materials they brought, which were incorporated by the local people; and finally, Ralph’s modern creation, discplayed alongside the materials in their original state.
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Mark your calendars for the November 21! Everyone welcome!
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TEMPORARY ART INSTALLATION
JUNE EXHIBITION 2026, Located in The Austin Nature & Science Center, 2389 Stratford Drive, Austin, TX 78746
The Really Small Museum is brought to you by artist & curator: JulietWhitsett.com | |
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This project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music, & Entertainment.

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08/03/2026

Elizabeth Maria Hudson
Eco Maze Quilt, 2026
Watercolor on quilted canvas

TEMPORARY ART INSTALLATION
AUGUST & SEPTEMBER EXHIBITION 2026, Located in The Austin Nature & Science Center, 2389 Stratford Drive, Austin, TX 78746

***Mark your calendar for a special MEET & GREET with THE ARTIST : AUGUST 23rd 12-2 pm at the installation (South Pond Trail)***

Eco Maze Quilt is a quilt constructed in the shape of a box by Austin and Dallas based artist Elizabeth Maria Hudson. Hudson’s work centers on an exploration of visual symbols in Black southern storytelling and folklore, and what those symbols reveal about the subconscious of the storytellers and the listeners. Eco Maze Quilt is inspired by the rich history of Black Texan herbalists, naturalists, and agriculturalists who stewarded land and utilized the natural landscape to fill medicinal and culinary needs. Each side of the box represents a wild or cultivated plant found in Texas that was heavily relied upon by African American communities, including muscadines, pokeweeds, sassafras, walnuts, summer pears, and blackberries. Both the literal and spiritual essences are represented in the box quilt to invite viewers to reflect on the importance of preserving traditional medicinal and culinary foodways.
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Special thanks to Justin at for sharing botanical, ethnobotanical, and cultural knowledge that complemented the artist’s own family traditions and research.
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The Really Small Museum is brought to you by artist & curator: JulietWhitsett.com | |

This project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music, & Entertainment.

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07/02/2026

A group of Grackes is a ‘Plague’🐦‍⬛
Welcome Jules Buck Jones and his work ‘Plague’ to the at the Austin Nature & Science Center!

‘I manipulate and employ a range of playtul and dynamic imagery based on memories, observation, and invention, focusing on patterns and rhythms found in nature. I lean into combinations of mark-making, wash, and line work to construct my abstract scenes.
Sometimes the work relies more on illustrative vocabulary to get crisp and graphic outcomes. “Plague” is a drawing installation based on frames from a grackle illustration I made. I manipulated scale, printed, and cut the individual birds to create the illusion of the quintessential Austin murmurations.’ - Jules Buck Jones

🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛

🔲 RSM is a (very small!) white cube exhibition space with a big impact, bringing environmental art, conversation, and connection into public spaces. From June through November 2026, the project at ANSC will feature seven artist / groups whose work will highlight local habitats, species, and ecological concerns within 100 miles of Austin.

The Really Small Museum is brought to you by artist & curator JulietWhitsett.com | Juliet Whitsett Art |

This project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music, & Entertainment.


Cover 📸 by Charles Heppner

05/26/2026

Big news! Two new Really Small Museums are launching at Austin Nature & Science Center 🌿✨

Fittingly, our first show is the perfect way to launch this project at Austin’s FREE Nature & Science Center… and to kick off summer break!☀️

WELCOMe:
Mrs. Willett & 3rd Grade Artists
(In)Visible Signs in Nature, 2026
Acrylic on canvas
(On view through June 2026)

Come visit the show, walk the trails, view the installation, and listen to the students’ collaborative audio piece linked via QR and NFC tap technology at the museum.

ALL upcoming shows will highlight local habitats, species, and ecological concerns within 100 miles of Austin.

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🔲 RSM is a (very small!) white cube exhibition space with a big impact, bringing environmental art, conversation, and connection into public spaces. From June through November 2026, the project at ANSC will feature seven artist / groups whose work will highlight local habitats, species, and ecological concerns within 100 miles of Austin.

The Really Small Museum is brought to you by artist & curator JulietWhitsett.com | |

This project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music, & Entertainment.

05/07/2026

Come join us at Zilker Nature Preserve this May 9th to celebrate Austin preserves and the newest installment of the ROAM Museum: artist Suzanne Wyss’ What You Are Made Of.

The event kicks off at 9:00 with a volunteer cleanup, wrapping up around 10:30. Afterwards, Suzanne will be on hand to discuss the piece and her creative process; feel free to stay after to explore the preserve!

About the piece:

Using mixed media and recycled materials, Suzanne’s piece takes the viewer underground, providing an imaginative glimpse into the literal foundations of the Austin landscape. Questioning material integrity through the lens of an underground world, Suzanne explores the surprising fluidity of the ground beneath our feet, and asks us to consider the ways in which humans and geology mutually reshape one another.

About ROAM:

The ROAM Museum is a collaboration between APR and artist Juliet Whitsett, whose Really Small Museum has been bringing art to Austin parks since 2021. ROAM celebrates the unique landscapes of Austin’s nature preserves through site-responsive art, inspiring reflection, dialogue, and deeper connection with these natural spaces.

Learn more and register on Give Pulse by clicking the link!

Come join us at Zilker Nature Preserve this May 9th to celebrate Austin preserves and the newest installment of the ROAM Museum: artist Suzanne Wyss’ What You Are Made Of. The event kicks off at 9:00 with a volunteer cleanup, wrapping up around 10:30. Afterwards, Suzanne will be on hand to discuss...

04/07/2026

Suzanne Wyss | What Are You Made Of, 2026
Cast Concrete, Repurposed Plastic, Wire, Staples, Guitar Strings, Cardboard, Grit

This piece imagines what a tiny piece of our Austin landscape could look like underground. As a geologically rich place, two of our unique landscape typologies are the Edwards aquifer limestone, called Karst (aka holey rocks/lucky rocks/hag stones), and the Blackland Prairie, with its long magical fibrous roots underground. How do we humans also make an appearance underground? Questioning material integrity through the lens of an underground world, Suzanne explores limestone’s ability to be shaped by fluid, in return, the limestone cleans the water, sending it downstream refreshed. She explores prairie grass roots branching endlessly and fibrously, busy with microbes in the soil transforming atmospheric carbon into stable inorganic carbon, reaching deep below the surface to deliver nutrients and find water. Humans above ground send miniscule particles into the soils that will become their own geologic wonder one day, but what are we leaving behind in our wake?. What happens when these environments mingle? Each is a filter for something, a route to be traveled through, an interaction. What are you made of?

🔲 🔲 APRIL & MAY EXHIBITION 2026, Located in Zilker Preserve, Zilker Lookout Point (30.271290, -97.778030) Austin, TX

🚙 Driving: map to the coordinates (30.2712900, -97.7780303) It’s a .1 mile journey from the entrance on Arnulfo Alonso Way along a smooth trail to the Zilker Lookout Point.

🥾Hiking: Many trails in Zilker Nature Preserve culminate at the Zilker Lookout Point!Choose your own adventure from (uphill) by plugging the coordinates or Zilker Lookout Point into your map app.
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✨ JOIN THE ART IN ACTION: EVENT on MAY 9
Celebrate Parks and artist Suzanne Wyss’ piece ‘What Are You Made Of’ at the RSM ROAM at Zilker Lookout Point.

✨ Art in Action Clean Up: 9-10:30
✨ Artist Talk: 10:30 am
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* Thank you to the cave experts who contributed time, knowledge and gear to go underground.

The Really Small Museum ROAM is a Production and was funded by Austin Parks and Recreation Land Management