Texas Military Forces Museum
- Kimi's Travel Thoughts
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
May 2025 Monthly Adventure
I frequently pass by Camp Mabry off MoPac when driving between north and south Austin because I do what I can to avoid I-35 (if you know, you know). I always see the signs about the Texas Military Forces Museum and kept telling myself to go one day since I love museums. After nearly 10 years of living here, I finally visited the museum!
Navigating to the Texas Military Forces Museum
While this was my first time checking out the Texas Military Forces Museum, I have actually been to Camp Mabry before many years ago with my dad. This was my first time driving around a military installation on my own and the GPS was not helpful. Fortunately, I knew how to get to the main entrance and the office checking IDs gave me very simple directions to follow. When I was leaving, the GPS tried to take me to exits that were closed, so I had to follow the directions the officer gave me in reverse order to leave Camp Mabry.
Parking and Admission for the Texas Military Forces Museum
Parking and admission for the Texas Military Forces Museum are both free of charge! Museum visitors may leave a monetary donation as they wish at visitor check-in. If you're looking for free activities around the Austin area, the Texas Military Forces Museum is something that can be added to your list. Parking is available directly in front of the building and there is also a paved lot adjacent to the museum.
Visiting the Texas Military Forces Museum
If history is your thing, the Texas Military Forces Museum is the place for you. The same goes for people that really like old vehicles, planes, and helicopters. As you walk inside, you will be greeted by the staff at the circular visitor check-in counter. The perimeter of the museum is lined with jeeps, planes, and helicopters from past World Wars and other, more recent wars, such as the Korean War. This museum specifically focuses on military forces based out of Texas which includes battles from the 19th Century which is its own separate exhibit within the museum. There is also an exhibit featuring the 36th Infantry Division that features artifacts from World War I and World War II. The third exhibit focuses on the Cold War to the present.
In addition the various vehicles on display, many other artifacts were also on display. These artifacts include uniforms, armor, artillery, cookware, field phones, handwritten letters, and much more. There is also a Hall of Honor and a gift shop with very affordable items inside the museum. Just outside of the building are some extra armor and artillery displays that are much larger (from what I could tell) than the anything that was inside the building at the Texas Military Forces Museum.
Wrap-Up
If you're interested in visiting the Texas Military Forces Museum, the hours will always be 10:00 AM-4:00 PM. However, the days of the week in which the museum is open will vary depending on the time of year you visit. You'll want to check their website or Google to confirm when the museum is open as you plan your visit. I managed to get through the museum in about an hour, but that was because I had to move with purpose. I had other plans for the afternoon and got off to a later start on the day. Had it not been for that, I probably would have taken about 1.5-2 hours to see everything in the museum and move at a slower pace.
What was my favorite part of the museum? It was an extremely niche and super small artifact -- hardtack (see number 4 in the picture to the right)! This is basically a thick, dry, stale bread-like cracker that soldiers would eat during 19th century battles. I had to make hardtack for a project and competition when I was in middle school for my eighth grade U.S. history class. Everyone in the class had to follow the recipe in our textbook and our teach was the taste tester and sole judge in determining who made hardtack the best. I can't remember who won the contest, but anyone that had to eat hardtack likely never felt like a winner. It doesn't taste good and I would not recommend eating it. Seeing hardtack in the museum brought back a fun memory as did returning to Camp Mabry as I thought about the day I first visited with my dad.
The Monthly Adventures Series is all about me finding tourist activities to do around Austin, Texas and the Texas Military Forces Museum is certainly one of them! It's an easy activity to take in solo or as a group without taking up too much of your time. Between that and the free parking and admission -- it's a solid weekend activity.
On to the next adventure.