By James M. Benavides
Public Affairs Specialist
(March 11, 2009)--During spring break, Buffalo soldiers, ranch hands, schoolmasters and pioneers will welcome guests for a trip to the Texas frontier at UTSA's Institute of Texan Cultures during "Spring Break on the Back 40."
From 1 to 4 p.m. through Friday, March 13, costumed docents will offer a glimpse of frontier life, letting guests learn by doing. "Spring Break on the Back 40" features the Back 40 outdoor interpretive learning area that includes five period structures: a one-room schoolhouse, a barn, a dogtrot log cabin, a frontier fort and an adobe house.
At the log cabin, visitors will learn to wash clothes with homemade soap, washboard and basin. After a lesson in penmanship and writing on the slate chalkboard, they can play schoolyard games such as marbles and hoop-rolling. They will learn how to rope like a cowboy and read maps like a Buffalo soldier.
Each day, the one-room schoolhouse will be open, along with one of the other period structures.
UTSA's Institute of Texan Cultures is at 851 Durango Blvd. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday. Admission is $7 for adults; $4 for children, seniors and military; free with UTSACard. "Spring Break on the Back 40" is included with regular museum admission.
For more information, visit the Institute of Texan Cultures Web site or call (210) 458-2330.