SAT · 1:00pm
Creepy Crawlies @ DAC
Dougherty Arts Center · South
TODAY · All day
Really Small Museum | Austin Bat Refuge & Juliet Whitsett
Thursday, October 29 at Austin Nature & Science Center, Austin
About this event
The Night Shift: Austin’s Native Bats Featuring Austin Bat Refuge (9 Austin Local Bat Illustrations by Artist Juliet Whitsett) TEMPORARY ART INSTALLATION October* (Bat Month!) & November Exhibition, 2026. (*ANSC will be closed September 28-October 13th) Located in The Austin Nature & Science Center, 2389 Stratford Drive, Austin, TX 78746 ***Mark your calendar for a special MEET & GREET with AUSTIN BAT REFUGE: NOVEMBER 8th 12-2 pm at the installation (South Pond Trail)*** Austin is known worldwide as “Bat City”. Congress Avenue Bridge is widely regarded as a shining example of peaceful coexistence with wildlife in an urban center. Austin’s bats are deeply embedded in our culture; indeed, some say they give us our sense of place. This artwork celebrates all of Austin’s native bats: Mexican free-tailed bats – the stars of the show at Congress Avenue Bridge Cave myotis – beautiful bats with charm and charisma galore Evening bats – little bats with great big personalities Tricolored bats – the famed “Chicken Nuggets” of Texas cave tours Eastern red bats – wild spirits of the woods Seminole bats – hang in loblolly pines, mimicking pinecones Northern yellow bats – large and lightning-fast palm tree dwellers Southern yellow bats – delicate, charming residents of palm trees Hoary bats – named for hoar frost, when fog freezes on windowpanes Bats are the only mammal capable of true flight. Since their hands are their wings, when they fly, they are waving at us! Be Austin-friendly and wave back! _____ Founded by Dianne Odegard and Lee Mackenzie in 2015, Austin Bat Refuge promotes respect for these important members of our ecosystem through education, conflict-resolution, rehabilitation, and release. They have rescued and rehabilitated thousands of injured and orphaned bats and work throughout Central Texas to foster coexistence. The Really Small Museum is brought to you by artist & curator: JulietWhitsett.com | @juliet_whitsett_art | @ReallySmallMuseum_atx This project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music, & Entertainment.
Who's playing
Juliet Whitsett is an Austin artist and environmental educator who curates the Really Small Museum. Her work focuses on biodiversity and at-risk species. Austin Bat Refuge was founded in 2015 by Dianne Odegard and Lee Mackenzie. The group rescues, rehabilitates and releases injured and orphaned bats, and it works across Central Texas on education and helping people live alongside bats.
What to expect
This is a small outdoor show you come across while walking the nature center's pond trail. It has nine bat illustrations, each with a short, playful caption. Free-tailed bats get top billing as the stars of the Congress Avenue Bridge. The others include tricolored bats, nicknamed "chicken nuggets" on Texas cave tours, and hoary bats, named for hoar frost. A meet and greet with Austin Bat Refuge is planned at the installation during the run.
Why go
Most Austinites know one bat, and this show introduces the other eight. It is short enough to fit into a walk around the Austin Nature & Science Center, which sits on the western edge of Zilker Park beside the Zilker Nature Preserve. The Really Small Museum was once voted the second best place to view art in Austin. Families and anyone curious about the city's bats will find it a good stop.
Where
Austin Nature & Science Center · 2389 Stratford Dr. · South, Austin TXDirections
