The Museum of the Big Bend's first acquistion was an arrow point found in the Sunny Glen area west of Alpine, Texas, by Victor J. Smith and Roy Bedichek. Over ninety years later, the museum's collection has over 5,000 objects in its' permanent collection ranging from prehistoric Indian objects to contemporary pieces. The Museum of the Big Bend is housed in one of the ten Texas Centennial Museum buildings built during 1930s on the campus of Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas.
Tours of the museum's permanent and temporary exhibits can be made by contacting Noemi Acosta at 432-837-8734 or email at nacosta@sulross.edu. When inquiring about a tour for your group, please be specific on time you wish to spend at the museum and the amount of information your group requires. There is a nominal fee per person depending on the length of tour required.
The gift shop at the Museum of the Big Bend offers a wide variety of gift items for children and adults at reasonable prices. Proceeds from the gift shop help to support the museum's exhibits and programs.
The Mission of the Museum of the Big Bend, a Department of Sul Ross State University, is to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret the cultural, historic and natural materials that relate to the prehistory and history of the Big Bend of Texas and Mexico, with an awareness of the region's cultural diversity
late 19th & early 20th century historical materials; archaeological artifacts from paleo-man to modern ethnology; regional art; archival collectioins in ranching, mining & business; 19th century photographs of west Texas; rare books; Texana & Big Bend region special books.
regional photographic history of Anglo- & Mexican-American settlement; historical & archaeological collections.
The Museum of the Big Bend offers after school art programs and week long summer art programs for elementary school aged children. Evening art classes, lecture series and gallery talks are held throughout the year. For more information and fees for these programs visit the museum's website or contact Noemi Acosta at 432-837-8143 or email at nacosta@sulross.edu