EventTales from the Tombstone: Candlelight Graveyard Tours
Read More about Tales from the Tombstone: Candlelight Graveyard Tours
Museum Hours Today
9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Site Hours Today
9 a.m.-6 p.m.
LocationOne Monument Circle
La Porte (Houston), Texas 77571
Read More about Tales from the Tombstone: Candlelight Graveyard Tours
Read More about Tales from the Tombstone: Candlelight Graveyard Tours
The Museum and Site will be closed on December 2 as volunteers and staff work to prepare and set up for Fields of Honor: A Luminous Tribute at San Jacinto.
Read More about Museum and Site Closed to Prepare for Fields of Honor
The San Jacinto Museum and the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday. Both will be open on the following Friday.
Bring the San Jacinto of 1836 back to life by making your own homemade diorama. We’ll provide the materials; you just need to bring your imagination.
Join us for a butter-churning demonstration and make your own butter! Yum!
Receive a complimentary instant photograph of yourself or your group in front of the historic San Jacinto Monument. Learn about its rich history and explore a pop-up gallery showcasing visitors’ photos throughout the years.
Learn more about traditional spinning and weaving at a demonstration from the Bay Area Weavers and Spinners every third Saturday at the San Jacinto Museum.
Explore the fascinating world behind the exhibits and discover the diverse career opportunities within the museum industry.
Join us for a day of fun, history, and reenactments celebrating the anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto. Reenactors dressed in period clothing make the epic events of April 1836 come alive, and reenactments throughout the day will recreate the dramatic events that led to the battle.
What are some of our popular misconceptions about the Battle of San Jacinto? Find out from James E. Crisp in this History Under the Stars talk on March 16, 2024.
Read More about Lecture: Myths, Mistakes, and Misunderstandings
Learn more about the real story of Emily West and make your own yellow rose out of tissue paper in her honor.
Learn what a curator does and ask questions about artifact handling, exhibit design, and more.
Try your hand at churning butter using both a dash churn and a shake jar. You’ll even get to take your butter home with you!
Learn more about the clothes worn by the soldiers fighting in the Texas Revolution and the civilians fleeing in the Runaway Scrape and make your own Texas Revolution paper doll.
Did you know that Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center needs 1000 donations a day to meet the needs of our community? Carry on the Texan spirit of friendship and camaraderie by donating blood!
Writing two hundred years ago required tools very different from the pens and pencils we use today - quills and ink! Come try your hand at writing with a quill and ink.
Learn how laundry was done in the 1830s and help us clean some bandanas with an old-fashioned washtub and washboard. You might even get to take your bandana home with you once it’s dry!
The Texians created and used multiple flags throughout the Texan Revolution. Discover what our six flags represent and learn about the study of vexillology while creating your own flag.
Women, at home and following the Mexican army, made tortillas every morning. Come and see how tortillas would have been made in the 1830s.
Head to the San Jacinto Battleground March 13th through 16th for family fun outdoors.
In the waning moments of the rebellion, fear of defeat prompted larger questions of what it meant to be a man and woman in a period of war and retreat.
Experience some of the thunderous sounds of battle as staff demonstrate how to fire a musket and rifle, weapons both the Mexican and Texian armies utilized.
See a demonstration of the candle-making process frontiersmen and women used to create light for their homes.
Experience San Jacinto is a three-day summer camp program that immerses the participant in history through a variety of living history activities and demonstrations.
Free admission to La Porte residents with proof of residency on Thursdays in June and July.
Have fun with toys of the past and learn about frontier childhood.
Learn something new about the United States and Texas Revolution flags and the symbols that show their country's ideals, values, and features.
Enjoy picnicking at one of the numerous beautiful spots at San Jacinto on International Picnic Day.
Hardworking frontierswomen spun cotton, flax, or wool into thread. Learn about the history of textile spinning and witness a live demonstration of thread spinning on a drop spindle.
Frontier settlers could create their own ink, using oak galls, berries, cloves, bark, and more - learn how some real 19th century ink recipes were made.
Strike up a conversation and share knowledge in the elevator to the observation deck 489 feet in the air on Elevator Day.
Experience some of the thunderous sounds of battle as San Jacinto Battleground staff demonstrate how to fire a cannon and a musket, weapons both armies used on the fateful day that won Texan independence.
One factor that shaped the victory on April 21, 1836, wasn’t anywhere near San Jacinto that day: the officers and crews of the Texian Navy.
Celebrate National Coloring Book Day with San Jacinto Monument and Texas history coloring sheets and a plethora of markers, crayons, and colored pencils.
Learn more about the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, their relation to the San Jacinto Museum and Battleground, and their important historical work.
Soldiers in the Texian Army were usually supplied with the basic ingredients and had to make their own food out of what was provided. Try making your own campfire bread, just like the Texian soldiers did.
Kids had to make their own toys on the Texas frontier, and a corn husk doll was a staple of a Texas childhood in the 1830s. Make your own holiday corn husk angel to take home.
Written correspondence was an essential practice to stay connected to other people in the 1830s. To celebrate this holiday, try your hand at writing a letter with a quill and India ink.
Specialized battlefield bands would use drums, fifes, and horns to send musical messages to convey information. Learn about the instruments and people who helped the Texians prevail at the Battle of San Jacinto.
Calling all bookworms! To celebrate Read a Book Day, grab a book and visit the battlefield to spend the day reading. Get some some staff-picked recommendations at the Read a Book Day display.
Get “hands on” with archeology to learn about archeological tools, techniques, and much more at our archeology touch table.
Witness a real-life camp kitchen in action and experience the sights and smells of the frontier. Learn about rations and food preservation, and eat like a Texian soldier.
Watch as San Jacinto Battleground educators demonstrate how to use a flint and steel to prepare a fire, and learn how to make your own char-cloth. Learn how to create your own Texian fire making kit!
Learn how to protect yourself from one of humanity's deadliest predators from Harris County Mosquito & Vector Control Division.
Sons of the Republic of Texas invite the public to join the commemoration of Texian Navy Day, honoring the vital contributions of the Texas Navy during the fight for Texas Independence.
The movement to designate the San Jacinto Battleground as a patriotic shrine began with a group of Texas veterans who passed the baton to a group of dedicated women. Learn more!
This member-only exclusive event celebrates our valued museum members with an engaging evening for all who love Texas history.
Every second Saturday of the month, the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic site opens two hours early just for bicyclists. Free, and open to all ages.
The native prairie, tidal marsh, and bottomland forest are home to more than 200 species of birds. The grounds open two hours early so birders and photographers can enjoy early morning at the site, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
Read More about Exhibit Opening - After the Battle of San Jacinto
The official celebration of the Battle of San Jacinto, complete with the reading of General Houston's report of the battle and a black powder salute.
Family Day takes place on the first Saturday of every month. Children enter for free when accompanied by an adult family member who purchases a ticket. Living history programs make the day fun and educational for all.
Join us for a day of fun, food, history, and reenactments celebrating the anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto. Reenactors dressed in period clothing make the epic events of April 1836 come alive, and reenactments throughout the day will recreate the dramatic events that led to the battle.
Discover the San Jacinto Battleground as you've never seen it before on a staff-led van tour of the battlefield.
It's said that an army travels on it’s stomach, and that was no less true for the Texian revolutionaries in 1836. Try making your own campfire bread, just like the rebel soldiers did 187 years ago!
Experience some of the thunderous sounds of battle as San Jacinto Battleground staff demonstrate how to fire a cannon and a musket, weapons both armies used on the fateful day that won Texan independence.
Learn how to load a cannon and watch regular cannon firing demonstrations.
Perfect your technique with your own homemade cup and ball. Join us this Saturday to make your own. We’ll provide the materials; you just need to bring your imagination!
Read More about Lecture: San Jacinto - The Experience of Battle
Come play with replicas of 19th-century toys, weapons, tools, food, clothing, and much more. Learn all about the battle of San Jacinto and life on the Texas frontier, and imagine yourself in the shoes of a soldier or pioneer.
The lyrics of “The Yellow Rose of Texas” are familiar to all Texans, but the true story behind the song is lost in myth and legend. Learn how the “Yellow Rose of Texas” became the unofficial state anthem and how grit and determination brought a free Black woman from the abolitionist riots of Connecticut to the thick of a bloody Texas revolution.
Learn how bullets were made and how ammunition worked during the Texas Revolution. Kids can also help make a wax bullet to take home. Suitable for kids aged 5 and up, this activity is free and takes place outside.
At the Join the Texian Army spring break program, you can watch cannon demonstrations, participate in living history demonstrations, and enjoy some arts and crafts activities. It’s fun for the whole family!
Read More about The Past, Present, and Future of San Jacinto
Are you ready for the annual San Jacinto Texas Independence Fun Run? There will be 10- and 5K runs, a 5K walk, and a 1K Kids run.
Join us this Family Day for a butter-churning demonstration and make your own butter! You even get to take your homemade butter home with you! Yum!
Join us in the San Jacinto Family Day program to hear real stories of the Runaway Scrape and see if you can make it to safety in the “Surviving the Runaway Scrape” game!
Celebrate the Lone Star flag of Texas by learning more about how it came to be and some of the Revolutionary flags that pre-dated it. Kids (and crafty adults) can try their hand at making a flag, either from history or their own imagination
Read More about Lecture: Houston, Military Traditions, and San Jacinto
The nearly ten year period when Texas was a Republic brought conflict, challenges, and growth to the new nation.
Learn more about traditional spinning and weaving at a demonstration from the Bay Area Weavers and Spinners every third Saturday at the San Jacinto Museum.
During the Battle of San Jacinto, the Tejano soldiers tucked cards into their hatbands to distinguish them from the Mexican soldados. Join us and make your own hat from the Texas Revolution!
Learn about historic medicine and try making your own by grinding cinnamon bark in a mortar and pestle at our September life on the frontier program.
Mexican soldiers and U.S. soldiers who deserted their regiment to join the Texas cause carried premade ammunition in a special container called a cartridge box. This Sunday, make your own cartridge box at the San Jacinto Museum.
In honor of Texas Archeology Month, we’ve created puzzles using images of real artifacts found during archeological excavations at the San Jacinto Battleground. See if you can put them back together, and figure out what the object is and what it was used for, just like a real archeologist!
Immerse yourself in the vibrant spirit of the 1830s at the San Jacinto Fall Fandango. In an era when neighbors lived miles apart, social gatherings like a fandango were essential for bringing communities together. This event is free.
The often-unpopular decisions Houston made on the road to San Jacinto eventually led to his victory at San Jacinto. Without knowing how the Texas Army reached the fields at San Jacinto, Houston’s true skill as a military leader cannot be understood. In “The Road to San Jacinto,” author Dave Dyer retraces Houston’s route east based on extensive primary and secondary research, bringing each one back to life.
Fields of Honor: A Luminous Tribute at San Jacinto will take place on Saturday, December 2, 2023, to commemorate the sacrifice of the over 21,500 Texans who have given their lives in armed conflict. Volunteer groups are being sought to participate by placing and picking up 21,500 candles on the San Jacinto Battlefield to visually depict what President Abraham Lincoln called “the last full measure of devotion.”
Read More about Fields of Honor: A Luminous Tribute at San Jacinto
Watch this award-winning, 35-minute multimedia production vividly depicting the events of the Texas Revolution and Battle of San Jacinto. Showtimes: Every hour, on the hour.